Team Sho-Air/Specialized mountain bike racers Brendon Davids of South Africa and Monique Pua Mata, originally from Hawaii, were the 45-mile marathon champions of Saturday's Galena Grinder/Whit Henry Memorial fat tire race 23 miles north of Ketchum.
Davids (3.37:56) and last year's Grinder women's queen Pua Mata (3.51:03) mastered the two-lap course and led a field of 228 bikers—67 conquering the 45-mile marathon course and others on courses measuring 22.5, 17.5 and 10 miles.
The Grinder was the fourth stop on the five-event 2012 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Ultra Endurance Tour (UET). Davids and Pua Mata left Galena Lodge with the overall series leads going into the July 21 finale at Snowmass, Colo.
Galena Lodge's 7,300-foot altitude gave the competitors a taste of the 8,000-foot-plus altitudes coming at Snowmass, particularly after early-season low-altitude events in California and Arkansas. And Davids and Pua Mata responded.
Davids, 19, last year's sixth-ranked junior in Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) world standings, is in the first year of a three-year contract with Sho-Air/Specialized. He took over the UET lead from David "Tinker" Juarez of Whittier, Ca., who did not compete in the Grinder. Davids has 140 points and Juarez 120.
Last year's Pro UET queen Pua Mata, 32, won at Galena by more than 20 minutes over Amanda Carey of Victor. Pua Mata (240 points) has won all four women's races on the tour.
Giving Davids a strong challenge was 49-year-old Michael Tobin of Boise. He was the runner-up in 3.39:00, just 1:04 back after 45 tough miles.
Tobin's gritty finish came as no surprise to anyone who has watched the adventure racer from Ketchum set Baldy Hill Climb records and become an XTERRA world champion and XTERRA Hall of Fame athlete.
Saturday's race was the 11th anniversary renewal of the current incarnation of the Galena Grinder, a mountain bike race held here for two decades. It was the second year the Grinder has been a stop on the five-event Pro UET Tour.
The first UET race was at Hot Springs, Ark. March 10. Second was the Sagebrush Safari 50 at Lake Morena, Ca. May 20. The third was the Big Bear 50 at Big Bear Lake, Ca. June 3. Final event is the 12 Hours of Snowmass in Colorado July 21.
Saturday's race remembered Whit Henry, a 2001 Wood River High School graduate who died in 2003 at age 20. Results follow:
MARATHON (45 miles)
Men's Open: 1—Brendon Davids 3.37:56. 2—Michael Tobin 3.39:00. 3—Drew Edsall 3.39:14. 4—Michael McCalla 3.40:20. 5—Nathan Miller 3.40:22. 6—Eric Bostrom 3.45:48. 7—Jason Berning 3.46:13. 8—Drew Free 3.50:50. 9—Jason Siegle 3.55:22. 10—Gabe Klamer 4.03:12. 11—Gabriel Keck 4.07:20. 12—Shannon Boffeli 4.07:50. 13—Ricco Van Buskirk of Ketchum 5.06:50.
Women's Open: 1—Monique Pua Mata of Anaheim, Ca. 3.51:03. 2—Amanda Carey of Victor 4.13:29. 3—Jessica Cerra 4.18:34. 4—Jana Repulski 4.24:03. 5—Jennifer Hanks 4.27:50. 6—Jennifer Tobin 4.37:14. 7—Amy Fulwyler 4.40:44. 8—Stacee Johnson 5.34:24. DNF—Ashley White.
Men Single Speed: 1—AJ Linnell of Victor 3.52:08. 2—Mike Shane of Ketchum 4.22:48. 3—Yuri Hauswald 4.26:40. 4—Kyle Rafford of Ketchum 4.29:52. 5—Alex Phipps 4.31:16. 6—Mike Sherman 4.36:59. 7—Daniel Abraham 4.57:44. 8—Dane Stevens of Ketchum 5.10:43. 9—James (Sandy) White 5.11:38.
Men 19-29: 1—Evan Martell of Georgia, Vt. 4.33:30. 2—Michael Shaw 4.47:10. 3—Will Spiller of Ketchum 5.18:01.
Men 30-39: 1—Aaron Phillips of Salt Lake City, Utah 4.01:44. 2—Pat Nagler 4.20:21. 3—Brad Walker of Hailey 4.21:51. 4—Thomas Grant 4.22:40. 5—Von Edwards 4.23:24. 6—Andrew Filler 4.27:05. 7—Brian Cavanagh 4.40:00. 8—Mark Schafer 4.51:21. 9—Chris Cook of Ketchum 4.51:23. 10—Chris Mallory of Ketchum 5.17:58. 11—Mark Carnes of Hailey 5.27:50. 12—Eric Meyer of Ketchum 5.28:00. DNF—Nathaniel Drozd and Dwayne Allgire.
Women 30-39: DNF—Mary Brown.
