Shepard adds third U.S. crown

COLERAINE, Minn. – Yarmouth’s Walt Shepard won his third national title at the North American/U.S. National Biathlon Championships with a first-place finish Saturday in the senior men’s 15-kilometer mass start.

Laura Spector, who competes for the Caribou-based Maine Winter Sports Center, also won her third national title Saturday, as did Leif Nordgren of Marine-on-St. Croix, Minn.

Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield took her second youth women’s title of the three-day competition.

Shepard, who skis for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, missed 12 shots but managed to hold off runner-up Robert Douglas of Honeoye Falls, N.Y. He was eight-tenths of a second behind Shepard’s time of 43 minutes, 36.7 seconds.

Brendon Green of Hay River, Northwest Territories, was the North American champion, finishing in 41:23.8 with six penalties.

Russell Currier of Stockholm and the MWSC was second in the junior men’s race. He had 12 penalties and finished 1:48.1 behind winner Wynn Roberts of Battle Lake, Minn., who had a time of 43:55.4. Newt Rogers of Fort Kent Mills had seven penalties and finished third, 3:21.1 back.

Spector’s time of 38:47.8 was the second-fastest women’s finish of the competition. She had four penalties to top Madawaska’s Meagan Toussaint, who also had four penalties and finished 4:46.1 behind Spector.

McNamee was the women’s youth 10K winner. She had eight penalties and a time of 37:48.6. Grace Boutot of Fort Kent was third with nine penalties and 1:56.7 back.

Nordgren won the youth men’s race. Annalies Cook of Saranac Lake, N.Y., was the 12.5K senior women’s U.S. winner, while Ekaterina Vinogradova of Auburn, Calif., won the North American women’s championship.

On Friday, Boutot finished third in the women’s youth pursuit race. Boutot had four penalties and was 2:34 behind winner Addie Byrne of Bovey, Minn. Andrea Mayo of Winterville finished fourth.