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Every year since he began racing in the Lutsen 99er Will Surbaugh, Grand Marais, has improved his place and this year—by the thinnest of margins—he won first place in a frenzied sprint to the finish. Will, now a professional racer, beat Dillon McNeil of Papillon of Nebraska. Both riders, age 21, were given the same time in the most exciting finish ever at the Lutsen 99er. Photo courtesy of Tristan Surbaugh
Will Surbaugh, 21, Grand Marais, won the 2023 Lutsen 99er by a whisker over Dillon McNeill of Papillon, 21, Nebraska, who was credited with the same time as Will, five hours, two minutes and 46 seconds (5:02:46), for the 99-mile course.
The two muddied riders averaged 17.02 miles per hour over the grueling course.
There were 589 entrants in the field and a total of 2,200 riders entered over four races.
Kyle Fry, 34, Shuniah, Ontario, Canada, placed third in 5:04:58.
Nora Klingfus, 29, Longboat Key, Florida, won the women’s division in 6:00:17. Maria Osowoski (Statz), 39, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, placed second in 6:11:30.
Now a professional, Will has been living and training in Boulder, Colorado, where he goes to college and races on a collegiate mountain biking team. Will has raced in the Lutsen 99er since he was 12 and done better each race.
“The Lutsen 99er is a special event because the focus isn’t so much on the winners of finish times as it is on the adventure of the ride,” said Peter Spencer, Event Manager at Life Time. “We couldn’t be more excited to have another successful year of this event and bring all of these people together to explore the North Shore.”
Other local finishers in the 99er:
Jim Joynes, 58, Duluth/ GM, placed sixth in his division and 67th overall in 5:58:12. Jay DeCoux, 40, Grand Marais, placed 137th in 6:21:22. Frankie Miller, 25, Grand Marais, finished 145th in 6:25:41. Joey Pederson, 41, Grand Marais, placed 454th with a time of 8:23:48
69er results
Casey LaJoie, 16, Iron River, Wisconsin, won the 69er in 4:38:37, with Chelsey Youngberg, 29, Duluth, winning the women’s race and placing 4th overall in 4:45:45.
There were 290 riders entered in this race.
Locally, Stephen Surbaugh, 51, Grand Marais, father of Will, placed 177th in 7:11:36. Claire LaVigne, 22, Grand Marais, placed 178th in 7:12:10. Jonathan Hedstrom, 45, Grand Marais, rook 183rd place in 7:18:27. Cory Pederson 41, Grand Marais, placed 223 in 7:46:39.
49er results
Nate Schneider, 29, Denver, Colorado, was the men’s winner in 3:13:29. Phoebe Leege, 15, Duluth, was the women’s winner with a time of 3:49:17. She placed 17th overall.
Kathleen Vernon, 36, Grand Marais, placed third in the women’s division and 27th overall with a time of 3:55:12.
Andrew Miller, 22, Grand Marais, placed 34th in 4:01:05. Wyatt Jeffers, 26, Lutsen, finished in 142nd place in 4:42:40. Max Wahlers, 61, Grand Marais, took 191st in 4:57:10. Finishing with Max was his daughter
Reilly Wahlers, 22, who recorded the same time. Finn Taylor, 16, Lutsen, placed 222 in 5:06:00.
Paul Wanous, Lutsen, 58, placed 264 in 5:23:16.
Other local finishers included Sally Summer, 68, Lutsen, who places second in her age group and 287th overall in 5:29:58. Mark Trumper, 61, Lutsen, finished 295, 5:31:45. Sara Taylor, 50, Lutsen, placed 397th overall in 6:13:57. Molly O’Neill, 39, Lutsen, finished 420th in 6:27:05. David Eckel, 64, Grand Marais, placed 482nd in 7:55:01.
There were 497 entrants in the race.
25er results
There were 389 riders in the Lutsen 25er.
Ryan Wilsey, 33, Saint Paul, Minnesota placed first in 1:50:50, with Coralie Jones, 14, Lakeville, Minnesota winning the women’s division with a time of 2:07:55. Coralie placed 24th overall.
Carson Hall, 16, Lakeville, placed first in the non-binary category with a time of 2:12:05.
Martina Mellang, 37, Lutsen, placed 208th with a finish time of 3:03:09. Aspen Saren, 23, Lutsen, paced 227th in 3:12:10. Jenny Kartes, 41, Lutsen, placed 347th in 4:07:44. Molly Hicken, 44, Lutsen, placed 372 in 5:08:52. Jeff Latz, 70, Lutsen, placed 340 in 4:03:29. Jerry Wilkes, 80, Grand Marais, finished 354th in 4:16:06. Ari Nordlund, 10, Lutsen, placed 365th with an excellent time of 4:47:40.
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