MWSC’s Barnes 25th in World Cup biathlon

POKLJUKA, Slovenia -Maine Winter Sports Center athlete Tracy Barnes scored her first World Cup points with a 25th-place finish in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint Thursday, finishing two seconds ahead of veteran teammate Rachel Steer of Anchorage, Alaska.

Barnes, in only her third race since the first of the year, was flawless on the shooting range in prone and standing, passing competitors even though she was skiing slower because she did not have to complete any penalty loops.

She finished in 23 minutes, 43.1 seconds while Sandrine Bailly of France finished first in 21:41.1.

Barnes, who trains with her twin sister Lanny in Fort Kent, said she was “excited with my shooting today. I knew that my skiing was off a bit, so I had to shoot well. I knew I was losing ground on that lost loop.”