Men 40-49: 1—Todd Meier of Boise 3.58:58. 2—Tim Phillips 4.16:06. 3—Michael Piker 4.16:30. 4—Will Hovey of Ketchum 4.23:16. 5—Kelsey Aldrich 4.27:36. 6—Brad Mitchell of Hailey 4.31:43. 7—Jason Dykstra 4.44:02. 8—Steve Gustafson 4.45:33. 9—Kenneth Jones 4.48:59. 10—Brian Price 4.49:01. 11—Bill Josey of Hailey 4.53:09. 12—John Mortimer 4.55:47. 13—Chris Woodall 4.55:49. 14--Tony Buoncristiani of Ketchum 5.18:10. DNF—Jeff Minch, Paul Nash and Doug Kolan.
Women 40-49: DNF—Michele Allgire.
Men 50+: 1—David Crandall of Moran, Wyo. 4.27:52. 2—Troy Nichol 4.35:37. 3—Chris Gardner of Hailey 4.39:15. 4—Matt Morell of Ketchum 4.52:19. 5—Guy Orozco 5.18:03. 6—William Raff of Hailey 5.18:08. 7—Stephen Kutina 5.34:26. 8—Roger Mankus of Ketchum 5.59:55. DNF—Andrew Kemp, Mike Kennedy and Todd Marohnic.
XC PRO/EXPERT (22.5 MILES)
Pro/Open Cat. 1 Men: 1—Zachary Valdez 1.42:40. 2—Cary Smith 1.46:03. 3—Brent Gorman 1.47:33. 4—Andrew Juliano 1.49:28. 5—David Harrison 1.50:19. 6—Sam Young 1.53:44. 7—Whit Albright 1.54:14. 8—Scott Robinson 2.01:12. 9—Trevor DeRuise 2.08:50.
Pro/Open Cat. 1 Women: 1—Rebecca Rusch 2.03:57. 2—Muffy Ritz 2.20:13. 3—Corinne Prevot 2.20:48. 4—Jena Greaser 2.23:27. 5—Erin Zell 2.31:43. 6—Sara Schroeder 2.47:10.
Men Single Speed: 1—Cameron Lloyd 2.03:20. 2—Brian Fuller 2.07:51. 3—Chris Howell 2.11:02. 4—Blasé Reardon 2.23:11. 5—Wayne Hofeldt 2.24:03. 6—Scott Dewall 2.44:39.
Women Single Speed: 1—India Wysong 2.24:06.
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Men Cat. 1 50-plus: 1—Terry Duran 1.56:26. 2—Roger Malinowski 2.10:42. 3—Jim Santa 2.17:44. 4—Dave Bell 2.22:16. 5—Hans Muehlegger 2.30:20. 6—Bruce Rogers 2.49:41.
Men Cat. 1 40-49: 1—Dario Fredrick 1.46:15. 2—Ryon Butterfield 1.51:13. 3—Troy Olson 1.55:53. 4—Chris Pic 2.00:12. 5—Jon Freckleton 2.00:28. 6—John Tormey 2.06:39. 7—Mathew Shelton 2.09:11. 8—Jayson Webb 2.11:03. 9—Ed Daniels 2.16:12.
Women Cat. 1 40-49: 1—Janelle Conners 2.29:17. 2—Kelli Lusk 2.31:55. 3—Susan Robinson 2.31:56.
Men Cat. 1 30-39: 1—Matt McCourtney 1.55:21. 2—Joseph Feider 2.18:05.
Women Cat. 1 30-39: 1—Megan Stevenson 2.18:41. 2—Kate Shanahan 2.36:09.
Men Cat. 1 19-29: 1—John Reuter 1.48:51. 2—Ryan O'Hara 2.03:55.
Women Cat. 1 19-29: 1—Parker Tyler 2.26:40. 2—Ashley McQueen 2.27:11. 3—Simone Kastner 2.43:15. DNF—Victoria Yoham.
Men Cat. 1 15-18: 1—Marcus Segedin 1.30:02. 2—Tobin Ortenblad 1.31:55. 3—Sean Bennett 1.34:41. 4—Silas Blunk 1.35:40. 5—Jack Keane 1.36:27. 6—Ian Stowe 1.58:18. DNF—Ben Spurr.
Women Cat. 1 15-18: 1—Josie Nordrum 1.50:56. 2—Mackinzie Stanley 1.57:24. 3—Emily Paxson 2.07:12. 4—Maranda Stopol 2.13:21.
XC SPORT (17.5 MILES)
Men Cat. 2 50-plus: 1—Kris Thoreson 1.50:43. 2—Scott Grill 1.57:13. 3—Connell Lloyd 1.57:59. 4—Weston Wheat 2.02:51. 5—Fritz Stafford 2.05:56. 6—Baird Gourlay 2.08:48. 7—Chris Kastner 2.10:57. 8—Steve Edsall 2.13:49. 9—Dan Nicholas 2.14:17. 10—Dennis Botkin 2.15:07.
