The 2010 Minnesota Skinnyski Series concluded this past weekend under the watchful eyes of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji, MN for the Minnesota Finlandia.  Skiers were treated to perfect weather and some of the best snow conditions Bemidji has experienced in years.  Over 200 skiers showed up for the weekend of events, with the 25km pursuit serving once again as the MiSSeries qualifier event.

Nathan Porath and Mary Beth Tuttle continued right where they both left off at the Mora Vasaloppet by picking up the pursuit titles at the Finlandia, each taking home a hand painted lumberjack axe.  

A number of events went down to the wire on the last weekend of the 2010 MiSSeries.  In the men’s overall competition, Scott Ellertson held off Brad Erickson by four points!  The women’s side was even closer as Mary Beth Tuttle stormed to the top over mainstay Cheryl DuBois to claim victory.  Both Ellertson and Tuttle will be flying to Iceland later in this spring to compete in the Fossavatn Ski Marathon.

The women’s age group competition ended without too much change from the previous week.  However, Mary Beth Tuttle repeated her overall performance by also passing Cheryl DuBois in the 45-49 age group.  For the men’s age group competition, there was absolutely no change as each leader from the previous week held on.  Each winner shall receive a custom made mug at the end-of-year banquet, and the top three in each age group will receive name recognition on the wooden ski MiSSeries trophies.  Congratulations to all the other winners on all their hard work this past season, as well as all the skiers who competed in this year’s age group competition.  We hope to see you out there again next year.

Final 2010 MiSSeries Age Group Standings

In the Skier of the Year competition, it was John Lavelle that outlasted his two younger competitors to be crowned the most improved skier from one year to the next.  He held off a late charging Kathleen DeWahl and Michael Meehlhause to win free entry into all the MiSSeries events next season.  As for everyone else, it’s time to start training to see if you too can become a Skier of the Year.

In addition to the age group, overall, and Skier of the Year competitions, seven skiers managed to compete in every single event this season.  That is a grand total of 191km of skiing across the seven events!  The following skiers will receive a custom patch and certificate for their accomplishment and dedication:

Scott Ellertson
Brad Erickson
David Greymont
Jean Lavelle
John Lavelle
Michael Meehlhause
Odd Osland

Finally, the vaunted MiSSeries team competition came to a stunning conclusion.  After falling to second place after last weekend, Peter’s Cheaters sent five skiers/Cheaters to try and steal another Finlandia and team championship from Finn Sisu Vakava, a tactic that had worked well in the past.  Not this year.  The Cheaters were caught red-handed and a hardy group of Vakava racers preserved the lead to hand Finn Sisu Vakava their first team championship in three years over their hated rivals!  The final tally was Finn Sisu Vakava: 3525, Peter’s Cheaters: 3431.  Following the rivals were Müven-Grüven, Skinnyski.com, Hoigaards/Breadsmith, More Cheaters ;), and finally Cheaters Too! 

With the fifth season of the Minnesota Skinnyski Series now in the books, it is time to look forward towards the end-of-year banquet.  This will be on April 10th, 2010 at the Vasaloppet Nordic Center in Mora, MN.  There will be more information, as well as sign ups, soon, but you can expect a night of food, fun, awards, and the always entertaining transfer of the team trophy from one rival to another.  Anyone and everyone is invited, so we hope to see you there.

As Commissioner of the Minnesota Skinnyski Series, I’d like to thank everyone for another great season.  This season was definitely my favorite, and as our numbers continue to grow, I hope to see you all again next year when the 2011 MiSSeries kicks off.  Until then, make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook over the summer, and watch for the return of rollerskiing to the various race courses.

See you at the banquet,

Michael Meehlhause
2010 Minnesota Skinnyski Series Commissioner

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