Spring Lake County Park
Date: (Sun.) Sep. 18, 2005
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
Event Director: 
- 415.456.8118
Course Setter: Scott Aster
Type: C; National Orienteering Day "Come and Try It" event with White, Yellow, and "Phantom" courses
Event Write-Up
By Scott Aster
We had a beautiful day for our National Orienteering Day event this month in Sonoma county.
81 participants came out to try orienteering at this very fun, scenic venue. Lots of wildlife was to be seen, including a flock of turkeys, jack rabbits, deer, and more squirrels than you could count. The weather was sunny and warm, and best of all, the poison oak was bright red, making it easy to spot (and avoid).
The meet ran flawlessly, thanks in large part to the excellent crew BAOC had at this event. Gary Kraght ran the start area, Judy Koehler handled beginner clinics (which included just about everyone who came to this event), my parents, George and Pat Aster smoothly handled the registration chores, and I relaxed at the finish line, with a cooler of cold drinks and a bag of pretzels!
We had a BAOC first on the Yellow course, when the winning team consisted of Dippy & Nemo, two large, friendly goats, shadowed by Robert & Jenny Thille. The goats expertly found the controls, and showed great willpower and thoughtfulness for their fellow competitors, by not eating the controls as they went. They obviously did build up a great appetite on the course though, as I noticed when they crossed the finish line and immediately began to chew on anything they could get to. Dippy and Nemo had perhaps an unfair advantage, having competed with Rob & Jenny on the Yellow course here last March. Emboldened by their win here, they are seriously considering coming down to compete in the club championships in November! Two-legged competitors get ready!
I also want to thank participant Aaron Shreve, for two things. First, he "encouraged" his school class (he is the teacher) to come out and try orienteering, and a lot of them did come out — having a great time while they learned navigation. Secondly, I want to thank Aaron for going out on the Phantom course, which I made particularly difficult by not listing how many of the controls were phantom, and how many were real. Aaron got all the "real" controls, and was the only successful finisher on the course. Great job!
Results
Spring Lake County Park
Santa Rosa, CA
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Pl Name(s) Time
White Course (2.6 km, 30 m climb, 9 controls)
1 Briana, Hayli, & Darren Sanazzano 42:30
2 Simon Phommakosone 49:05
3 Diana & Alex Rich, Isaac Vega 51:33
4 Peter Buchmann & Jake B. 51:51
5 Leila & Marcia Salera 67:18
6 Tracy Uwins, Madison & Coulter Adams 71:33
7 Mike & David Tinney 71:45
8 Tom, Linda, & Jennifer Reaves 74:36
9 Repetto - Bodtker (6) 79:34
10 Janice Sinclaire, Sawyer Brand, Clarice Phipps 96:41
11 Rank, Sarada, & Jennifer Symonds 102:12
Colleen Bohannon, Cabriah Ross DNF
Jennifer Keegan, Sarah Taylor DNF
Yellow Course (3.5 km, 110 m climb, 10 controls)
1 Robert, Jenny, Dippy, & Nemo Thille 67:23
2 Mark Burchill 74:36
3 Carsen Brand, Branden Phipps 79:09
4 Marcella, Renee, & Ingrid Canelo 86:38
5 Rich, Alex, & Ian Walker 97:01
6 Heini, Ernie, & Devin Coggins 98:26
7 Wild Oak 4-H (Janet & William Leisen,
Becky, Erin, & Alex Bleibaum 102:20
8 Jeff Levin, Diane Woloshia, Patrick Lane,
Erin Neel, Beau Kilmer 108:38
9 Heather & Noelle Mills 109:35
10 Tom Brand, Melati Citrawireja, Garth Fisher 116:57
11 Tom, Linda, & Jennifer Reaves 117:22
12 Troop 395 (11) 135:56
Mitchell Steinkuehler, Martin Carreon DNF
Phantom Course (3.7 km, 125 m climb, 12 controls [6 phantom])
1 Aaron Shreve 119:11
_______________
DNF = Did not finish (missed one or more controls)