(Black Creek 7-18-08) The first of three days of competition for the 2008 Summer Biathlon National Championships & IBU World Championship Trials got underway Friday morning at Whitetail Preserve in Black Creek Township which is owned by Joe Gans and run under the direction of Frank Gaval.

26 men and 18 women from 11 states are competing in the competition which serves as the qualifying event for the US team that will participate in the Summer Biathlon World Championships in Haute Maurienne, France in late September. The top competitors who meet the qualifying standards after the three competitions will be offered the opportunity to compete in France.

Friday’s action began with a Mass Start, whereas everyone started out together. The men’s course encompassed a 6 kilometer run, pausing after the first four laps of the 1.2 kilometer loop to shoot at five targets. The women ran a 5K with their course being a 1K loop.

In the men’s race it came as no surprise that two-time defending champion Doug Hoover of Williamsburg was the winner. The 36-year old from Blair County was almost a minute-and-a-half ahead of runner-up Danny Fink of Morgantown, WV, a former member of the world team.

“2006 was a great competition, last year was a little weaker and this year has been one of the toughest competitions. These guys were very tough out there. It was a lot warmer then the last two years in terms of the conditions so that made it challenging,” said Hoover who clocked in with a winning time of 31:37.

When the race got underway Hoover was in fourth place at the end of the first loop. Third after the second go-around and vaulted to first after his third shooting stop which is where he remained to the end.

“I was very pleased with my running. My shooting was good today. I shot 60% and I’d like to shoot 100% but that doesn’t happen. But that was good enough for today and you try to adjust according to the competition,” said Hoover who has been competing since 1992.

“This is a sport where you really have to temper both aspects of it to be successful at it. You’ve got to learn how hard you can push on the run in order to be successful on the range. Once you get the lead then you just try to push a little harder and keep the pressure up.”

Wyoming Valley Conference division-1 cross country standout Anthony Rizzo of Dorrance Township placed a very respectable fourth overall. He was also the top junior finisher.

“The run went pretty well but my shooting wasn’t very good so I had to run more penalty laps then I cared to. It was pretty humid out. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get a couple more good shots in. I only had about 15-minutes to warm-up with the shooting today,” said Rizzo who last year captured first place at the District 2 boys cross country championships.

The running was indeed his strong point as he held a close second when the field came around for the first round on the range. Afterwards he slipped to fourth but did a fine job of maintaining that spot the rest of the way.

Rizzo is looking to advance over the next two days and knows he’ll have to step up with the shooting portion.

“I want to advance on my position. Right now it’s about three minutes from the leader and I would like to see if I can close that a bit. I know I did a horrible job with the shooting and if I can get in a few good shots then I feel I could close that gap.”

In the women’s race it was no contest as 23-year old Stephanie Blackstone of Everett, Bedford County, blasted out at the start and never looked back.

Her running was the key as she held a commanding lead throughout the run/shoot which by the time it was over her margin of victory was an untouchable three-and-a-half minutes over second place finisher Molly Susla of Freeport, Maine.

“It was a little hot but good conditions. I like running in extreme hot or extreme cold and that’s why I’ve always liked cross country season. This felt like a cross country race,” said Blackstone, a recent graduate of Kent University where she competed in cross country and track.

Blackstone went out very fast and was leading within feet of the outset. She noted how that is her style of running and in Friday’s action it made all the difference.

“That’s always how I’ve run from high school through college. I just like to go out hard and get a good thing going early on because if I start out slow I don’t always come back.

“I really liked this course too. I don’t like a lot of down hills and that downhill at the beginning you had to take carefully. The organizers did wonders with this course.”

Race director Gaval was one of the key individuals who put the effort in to bring this national event to While Tail Preserve and was very pleased about the turnout.

“We put a bid in and got the Nationals this year and it’s been a lot of work. Considering the hot temperatures everything went real well. We had a great turnout both men and women and everything seemed to go smoothly,” said Gaval.

“Joe Gans has invested a lot into the sport and making this a great environment for the competitors. The area has welcomed us with open arms and rolled out the red carpet, making it a special event for everyone,” added Hoover.

Competition continues Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9:30 am. Athletes will start the race in the order of finish and they will be spotted to a head start equal to the time gap between them and the next finisher from Friday’s results.

The national team members will be announced on Sunday at the medal ceremony which will take place at the Lookout House on route 93 following the last race.

The United States Biathlon Association is the National Governing Body for the sport of biathlon in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Biathlon Union. The US Biathlon Association supports the US Biathlon Team and development of the sport on all levels within the United States.

For addition information and race results you can visit www.pabiathlon.org.