Tame the Dragon provides a great challenge for the fastest racers while also giving beginners (and everyone in between) the opportunity for an epic navigation adventure. With 8″ of snow falling earlier in the week, followed by bitter cold, the woods were a winter wonderland. On race day, early morning temperatures in the teens warmed into the upper 30’s by afternoon with sunny skies and light winds. The snowfall slowed the pace just enough. No one cleared the course this year. The Dragon would not be tamed.

It was great to see all the ROTC cadets from the Lafayette MO-81st. Nice job!

A big thanks to Gary and Ellen Thompson for putting on another successful rendition of this race. And thank you to all the participants. We hope you had a wonderful time in the snow!

***Check back for additional results details to be posted***

You just never know what kind of conditions you’re going to get at the first event of the year…sometimes it’s mild, sometimes it’s muddy, last year we had sub-zero temperatures. This year we had ice! The snow in the woods was compacted with a tough icy layer on top and the trails resembled bumpy bobsled runs. Thanks to everyone who came out to brave the ice!

Thanks to Mark Geldmeier for helping with registration and numerous other logistical support tasks. Rick Armstrong lent his substantial institutional knowledge by providing course consultation and also helped with control setting. Thank you, Rick!

Lost and Found:

• One YakTrax (I spoke with the gentleman who lost it, but I forgot his name!)
• One baseplate compass (it looks pretty new)

Please reach out to a SLOC member to claim these items.

-Yvonne

Individual – Yellow

Caleb Jones                                   28:03

Cassie Bart                                 1:31:56

Group – Yellow

The Bumble Bafs                            49:54

Lafayette MO-081 Red                   56:09

Lafayette MO-181 Blue                  56:42

Individual – Orange

Douglas Leonard                         1:06:26

Isaac Severson                            1:26:44

Caleb Jones                                 1 control

Group – Orange

Divorced Divas                              57:35

Orange is My Favorite Color       1:10:21

Bloody Tears Reunion                 1:24:15

Adams Family                             1:25:17

Lost Purple Posse                       1:43:04

Team Dillon                                 1:52:55

Get Outside!                                1:54:29

woLOSTods                                 1:55:29

Kevin and Rasa                           2:12:50

Lost But Faultless                        2:13:42

Muenks Family                            2:24:02

Team Cooper                     9 controls

Newbie Group                              5 controls

Kaveney Family                           4 controls

Mark Frei

Individual – Green

Robert Bart                                  1:31:28

Reid Linksvayer                           2:11:36

Ken DeBeer                                 2:18:01

Group – Green

Soggy Socks Brigade                   2:19:48

Sterling Hyland and Nic Green    2:39:52

Team Tird                                    2:45:34

Bailey                                          3:23:18

Sarah and Jake                            3 controls

Group – Red

Todd Dohogne & Zdenek Palecek 1:12:44

Slug-Os                                       1:40:14

Ted and Sandy Weiss                  2:56:24

Individual – Red

Eric Buckley                                 1:09:41

Nathan Graves                             1:09:47

Bryan Niehaus                             1:12:25

Josh Borgmeyer                           1:15:34

Vladimir Yurkuns                          1:16:43

Bridge Bordelon                           1:19:05

Michael Haveman                        1:21:03

Brian Rodenbeck                         1:26:39

Finley Miller                                 1:30:55

George Schweitzer                      1:51:18

Lara Houseman                           3:13:00

Zach Althaus                                3:13:03

WOW! What a beautiful and fun day in the woods.  Mother nature provided some bonus weather for this year’s Turkey-O but the snow only added to the fun for more than 70 participants.  Adding a 3rd course at the last min also some of the Advanced course racers a couple of extra challenges to deal with. 

Many thanks to Mark Geldmeier for all the logistical support, Chris Heupel for helping check the course and to Ken Debeer and Joe Marincel for helping pick up controls, Thank you gentlemen!

Thanks to all who braved some snowy weather to make this event a huge success.   

After the meet was finished,  I revisited control #15, 90 min course, or #26 on the 3hr course and agree with several racers who commented that the CP was not marked correctly on the map. I have therefore credited all racers with reaching that CP in the results below.  

