Junior GS riders: 1. Collin Beavers (top) 2. Nicholas Wewitzer (right) 3. Kevin Bucher (left) 4. Bryce Benz (bottom)
This was the third year for the Sun Prairie Wiggle War, and once again Tom "Mangels" Mangelsdorf put on a fun, friendly race. The weather was beautiful, the courses were fun, the locals were gracious and friendly; the whole event had a great Midwestern small-town vibe. As in previous years, Mangels donated all proceeds from the event to the Sun Prairie Colonial Club activity center for senior citizens.
Tom "Mangels" Mangelsdorf
This year's race had a small number of competitors, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm one bit. In fact, a handful of new racers added a real kick to the event. Bobby Thomas drove up from Cincinnati, OH, Mike Atkinson came from nearby De Forest, WI after seeing Mangels plugging the race on the local TV news morning show, and new racers Jamaal Abusshiwa, Palidon Langer and a couple of their buddies (whose names I've unfortunately forgotten) added their stoke to the proceedings as well. Junior racers Bryce Benz, Collin Beavers, Kevin Bucher and Nicholas Wewitzer rode both the TS and the GS with determination and style. And Katie Mangelsdorf, the only female racer, showed a lot of guts and improvement over last year, racing tight slalom in the open division and even finishing the downhill race upright! Maybe next year we can prevail upon Burt Beavers' wife Jodie (Jody?) to race and/or get Madison local Elise to make an appearance.
Saturday's race was a dual-lane, 40-cone tight slalom, with cones set at 6' on center on a very slight slope. Tom's custom-made slanted start ramps launched racers into the course and were easy for both new racers and experienced racers to ride down. Junior riders raced a single-lane, approximately 20-cone course with a slightly wider spacing and no start ramps. As in previous years, Tod Oles really took the time to coach and encourage the junior riders.
After qualifying, the 13 open division racers were split into a 4-person A group and a 9-person B group. After several exciting elimination rounds, the B group was won by Bobby Thomas, followed by first-time rider Chris Newman and Mike Atkinson.
B class TS podium: Mike Atkinson, Bobby Thomas, Chris Newman
In the A group, Oles, Stephen Lavin, Mangels and Harms squared off in two short but intense elimination rounds. In the consolation round, "Topsider" Lavin, riding his new Gecko deck and shod in his signature boat shoes, took 3rd place over race organizer Mangelsdorf. In the championship round, Harms and Oles needed only two close races to decide the winner. (I say "only" two races to contrast with last year's event, in which timer malfunctions required the same two riders to race at least eight times to determine the winner.) Oles had superior closing speed, but Harms managed to get ahead early on a short-wheelbase deck and claimed the victory.
A class TS podium: Stephen "Topsider" Lavin, Jonathan Harms, Tod Oles
Saturday's TS racing was followed by a fun downhill race at the site of last year's GS course. Here, a few more local longboarders showed up to ride and hang out. The day's activities were capped by a BBQ feast at Mangels' house.
Sunday's giant slalom race took place on a curving, moderately sloped hill in a residential neighborhood. The 800-foot (250-meter) single-lane course started out quickly and then flattened out near the bottom. Racers needed a combination of pumping and tucking skills to beat the mid-course headwinds. Juniors push-started and raced the bottom two-thirds of the course, while the Open riders ramp-started and raced the whole thing. All racers got four runs each. In the junior division, Minnesota's Collin Beavers took 1st, followed by Nicholas Wewitzer, Kevin Bucher and Bryce Benz. In the Open division, Harms, Oles and Dave "Pops" Larson had the fastest times. Once again, "Coach" Oles helped several other riders by lending them his boards and advising them on setup and technique. Under Tod's guidance, Mike Atkinson went from not making the course to riding it clean, and longboarder Jamaal Abusshiwa improved his times by several seconds on a 25-to-30-second course.
Bryce Benz attacks the Juniors GS start while Kevin Bucher eagerly awaits his turn
The top three racers on both Saturday and Sunday received medals, and Mangels even provided a few swag items paid for out of his own pocket.
So despite the relatively small number in attendance, the race was a great success. The beautiful weather, laid-back vibe, the combination of young and old, experienced and inexperienced racers made it a very pleasant experience.
Many thanks to Tom, Doreen, Amy and Katie Mangelsdorf for their warmth and hospitality. I sure plan to be back next year.
More photos from this year's Sun Prairie Wiggle War can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/harmsjb . Several others took photos and videos, too. Post 'em up!
- I had to teach the new kid a lesson after that... Way to go Jaamal in DH and TS.
