Warm weather and great track makes for solid debut of Keweenaw Tread Fest

Courtesy of Daver Karnosky

HOUGHTON - In any race, getting off to a good start can be paramount to positioning oneself for the bulk of the competition. On Saturday, Michigan Tech Athletics organized and run the Keweenaw Tread Fest, a successor of sorts to the Keweenaw Chain Drive, which was last held two summers ago. The Tread Fest, which is a fundraiser for the Cross Country, nordic skiing and Track and Field teams, proved a success, both in weather, with sun and temperatures hovering around, and competition.

In the longer race of 25-miles, which used much of the Tech Trails system, the leaders after the first lap remained in the lead through the completion of the race. Calumet native Pete Karinen held the lead after 12.5 miles, but, in the end, it was Casey Hildebrandt of Schofield, Wisconsin, who managed to reach the finish line first.

The pair, who have become used to facing each other in previous races, pushed the pace of the field with Karinen in the lead for a large chunk of the race until a chain malfunction created the opening Hildebrandt needed to seize control of the remainder.

Hildebrandt pushed hard to close the door, and in the end, finished just under one minute better than Karinen's 1:53:98.6 with a time of 1:52:12.7.

"It was hot and it was good," said Hildebrandt. "It was good, it was hot...a lot tougher than I thought, that's for sure."

For Karinen, who trained in Arizona throughout the winter, the heat was not a factor, but his bike problems were.

"It's always pretty frustrating when you get a mechanical or a crash or anything like that," said Karinen. "That's bike racing though.

"No matter the circumstances, you never know what can happen out there. If he had had any problems, I probably could have caught him."

For Hildebrandt, the goal for much of the race was to keep pace with Karinen until he could find the kind of opening he could take advantage of.

"We were kind of going back and forth," said Hildebrandt. "I felt like I was stronger on the climbs today. One of the downhills, he dropped his chain, I think. When the gap opened, it just stuck."

Midland native Joel Poliskey did what he could to keep up with the high-flying duo, and he found himself among the leaders through the transition from the first lap to the second. Unfortunately, he could not quite keep up over the length of the second lap, finishing nearly two minutes minutes later than Karinen at 1:55:03.1.

Sara Kylander-Johnson finished as the top female in the 25-mile race with a time of 2:07:1.4. Her time was the 12th best among all competitors.

Hancock's Kate McCloud took second among female finishers. With a time of 2:26:29.1, she placed first among women aged 30-39.

In the 12-mile race, Daxton Mock took advantage of a very strong start to cruise to victory with a time of 57:34.1. Flying out of the gates, Mock completed his goal of getting to the single-track portion of the course in the lead, where he could then dictate the pacing of the remainder of the race.

"I just went pretty hard at the beginning," said Mock. "I just ended up doing my race and it ended up doing pretty well for me."

The Lake Mills, Wisconsin, native arrived in town with a game plan for the course.

"I was able to get into the single track first," said Mock. "Before the race started, I was going to try to get into the single track first if I could, and I was able to."

Brian Lindberg of Marquette placed second almost six and a half minutes later with a time of 1:03:52.9. He had kept pace with Mock for the early portion of the race, but eventually fell behind.

McKenna Dwyer took top honors among female racers. The Jefferson, Wisconsin, native had the fourth-best overall time of 1:08:49.8, despite having to overcome a poor start due to a mistake on her own part.

"I race the WAR series in Wisconsin, and usually I have pretty good starts there," said Dwyer. "It was weird not having a good start, but I fixed it and got right back up there."

Dwyer had been struggling in races this season before switching bikes prior to the Tread Fest. She could not have been happier with the results.

"I haven't been doing that great this year," said Dwyer. "This is my first time riding this bike this year. I just wanted to have a good race."

The top local racer was Houghton's Rod Chimner, an assistant professor at Michigan Tech in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. His time of 1:0921.8 was just over two minutes better than his son's.

Galen Resh Chimner finished with a time of 1:11:46.7. His time was second among 15 and under racers behind only Mock.

Aili Menard of Negaunee was the top finisher in the Junior Tread 3-mile race made up of those 11 and under. She finished with a time of 20:35.4.

The top boy was Colin Gauthier of Ironwood, who had a time of 22:01.0.

In the 1.5-mile race, Esme Schmidt was the fastest finisher with a time of 20:46.9. Ian Klein was the top male with a time of 34:33.2.

The top three racers, both male and female, of 25-mile race all earned prize money. Winners of the various age groups in the short races earned awards as well. With 82 total racers, the Tread Fest was successful in its debut. Head coach Joe Haggenmiller and Michigan Tech Athletics hope that number grows in the years to come. "It was an outstanding day," said Haggenmiller. "I would like to personally thank all of our sponsors and volunteers that made Tread Fest possible."