Thanks to Jeff and Carrie Sona for putting on a great event at Cliff Cave. There was a little rain, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the adventurers that attended. And yes, there were costumes.

Wow!  A big thanks to everyone that came to Jefferson Barracks County Park on Saturday.  We had 121 total participants that enjoyed a warm mid-October day at the park.  It was a little crazy and chaotic, but wonderful to have the park full of so many orienteers.  A good mix of old-timers, new faces, and lots of energetic JROTC cadets.  A big thanks to co-meet director Terri Zuber for everything, Jeff Sona for doing beginner briefings, Lily Munch for computer registration entry, and Brian Rodenbeck for control pickup.

JB is popular. We’re used to seeing frisbee golf, overly tame deer, and large gatherings at the pavilions.  But, we added a wedding to the list this year.  Right in the path of the beginner course!  So, yep, something old, something new, some compasses borrowed, no one was blue.  Ultimately, the wedding proceeded with “I do”, and our participants finished with, “I did it”!

On the Green (advanced) course, CP #11 had been re-located after the maps were printed.  It was noted on the map, but not clear enough for some participants.  Those unfortunate souls scoured the nasty briars, brambles, and underbrush searching the original location in vain before either spending a lot of time or giving up.  This opened the door for others to move up in the results.  For an interesting comparison, the timing for just the first 10 CP’s on the Green course has also been calculated.

Thanks everyone for coming out and making this event a huge success!

The summer series events have seen some interesting weather. This time it was Hurricane Beryl. After making landfall on the Texas cost on Monday, the remnants passed through southeastern Missouri on Tuesday, bringing 3.25″ of rain to Laumeier. The trails became streams, the stream a river, and the normally empty pool ruin was filled to the brim. An event at the sculpture park is always quirky, but the rain made it quirky and mystical.

Those that braved the weather had the choice of an 18 checkpoint score O course (any order) or a 3.1 km point-to-point course. Nice to see both the regulars and several beginners. Thanks for coming out and hope you enjoyed the unusual clues!

Thanks also to Josh Borgmeyer, Nathan Graves, Eric Buckley, Manoj Sood, and Steve Mueller for picking up controls and carrying equipment.

It was a dark and stormy night… Well, actually it wasn’t night (because it was one of the longest days of the year). And it wasn’t that stormy (there were storms all around us but we were lucky). Still, there were gusty winds, occasional showers, and lightning in the distance. And the high power lines directly overhead buzzed loudly – with the sound changing whenever there was a flash of lightning. It was eerie!

The registration and finish table were moved inside the back of a car (to keep the electronics safe from wind and rain). But despite the weather, the turnout was good. The 3.1 km course crisscrossed the Marquette High School campus and included navigation choices, potential creek crossings, and the obligatory climb to the top of the stadium bleachers.

Thanks to Terri Zuber for working the registration/start/finish and Mary Piper for control pickup. And thanks to all the attendees that braved the storm!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first SLOC summer sprint for 2024! We lucked out with beautiful weather, great trail conditions and the cicadas weren’t too loud…

We had two courses to choose from – a 2.0k shorter/beginner course with 12 controls and a 2.8k longer/harder course with 9 controls.

Short – Individual

Dennis Yurkuns – 16:04

Myles Kelley – 19:35

Brian Gibson – 40:39

Vladimir Yurkuns – 9 controls

Short – Group

Marquette High School Team Emerald – 23:53

Gervais Family – 30:46

Hey Family – 32:01

Team Nat Lost – 43:46

The B Team – 44:49

Thomson Family – 11 controls

Long – Individual

Ukranian – 20:01

Bryan Niehaus – 21:48

Scott Kelley – 24:18

Melissa Kelley – 28:03

Mark Geldmeier – 31:21

Eric Buckley – 32:36

Vladimir Yurkuns – 34:06

Heidi Abbott – 47:02

Mary Piper – 1:02:25

Patty Muenks – 1:10:47

Roy Muenks – 1:10:49

Long – Group

Jerry Young – 41:58