ETHAN ALLEN FIRING RANGE, Jericho, Vt. - After falling only a couple seconds short of sweeping both of last year's individual races here at the Chief of the National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships, Vermont Army National Guard Sgt. Jesse Downs would not be denied this year.
He won the 10-km race at this year's 28th annual event by 44 seconds with a time of 26 minutes, 34 seconds. Downs, a member of the U.S. Army's World Class Athlete Program, triumphed in the 20-km race two days later in 54 minutes, 28 seconds, missing only two targets.
"Toward the end of the season I've gotten into better shape. Shooting is a little easier when the fitness is better," said Downs, who only missed three shots in both races.
Biathlon combines rifle marksmanship with cross country skiing. Competitors ski loops on hilly trails and then try to catch their breath as they return to a 50-meter firing range to knock down five targets from the prone and standing positions.
A month ago, Downs and fellow All-Guard Biathlon Team member 2nd Lt. Samuel Morse joined forces to finish second in a two-man biathlon relay race at the 61st CaSTA international military ski competition in Italy. Twelve nations were represented in the competition, which included alpine, Nordic and biathlon events. The U.S. team finished third overall.
Five minutes behind Downs in the 20-km was second-place finisher North Dakota Army Guard Sgt. Blake Hillerson, who said it was his best biathlon race ever.
This member of the All-Guard Biathlon Team trains over 700 hours a year, shooting about 20,000 rounds with his .22 caliber rifle.
"I went out conservatively and got the first shooting bout behind me," said the Fargo, N.D., native, describing how he dropped his first five targets. He said that his heartbeat is over 170 when he enters the range and around 150 when he takes his first shot.
Top biathletes go through a myriad of pre-race preparations, from downing a high carbohydrate breakfast to loading bullets into clips and zeroing their rifles. Another important step is waxing skis the night before and testing them on the snow just before the race.
"The skis that I thought would be the fastest weren't, so I'm glad I brought two sets to test," said Hillerson.
On the women's side, Vermont Staff Sgt. Erin Graham won both the 7.5-km and 15-km races with times of 27:19.4 and 1:01:11.1, respectively.
Maj. Paul Peterson led a four-man Minnesota team to victory in the 15-km patrol race in a time of 50 minutes, 41 seconds. Air Guard Capt. Eric Nordgren, Master Sgt. Greg Wohlfeil and Tech Sgt. Nick Gray did the shooting.
"The team's performance on the range was stellar," said their coach Chief Warrant Officer 4 Roger Sorben. "Eric hit the target on his first shot, Nick knocked his target down on the first shot with a bullet that split when it hit the edge of the target, and Greg collected himself after his first shot was a miss and knocked his target down with a solid shot."
Eighteen states sent about 75 athletes to the championships. The event rotates annually between the biathlon facilities at Camp Ripley, Minn., and the Ethan Allen Training Site near Burlington, Vt.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Keith Silbernick, chief of competition, said about 50 Guardmembers supported the championships as drivers, race officials and course groomers.
Vermont National Guard chief of staff, Army Brig. Gen. Jonathan Farnham, handed out awards at the closing ceremonies. Farnham, who is preparing his state for its biggest deployment since World War II, thanked winners and non-winners alike for "being in the game" and wearing the uniform.
"I challenge each competitor and coach to spread the word about biathlon back in your states," said biathlon program director Maj. Teresa Benevento, adding that funds were available to support more biathletes.
Benevento, who will be leaving the position later this year, made a concerted effort in her tenure to recruit new biathletes. She recognized 18 novices, who took part in this year's competition, and recognized them as the future of the program.
The National Guard biathlon program's mission is to develop the highest levels of skiing and rifle marksmanship necessary to improve the combat ability of individual Soldiers and to represent the National Guard and the U.S. Armed Services in national and international events, including the World Cup and Winter Olympics.