Shepard, Currier earn titles

COLERAINE, Minn. – Maine natives Russell Currier and Walt Shepard continued their strong showings with national titles in the pursuit format competitions in the North American/U.S. National Biathlon Championships Friday at the Mount Itasca Biathlon Facility.

Fort Fairfield’s Hilary McNamee also had a strong day with her first title of the championships.

Currier, a Maine Winter Sports Center skier who is from Stockholm, captured the junior men’s championship in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit with the overall fastest time of the day. He had six penalties but still completed the race in 34 minutes, 53 seconds.

Currier also won the junior men’s sprint Thursday.

Wynn Roberts of Battle Lake, Mich., was the runner-up. He was just 7.8 seconds behind Currier.

Shepard, a Yarmouth native who now attends Bowdoin College in Brunswick would have had the fastest time but had to ski an extra penalty loop because his final target closed so slowly that he had left his range position before the target recorded the hit. Nonetheless, he finished first in the senior men’s 12.5K.

Shepard hit all of his targets in the two prone stages and had just three penalties in the two standing stages. He finished in 35:00.5, which was 12.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Brendon Green of Hay River, Northwest Territories in Canada.

Shepard was second overall and the top U.S. finisher in Thursday’s senior sprint.

Laura Spector of Lenox, Mass., who also competes for the MWSC, had the top time among the women again and captured her second title. She clocked a 34:34.3 in the junior women’s 10K with four prone penalties and one in standing.

Madawaska native and MWSC skier Meagan Toussaint had three penalties and finished 3:19.9 back for third place among the U.S. women.

Ekaterina Vinogradova of Auburn, Calif., was the top senior woman. She had a time of 35:15.2 with seven penalties.

McNamee completed the youth women’s 7.5K course in 28:47 with five penalties. Addie Byrne of Grand Rapids, Minn., who won the sprint Thursday, was second in 30:57.6 with eight penalties. Andrea Mayo of Winterville was 3:50.7 back with five penalties, which was good for third.

Saturday morning’s mass start competitions will be the final races of the championships.