2024 USBA Trials: Day 1 Sprint
Paul Schommer, Winner, Team Birkie.
Men:
1) Paul Schommer, Ariens Nordic Center/Team Birkie
2) Bjorn Westervelt, Craftsbury GRP
3) Jean-Nicolas de Broeck, Chelsea Nordiq
Bjorn Westervelt, 2nd overall, GRP.
Women:
1) Chloe Levins
2) Jackie Garso, Craftsbury GRP
3) Michaela Keller-Miller, Craftsbury GRP
3rd American Luke Brown, of the GRP.
The Day 1 Sprint of US Biathlon's 2024 on-snow trials kicked off on a day that started warm and only got warmer as a thaw hit Craftsbury. Biathletes are competing across three days for IBU and World Cup starts in the next period of the competitive calendar.
Chloe Levins, Day 1 winner.
Staking a claim to those spots on the men's side were Paul Schommer, Bjorn Westervelt and Luke Brown (While Jean-Nicolas de Broeck won bronze today, he's Canadian and ineligible for USBA starts). Bjorn and Luke are both Craftsbury GRP athletes enjoying their home course, while midwesterner Schommer is working his way back to the World Cup following bouts with injury. Schommer has to feel good getting a win on the board, by 36s as well over Westervelt who himself is coming off a dryland season that was impacted by his own bout with illness.
Jackie Garso, 2nd, GRP.
On the women's side, Chloe Levins picked up where she left off last December: at the top of the podium - and by a comfortable margin of almost a minute over the GRP's Jackie Garso. Chloe went clean to Jackie's 1 miss. Garso was engaged in a battle of shooting prowess vs ski speed with her 3rd placed teammate Michaela Keller-Miller. Keller-Miller took chunks of time out of the field with her ski speed, but went 1-3 on the range giving Garso's steely shooting the win in today's intra-team battle.
Michaela Keller-Miller, 3rd, GRP.