SOLDIER HOLLOW — In the 1992 Winter Olympics, veteran U.S. biathlete Curtis Schreiner nailed all the targets in each of the two sprint races.
That hadn't happened again until Saturday.
"It feels real good," said Schreiner, a three-time Olympian from New York.
Schreiner, 32, shot 10-for-10, as he had done earlier in the week at the U.S. National Biathlon Championships, to win his second sprint race this week in 25 minutes, 20.2 seconds. If it hadn't been for the missed shot, Jeremy Teela might have beat Dan Westover for a second place finish.
Westover, who shot clean, finished the race .01 second faster than Teela. The 24-year-old Alaskan had to ski the 150-meter penalty loop for the missed shot he made from the standing position.
"The last half-kilometer of the race I hit the wall," said Teela. "I just didn't have enough left at the end."
Skiing fast ensured a repeat of Rachel Steer's victory in the women's 7.5-kilometer sprint. The 22-year-old Alaskan outskied Kris Sabasteanski of Maine, who placed second, but didn't match Sabasteanski's 10-for-10 shooting.
Still Steer was happy with her results.
"I felt so much better," Steer said of Thursday's sprint. "I think I'm starting to acclimate (to the high altitude.)"
But, she added, she needed to slow her heart rate down before entering the shooting range, having missed two targets while shooting in the prone position. She skied the penalty lap twice and still won in 23:41.9, beating her first sprint race time by about 32 seconds.
It's the shooting that is the challenge, she said.
"You have to be completely mentally relaxed," she added. Her strategy is to focus on a "special place" but wouldn't disclose it.
Nahrgang, who repeated a 7-for-10 shooting, placed third by skiing fast. She came within seconds of beating her Thursday race time.
"I feel like I'm skiing stronger," said Nahrgang, 22 of Vermont. "But I'm still skiing fast enough to make the top three so I can afford to miss a few shots," she added.
Saturday's sprint was the second of three qualifying races associated with last week's event at Wasatch Mountain State Park's Soldier Hollow, the Nordic ski venue for the 2002 Winter Games. Some 70 U.S. athletes are vying for six slots on the national team headed to Norway for the World Championships later this month. Sunday's pursuit will wrap up the national meet.
Making the U.S. biathlon team is Westover's goal.
"I hope to go to the worlds," said Westover, a 25-year-old from Vermont who competed in the 1998 Olympics but took a year off to work as a carpenter in McCall, Idaho.
Rob Rosser of Bend, Ore. placed second in Thursday's sprint but fifth in Saturday's sprint. "I didn't sleep all that well," he said and was disappointed with his 7-for-10 shooting.
Also disappointed was Salt Lake City's Dave Gieck. The third placer in Thursday's race fell to No. 23 Saturday. With four missed shots, he was unable to make up for lost time.
"I wasn't quite relaxed enough," he said. "You can't beat these guys just by skiing."
That's something U.S. veteran Stacey Wooley knows all too well.
Wooley, who placed fourth in Saturday's sprint, matched her perfect shooting record by taking her time to steady her breathing before firing shots from 50 meters away.
"I just know myself too much," said Wooley, 31. Her strategy is slow and steady shooting while keeping a nice tempo skiing, she added. She placed fourth in Saturday's race.
Even if the chances are slimmer to regain a spot on the U.S. biathlon team, Wooley said she's happy to be back competing.
"Whether I make the team or not," said Wooley, 31, who took a year off to pay off debts accumulated over years of competition. "I'm just happy to be in there and give these young ones a run for the money."
U.S. National Biathlon Championships results
FINISH NAME TIME/PENALTIES
Senior Men
1 Curt Schreiner, Day, N.Y. 25:20.2/0
2 Dan Westover, Vermont 25:28.8/0
3 Jeremy Teela, Anchorage, AL 25:29.0/1
Senior Women
1 Rachel Steer, Anchorage, AL 23:41.9/2
2 Kris Sabasteanski, Standish, ME 24:14.9/0
3 Andrea Nahrgang, Jericho, Vt. 23:36.7/3