CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. - Maybe they were a little more pumped up
because their adjutant general was watching. Maybe the long hours of
training paid off. Maybe it's the added excitement of an Olympic year.
Whatever the reason, the North Dakota National Guard Biathlon Team won its
first-ever team biathlon event today at the Guard's central regional races.
The gold-medal winning relay team consisted of Army Capt. Eric Nordgren, Sgt.
1st Class Kent Pulst, and Sgt. Blake Hillerson, with Spc. Jordan Becker as
their coach.
"The North Dakota team did a tremendous job and I'm proud of every one of
them," said adjutant general Maj. Gen. Dave Sprynczynatyk, who travelled to
Camp Ripley to watch his team and his first biathlon. Later, he presented
medals to the team at an award ceremony.
"We've always had one or two good skiers, but never put it together where we
had three good skiers all at the same time," said Becker. The team finished
third in the race last year.
In the 3 x 7.5 km relay race, competitors they shoot twice at targets 50
meters away in the prone and standing positions. They have eight rounds to
knock down five targets. Any targets missed require the competitor to ski a
penalty lap.
Nordgren, new to the team, led after the first leg. He tagged off to veteran
racer Sgt. 1st Class Kent Pulst who held that lead over rival South Dakota.
That allowed Hillerson to coast to victory and bring home the gold-five
minutes ahead of their neighbors to the south.
Becker said that while the other teams sent their fastest skier first, he
chose to save Hillerson for anchor.
Hillerson, an All-Guard Biathlon Team member, also won the men's individual
10 km sprint race on Jan. 15.
"I could tell it was a pretty good effort because I was totally exhausted at
the finish," said Hillerson about Friday's performance. He won despite
having an equipment malfunction on the range when his five-bullet magazine
didn't feed properly.
Hillerson been participating in biathlon since 2002 and has spent more than
700 hours training this season alone - shooting more than 20,000 rounds with
his .22 caliber rifle.
This was the second of three regional championships. The Chief of the
National Guard Bureau's Biathlon Championship is scheduled for Camp Ripley
Feb. 27 to March 6.