Choate Leads NINers at Lapham Loppet

Mike Choate put down the hammer against a lead pack of skiers who were younger and placed 11th overall and first in the M50-54 age group on Saturday at the Lapham Loppet 11K at Lapham Peak in Delafield, WI. Choate, 54, of Chicago, skied the tough hilly course in 36:41. Third through sixth of the 18 Illinois skiers in the race were Ed Edinger, 42, of Capion, 16th in 39:11; Tom Dvoratchek, 41, of Streamwood, 18th in 41:25; Jukka Lyly-Yrjanainen, 46, of Elk Grove Village, 23rd in 40:01; and Bill Kopanda, 60, of Crystal Lake, 24th in 40:18. Kopanda won his age group by 3:15. Top woman from Illinois was Kielo Sauvala, 54, of Glenview, who was fourth woman overall and second in her age group with a 46:45. Conditions were great and a lot of race-starved skiers were able to ski a quality event. From a personal standpoint, I was surprised how exhausted I was on the big climb that comes early in the race. I also was very relieved to make it down every hill without falling. Snow or no snow, the season is on!