Women Cat. 2 50-plus: 1—Susan Bernatas 2.20:08. 2—Karin Lindholm 2.21:10. 3—Kim Nalen 2.30:04.
Men Cat. 2 40-49: 1—Mark Sevenoff 1.38:55. 2—Bo Pitkin 1.42:39. 3—Guy Cherp 1.49:09. 4—Kim Ueda 1.49:17. 5—David Saurman 1.53:43. 6—Tom Courtney 1.55:06. 7—Gregory Casals 1.56:25. 8—Pete Wier 1.56:39. 9—Herberth Corrales 2.00:04. 10—Scott Desserault 2.05:09. 11—Steve Stranzl 2.14:27. 12—Duncan Morton 2.17:04. 13—Danny Kelly 2.22:32. 14—David Froshiesar 3.47:05.
Women Cat. 2 40-49: 1—Wendy Rector 2.09:51. 2—Gretchen Flint 2.15:30. 3—Tiffany Larson 2.15:37. 4—Nancy Odle 2.37:31. 5—Kris Josey 2.46:40. 6—Lisa Frost 2.55:10.
Men Cat. 2 30-39: 1—Colin Rodgers 1.37:26. 2—Carter Ramsay 1.43:54. 3—Jeffrey Loban 1.46:30. 4—Troy Clark 1.48:48. 5—Cory Smith 1.53:55. 6—Stu Bone 1.54:58. 7—Trey Knox 1.55:59. 8—Ben Young 2.02:16. 9—Mike Gordon 2.07:23. 10—Nathan Spangler 2.09:56. 11—John McLaughlin 2.10:38. 12—Jared Douglas 2.12:02. 13—Lenny Joseph 2.17:17. DNF—Stuart Hoag.
Women Cat. 2 30-39: 1—Brett Stevenson 2.06:23. 2—Sandi Hagel 2.16:38. 3—Nancy Glenn 2.31:40. 4—Lisa Baratcart 2.37:39.
Men Cat. 2 19-29: 1—Tyler Gault 1.14:06. 2—Reid Pletcher 1.35:04. 3—Miles Fink-Debray 1.44:32. 4—Jack Steele 1.56:46. 5—Sean Dumke 2.04:59. 6—Sam Elmes 2.10:00. 7—Matt Osteen 2.25:12. DNF—Will Wicherski.
Women Cat. 2 19-29: 1—Chelsea Holmes 1.57:43. 2—Alexa Turzian 2.04:13. 3—Emily Paxson 2.07:12. 4—Victoria Henry 2.34:29.
Men Cat. 2 15-18: 1—Cole Morgan 1.56:41. 2—Will Harder 2.01:31. 3—Scott Phelan 2.05:34. 4—Justin Clark 2.06:06.
XC BEGINNER (10 MILES)
Men Cat. 3 50-plus: 1—Mark Suderman 1.07:53. 2—Jim Huyck 1.18:55.
Women Cat. 3 50-plus: 1—Gabriele Andersen 1.09:30.
Men Cat. 3 40-49: 1—Hart Dart 1.04:36. 2—James Heyrend 1.09:27. 3—Jeffrey Lyon 1.38:33.
Women Cat. 3 40-49: 1—Trini Pullen 1.36:01.
Men Cat. 3 30-39: 1—Brett Jacobson 1.01:34. 2—Austin Tyler 1.02:13. 3—Austin Loree 1.13:09. 4—Bart Johnson 1.14:01.
Women Cat. 3 30-39: 1—Darcie Levenson 1.18:51. 2—Cheyenne House 1.24:53. 3—Hallie Toews 1.29:48.
Men Cat. 3 19-29: 1—Ryan Parnes 53:01.
Women Cat. 3 19-29: 1—Rebecca Ruby 1.11:05.
Men Cat. 3 15-18: 1—Kyle Sweeney 57:44.
Women Cat. 3 15-18: 1—Andrea Casebolt 1.15:23. 2—Cheyanne Stopol 1.20:50.
Junior Men 13-14: 1—Imeh Nsek 54:03. 2—Ama Nsek 1.01:29. 3—Nelson Bedient 1.01:36. 4—Alec Miller 1.03:32. 5—Brody Buchwalter 1.06:25. 6—Leo Corrales 1.08:28. 7—Henry Raff 1.09:28. 8—Thomas Clark 1.13:47.
Junior Women 13-14: 1—Luma Randolph 1.10:23.
Junior Men 11-12: 1—James Roloff 58:24. 2—Blake Harmon 1.11:41. 3—Jeron Higley 2.26:29.
Junior Men 10-and-under: 1—Dylan Fluckiger 1.12:12. 2—Connor Campbell 1.18:59. 3—Zane Lyon 1.38:30. 4—Slater Whitehead 1.41:14. 5—Connor Campbell 2.18:10.
Junior Women 10-and-under: 1—Anja Jensen 1.31:18.
