By Judy Koehler

I had mixed feelings as I drove through the rain to set up for the Spring Lake meet. Fortunately the rain stopped just as the courses opened at 10:00 AM. The only casualty of the weather was the need to move the Start a short distance westward. It was interesting to our Starter as to how many people noticed the Start was no longer at the Start Triangle, but a few yards away.

Despite the rain, there was a good turnout, starting with two people from New Zealand, followed by two large youth groups from Fairfield and Mill Valley, and ending with a solid turnout of advanced orienteers, including Orienteering USA's Junior Team Coach Erin Schrim. A photographer from the Press Democrat appeared early on, and took many photos, delighting one of the youth groups by following them to several controls. Eight of the photos were published in the Press Democrat's on-line photo gallery on April 29th (click on the small arrows at the sides of the photo to advance).

Nikolay's fresh look at this frequently-used park generated a lot of discussion on control placement, level of difficulty, and route choice. It was a very successful debut for Nikolay's first time setting courses in the U.S. I know it was a long drive for some of the orienteers, and Nikolay and I appreciate their support.

Velvet Klee from BAOC and the "Schirm Juniors" topped the results for the White course. Euan Pike (from Auckland, New Zealand) was first on the Yellow course, far ahead of 2nd place.

The Orange course had the top three participants, Christine Brew (BAOC), Adrian Pike (Auckland, New Zealand), and Daniel Šebo (BAOC), within 6 minutes, with a large gap to 4th place. The Green/Red course had GCO's Urtzi Iglesias (55.51) and OUSA's Erin Schrim (56.18) battle for 1st place. Mark Prior (1:01:38), Matej Šebo (1:05:13), and François Léonard (1:05:37), all from BAOC, were 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively.

Thanks

The volunteers who made this event a success were Scott Aster, Greg Ehrensing, Gary Kraght, Rosemary Johnson, Neil Peterson, Rick Budde, Martin Taylor, Matej Šebo, Lubomir Šebo, and Jeff Koehler. My apologies if I have not mentioned everyone.

Also thanks go to Sonoma County Regional Park Ranger Carol Presho and Sonoma County Regional Parks Reservations Coordinator Jill Meuchel for their support of orienteering.

Lastly, thanks to all the participants who braved the rain to come out for the event.

White Course     (2.2 km, 55 m climb, 9 controls)

Pl  Name(s)                                    Time

1  Velvet Klee                                48:03
2  Schirm Juniors                             54:00  (estimated start & finish)
3  Julian Allen                             1:01:46
4  Margaret Kraght                          1:03:54

Yellow Course    (3.4 km, 75 m climb, 13 controls)

Pl  Name(s)                                    Time

1  Euan Pike (NW Auckland, NZ)              1:05:35
2  Qarly Canant, Todd Gage                  1:33:48
3  Alison & Deron van Hoff                  1:37:19
4  Irakliy Khaburzaniya                     1:51:14
5  Haydon family                            1:58:41
6  Kenny Vo, Tonny Bui, Eddie Taylor,
     Filipe Costco                          2:15:38
7  Rafael Alvarado, Laura Huezo-Castro,
     Rodrigo Lopez, Keelin Freeman-Taylor   2:19:47
8  Nick Elder, Eliza Wilkins, Lovely,
     Perla Ortiz                            2:27:07

David Avery                                DNF
Explorers                                  DNF
Bounty Hunters                             DNF

Orange Course    (4.2 km, 140 m climb, 17 controls)

Pl  Name(s)                                    Time

1  Christine Brew                           1:02:32
 2  Adrian Pike (NW Auckland, NZ)            1:07:55
 3  Daniel Šebo                              1:09:13
 4  Gary Kraght                              1:21:20
 5  Masha Konkov                             1:49:04
 6  Kevin Walker                             2:08:50
 7  Bill Murphy                              2:15:39
 8  Sara Wegner (Berkeley HS OC)             2:16:50
 9  Kalia Carter (Berkeley HS OC)            2:17:45
10  Sherry Timmerman (Truckee)               2:24:22
11  Jim & Priscilla Fish                     2:31:12

Sylvira                                    DNF
Taco Bells                                 DNF
Cell Phone Boyz                            DNF
Rosemary Johnson                           DNF

Green/Red Course  (6.0 km, 270 m climb, 23 controls)

Pl  Name(s)                                    Time

1  Urtzi Iglesias (GCO)                       55:51
 2  Erin Schrim (OUSA)                         56:18
 3  Mark Prior                               1:01:38
 4  Matej Šebo                               1:05:13
 5  François Léonard                         1:05:37
 6  Andrew Peterson                          1:16:55
 7  Steve Gregg                              1:19:46
 8  Rex Winterbottom                         1:21:17
 9  Deron van Hoff                           1:24:36
10  Greg Ehrensing                           1:28:30
11  Graham Brew                              1:32:26
12  Paul Carson (Truckee)                    1:37:29
13  Natalya Beketova                         1:38:28
14  Lubomir Šebo                             1:42:59
15  Marie-Josée Parayre                      1:45:37
16  Barbara Bomfim (GCO)                     1:48:29
17  Julia Doubsen                            1:58:33
18  Yason Khaburzaniya                       1:59:40
19  Fyodor Konkov                            2:00:39
20  Stephanie Briggs (GAOC)                  2:01:58
21  Theo Verhoeven                           2:03:11
22  Vicki Woolworth                          2:24:19
23  Jay Hann                                 2:37:36
24  Chelsea Waite, Gabe Dillon               2:43:14

Johanna Merriss                            DNF
Vic Revenko                                DNF
Rezbiz                                     DNF
Terry Gleason                              DNF