November 20, 2004 - Page 3
After the presentation of the Andrew Mein Memorial Sportsmanship Award, the 1st Place Series Champions were given their awards. The following are all 1st Place Series Champions for 2004:
Shannon McCulloch -
Beg Women 34- |
Chelsie Rose -
Sport Women 34- |
Tammy Coleman -
Expert Women 34- |
Barbara Schultz -
Beg Women 35+ |
Tracey Whyte -
Sport Women 35+ |
Lisa Vible -
Expert Women 35+ |
Jeff Meyer -
Beg Junior |
Taylor McClain -
Sport Junior |
Matt Miller -
Expert Junior |
| Eric Mushrush - Beg Senior I | Christopher Consorto - Sport Senior I | Rick Mihills - Expert Senior I |
Neil Christie -
Beg Senior II |
Nicholas Rinker -
Sport Senior II |
Kevin Fryberger -
Expert Senior II |
Robert Sawickey -
Beg Vet I |
Robert Lyon -
Sport Vet I |
Marco Fanari -
Expert Vet I |
Fred Hofstetter -
Beg Vet II |
Donald Pagano Jr. -
Sport Vet II |
Antonio DeBarros -
Expert Vet II |
Bill Ringler -
Master I Men 45-49 |
John Williams -
Sport Master I |
Tim Messersmith -
Expert Master 45+ |
John Hendrickson -
Beg Master II |
Jac Frech -
Sport Master II |
|
Keith Goulet -
SingleSpeed |
||
Brad Jones -
Clydesdale |
||
Caitlyn Tuel -
Pro Women |
||
David DuVall -
Pro Men |
The
team awards were named after the late Jon Gantz of New Freedom, Pa. Jon
and his brother were killed in a car accident on the way back from
Jon's bachelor's party (they were in the back seat). He
won the Fair Hill Classic Expert Senior I race August 21, 2004. Tammy Coleman
(Expert Women 34 &under
Series Champion) was Jon's fiance and they were to be married October 7th,
while attending Interbike. Amazingly, Tammy was able to not only attend
the Classic Series awards banquet but give an eloquent, emotionally charged
talk about Jon and herself, what they meant to each other, and what dedicated
cyclists they both were before his tragic death in September of this year.
She talked about how they made a great couple, "On my birthday, I would wake up to breakfast in bed, presents, flowers, and chocolate covered strawberries.......... Sometimes we'd go shopping and I'd see something I liked......... the next day I'd come home and there it would be! He put me on a pedestal, and I really loved the way he loved me." Tammy also bought Jon a bike (Specialized Epic) knowing he would be purchasing her a ring, even though he wanted a new bike. "I can recall the Saturday before he went out........... that day we picked up his suit for the wedding, his ring came in the mail, and he just kept telling me he didn't want to go..................... he knew that if he went to a bachelor's party, all of his crazy friends were going to have him drinking and up all night............ and heaven forbid he wouldn't be able to ride on Sunday............ so......... that was his biggest concern. Jon had a passion for riding like no other."
This women is an inspiration and shows the spirit of successful mtn bike racers. In the toughest of circumstances Tammy maintained her composure at all times and gave us enough information to know that there could not be a better name for the Classic Series team awards than "The Jon Gantz Memorial Team Awards." Tammy will continue to race next year despite her tragic loss.
page 1, 2, 3, 4 next
page>>>
