Left: With the whitewater flying Jessica Berg-Collman (left) runs Emily Burger of LaCrosse off the log for the third and final fall to win the semi-pro log rolling world championships at Hayward, Wis. Last weekend. Above: Lucy Shaw displays her U10 girl’s world championship plaque. Lucy is a repeat winner of the U10 division.
In her last meet before turning pro, Jessica Berg-Collman took home a semi-pro log rolling world championship at the 52nd Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin on July 27 – 29.
But it wasn’t easy. It was heart stopping, particularly for her teammates, friends and family there to cheer her on.
Hayward native Sarah Hadley almost prevented Berg-Collman from moving into the championship round. Hadley led two falls to none in the opening day competition. If Berg-Collman had lost a third fall, she would not advance to the second day of the tournament. But the 16-yearold Grand Marais roller dug deep and made a comeback. She timed Hadley out on the 2-log and they moved up to the 3-log where Berg-Collman picked up her first fall over Hadley. Berg- Collman then stormed ahead with another fall, and with the fans on their feet, Jessica and Sarah spun the log at dizzying speeds—churning white water as they rolled. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Hadley slipped off the log into the Namekagon River and Berg-Collman earned the gold. Whew!
With that very tough match out of the way Berg-Collman rolled in finals the next day and advanced to the championship round where she faced Emily Burger of LaCrosse. Berg- Collman wasted little time securing her first world championship medal by defeating Burger in three straight falls.
This week Berg-Collman will begin her career as a professional log roller at the Fisherman’s Picnic Lumberjack Camp. Come out and cheer for her and all of the North Shore Rollers.
When defending U10 girls’ world champion Lucy Shaw’s family moved to Texas it was assumed that Lucy was done rolling. There is no log rolling in Texas. Or, at least before the Shaws moved there, there wasn’t any log rolling in the Lone Star State.
But Shaw received a 2-log to practice on, a gift from her parents. Then Dominic Wilson of Grand Marais came to visit for one month before Worlds and she had a great practice partner to compete against.
Wellesley Howard-Larsen lost a close match to Sarah Penning of Hayward, but Penning went on to win the U13 log rolling world championships while Wellesley finished in 5th place.
Both came to the tournament ready to roll.
Shaw received a first-round bye and then won her next three matches to set up a re-match with last year’s runner up, Hailey Penning of Hayward.
Things started off bleak for Shaw as she lost her first two falls on the 2-log. But Shaw calmed down, got her act together and timed Penning out on the 2-log. Gaining confidence, Shaw took the next two falls before Penning timed her out on the 3-log, but Penning was beginning to noticeably tire. With the momentum in her favor, Shaw established the pace on the 4-log and after a tense minute and a half Penning slipped and Shaw was once again the U10 Girl’s World Champion.
Double whew!
Meanwhile the other North Shore Rollers all advanced to the finals on the second day of the log rolling competition. Making a big comeback from last week’s Namekagon River Roll-off, Paige Everson placed 5th overall in the U10 division. Luke Johnson placed in the top half of the boys’ U10 Division and Wellesley Howard-Larsen placed 5th in the girls’ U13 division after losing a nail biter to Angela Ellis of Lacrosse 3 falls to 2. Ellis went on to win third place in a quick match (less then one minute) to earn a plaque.
Dominic Wilson rolled like a champion, churning through some great rollers in the very tough U10 Boys’ division and finished a tremendous 6th overall.
North Shore Rollers coach and mentor Jenny Atkinson was far ahead of her opponent in the first boom run of the day in the professional competition. With one step to go to reach the platform, Atkinson, a five-time boom running world champion, slipped and fell off the log into the water. Had she finished she would have had the third fastest time in the prelims and been a favorite to medal in the championship round. Like a true pro, Atkinson climbed back up on the log and finished her run.
Atkinson went on to win her first logrolling match, but next had to compete against defending world champion Taylor Duffy Biser. It was a fierce match and Atkinson lost to the defending champion, a former student of Atkinson.
When bumped to the consolation bracket, Atkinson won two matches before losing her last match 3 – 2 with Leah Stanton. At age 39, Atkinson can compete with the younger ladies, but there is less room for error all the time. Plus, she’s busy coaching them (all of them ask her questions which she gladly answers) then it was off to cheer for the kids—all of the younger rollers, including the North Shore Rollers, and take care of Bear, her very, very busy 3-year -old son.
Atkinson said, “It is awesome to see such a strong team presence at LWC. I was beaming with pride watching the Grand Marais kids roll with heart, soul, and determination against such fierce competition at such a young age.”
Max and Reilly Wahlers came to cheer on Reilly’s teammates, as well as elementary education teacher Heather Kemp, who was down to visit in-laws, came to watch the kids compete. Berg-Collman also had a large contingency of cousins, parents, and grandparents cheering her on.
As the good-natured Julie Collman, co-head coach of the North Shore Rollers, said, “It was a great day for the North Shore Rollers. It’s outstanding to see so many families get involved and to see the rollers do so well. The kids are making a great name for log rolling in northern Minnesota.”
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