Ski Orienteering Meets
We were able to hold two Empire State Games qualifiers this year, one at Mendon on January 13, and one at Letchworth State Park on January 28. Both were successful, in that lots of ski-o addicts came from far away, and more locals than usual tried out orienteering on skis. Scott Pleban showed up at both meets to set the standard. (Nobody in this country is better.) We were lucky to have enough snow, especially at Letchworth, where snow had been scarce. It turned out that the park got a nice covering the night before the meet, and the day after, there was a disastrous warmup! The Mendon meet made use of a maze of new trails that have been created by Roger Weston, who is also responsible for the trail grooming that has made Mendon Ponds Park into one of the most attractive places to ski. Quite a few of the participants ignored these trails and decided to just go straight through the dense bushes. Courses were set by Rick Lavine; Dayle Lavine was meet director, and Ruth Hayes and Linda Kohn did registration. Linda also helped us with flag pickup. The Letchworth meet also presented a network of new trails created and maintained by Doug Bassett, the Park naturalist. Dayle Lavine designed courses that offered lots of route choices, bushwhacking opportunities, and a few views of the spectacular gorge. The turnout was very satisfying, with lots of familiar and eager faces. A new face was Ksenia Dobretsova, Sergey's mother, who is visiting from Russia to help with the arrival of a new Dobretsov or Dobretsova. This meet was held on Super Bowl Sunday. This meant that the park was quieter than usual. On this day, Americans supposedly eat more than on any other except Thanksgiving. We did not miss out on this, because Kay Sheehan provided a sumptuous banquet, complete with tablecloth! She also helped Kathy Bannister with registration, and picked up some distant controls. Rick and Dayle Lavine
MENDON PONDS SKI-O, January 13, 2001
BLUE 15.5 km. Time ESG class
1 Scott Pleban 70:12 ME
2 Jon Sundquist 79:07 ME
3 Sergey Dobretsov 81:12
4 Aims Coney 98:00 ME
5 Eddie Bergeron 100:44
6 Matt George 102:16 ME
7 Mike Kohlhas 103:00
8 Jim Tappon 103:09 MM
9 Charlie Leonard 103:43 ME
10 Randall McGarvey 109:08 ME
11 Doug Brooks 117:01 MM
12 Brad Whitmore 117:20
13 Joel Shore 131:15
14 Larry Zygo 135:14
15 Eric Smith 135:14 ME
16 Eric Barbehenn 139:37 ME
17 Doug Powell 145:05 MM
18 John Roden 146:10 ME
19 Jim Russell 153:30 MM
20 Tom Lamme 156:10
21 Jason Powell 159:07 ME
22 Bob Bundy 161:20
23 Rich Slattery 170:00
RED 11.5 km.
1 Dayle Lavine 83:32 FM
2 Ann Leonard 89:30 FE
3 Michelle Barnes 93:03 FE
4 Tom & Jack Wallenhorst 138:38
5 Marie Heerkens 139:56
6 Sue Nickoley 161:00 FM
GREEN 8.5 km.
1 Erin Colquitt 74:24 FS
2 Jenna Colquitt 78:58 FS
3 Tim Russell 95:10 MS
4 Dick Detwiler 95:29
5 Paul Schwartz 100:11
Shawn Leonard DNF
June Reeves, Zachary ?
Smith, Diana Heyden
YELLOW 5 km
1 Pege Brooks 67:40
2 Anne Schwartz 79:20
3 Carol Moran 80:17
4 Jeff Wilcox & 83:10
Kerry Mros
5 Louise Cook & 91:00
Joanne Hemenway
Gina, Keith,Trevor, DNF
Andrew, & Erin Ricker,
Karen, Bill, Kelly, Lexie,
& Danny Hartnett
WHITE 3 km
1 Dan Schlesinger 42:44
2 Lee May 49:30
3 Sue Carpenter & 55:00
Carol Agosto
4 Nancy Bricker & 78:00
Margaret Dodge
5 Phyllis & Ted Gula, 80:50
Deb & Tom Talley
6 Steve,Pat,&Katie Russell 136:30