Thanks to Eureka CrossFit and Brian and Tammy for helping to make this one a unique event. It’s always a great time to hang out afterwards are share stories among friends of the course and our adventures. Thanks to you all for coming out and sharing the course with me.
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.
We were happy to see a great number of folks for a tuesday night summer sprint series! Always wonderful to see families with kiddos sharing their love for orienteering.
What a great time at the Kress Farm Nature Preserve! Thanks to the board members for inviting us out to enjoy their scenic property, thanks to Dennis Brinkley and Troop 778 for making the maps, scout Mason Thayer for building the permanent course, and thanks to long-time SLOC member, Rick Armstrong for designing the courses. Abby Wilde was your race day registration volunteer. Rick, Nathan Graves, myself and others answered questions and gave beginner briefings.
Except for a quick downpour and a bit of wind, the weather was great for late April. Muted sunshine highlighted the variety of trees and fields of wildflowers. Some people spent extra time exploring those fields of wildflowers…unexpectedly (by going off the eastern side of the map). Oops!
Note: If you didn’t get enough or were not able to make it, the hiking trails and the permanent orienteering course at Kress Farm are always available to the public during the hours the preserve is open (a map can be borrowed). Native trees and plants, homegrown vegetables, as well as seasonal annuals are available for sale regularly and especially during their plant sale events. Check their website and FB page.
Thank you to everyone who made it out to the beautiful Beaumont Scout Reservation for the annual Orienteering Festival. It was a beautiful day with Scouts and non-scouts alike enjoying some treasure hunting in the woods. A special thanks to David Fisher for designing the course and to all the volunteers who helped make this big event possible. Here are the results, with the club results listed first and the scout results listed at the bottom of the page. Whether you placed well or not, our only concern is that you had fun.
CLUB RESULTS:
WHITE COURSE (MAP HIKE)
GROUP – Family
TIME
SCORE
1. Kelley Family
1:21:00
11
2. Kruse Family
1:37:00
11
3. Nora and Carter Bunn
unknown
11
GROUP – Adult
1. Jeff Bryant and Juan Colom
1:19:15
11
INDIVIDUAL – Adult
1. Christina Duncan
0:55:45
11
GREEN COURSE
INDIVIDUAL
NAME
TIME
SCORE
1. Vladimir Yurkuns
1:09:07
9
2. Brian Hey
1:42:45
9
3. Walter Schnurr
1:47:00
9
4. Mary Piper
1:17:28
4
GROUP – Adults
1. Sarah Phillips and Jake Lyonfields
1:53:00
9
2. Paul and Kelly Richard
2:25:15
9
SCORE-O COURSE
NAMES
TIME
INITIAL SCORE
TIME PENALTY
FINAL SCORE
1. Kevin and Reanna Minton
0:55:45
100
0
100
2. Marquette ROTC: Emma, Cooper, Nova
0:58:00
100
0
100
3. Lafayette ROTC: Cobras
0:56:00
90
0
90
4. Shaun and Jason Schroer
0:58:00
90
0
90
5. Washington ROTC: Ben and Brody
0:56:00
85
0
85
6. Rivercrest ROTC: Jared and Carson
0:52:00
75
0
75
7. Lafayette: Anacondas
0:53:00
60
0
60
8. Rivercrest: Team 3
0:52:00
55
0
55
9. Rivercrest Team 4
0:46:00
40
0
40
10. Rivercrest: Team 1
0:49:00
45
0
45
11. Caroline and Holly
unknown
5
0
5
12. Marquette: Kaitlyn and Eli
1:12:00
95
120
-25
13. Washington: Draven and Donovan
1:15:00
80
150
-70
14. Washington: Christian and Kailee
1:18:00
85
180
-95
15. Lafayette: Baracudas
1:18:00
80
180
-100
16. Washington: Samuel and Eric
1:14:00
20
140
-120
17. Washington: Jayden and Trenton
1:26:00
105
260
-155
18. Phoenix 1
1:30
120
300
-180
19. Phoenix 2
1:30:00
110
300
-190
20. Washington: Jackson and Preston
unknown
125
21. Washington: Kayden and Jabob
unknown
125
RED COURSE
TIME
SCORE
1. Mark Geldmeier
1:52:00
13
2. Jeff Sona
2:29:18
13
3. Matt and Stanley Scherrer
2:31:04
13
4. Scott Kelley
2:34:58
13
5. Robert Bart
3:00:38
13
6. Abby Wilde
3:20:10
13
BLUE COURSE
TIME
SCORE
1. Bryan Niehaus
1:50:59
14
2. Nathan Graves
1:56:55
14
3. Brian Rodenbeck
2:08:37
14
4. Bill Langton
2:15:05
14
5. David Hagen
3:03:40
14
6. Joe Marincel
3:43:00
14
7. Andrew Karandjeff
2:43:40
13
8. Jen Doias
2:47:57
13
9. Manoj Sood
2:15:45
7
10. Tim Johanns and Jay Snow
2:22:00
7
11. Luther Mieser
2:22:00
7
12. Tommy Doias
DNF (had to leave early)
SCOUT RESULTS:
20th John Smerek Memorial Scout Orienteering Festival
Thanks to all who came out for another day in the woods. The morning started with a cool start and clear skies. 8 hours later, temps were in the 50’s and everyone’s legs were toast. A huge thanks to Gary and Ellen Thompson for an amazing event.
A huge shoutout to the Lafayette ROTC for bringing a large crew and crushing all those hills!
Detailed, control by control results can be found in below.
Thanks to everyone who helped put on this meet. It was a huge team effort once again to get so many racers through the event successfully. 46 people toed the line as individuals or groups to take on one of the four courses offered. Of course, there was also the GROM award which was given to the racer who bested both the blue course and then went out for a 90 minute score o with 33 CP options. Congrats to The Ukranian for taking this year’s rock.