Dunklee Cleans Up on Home Turf at the Biathlon National Championships

The last weekend in March, the U.S. Biathlon Team headed to Jericho to compete in the Biathlon National Championships. Here’s what happened.

It was a big weekend for Vermonter Susan Dunklee in Jericho.

The Barton resident and two-time Olympian cleaned up at the 2019 U.S. Biathlon National Championships, held at the Ethan Allen Firing Range from March 28-30. She took home three gold medals.

The 2019 Biathlon National Championships kicked off on March 29 with sprint races for both men and women. Two-time Olympian Susan Dunklee of Barton, Vt. returned to her home state and took the top spot in the women’s 7.5K sprint with a time of 23 minutes, 10.3 seconds—just three-tenths of a second faster than second-place finisher and fellow U.S. Biathlon team member Clare Egan of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Dunklee incurred three shooting penalties, while Egan had just one. Kelsey Dickonson of Winthrop, Wash. took third place.

In the men’s 10K sprint, also held March 29, the clear victor was Jake Brown of Saint Paul, Minn. Brown finished with a time of 26:55.6 and two penalties. Sean Doherty of, Center Conway, N.H., a rising star on the men’s international circuit who had a series of strong finishes in World Cup events this winter, took second place by just 5.8 seconds, with one penalty. U.S. Biathlon team member Leif Nordgren of Marine, Minn. took third place and finished 13 seconds behind Brown.

In the Pursuit, held March 30, Doherty finished in first place for the men with a time of 34:24.9, followed closely by Jake Brown who finished in 34:41.9 and then by teammate Max Durtschi at 35:41.9.

In the Women’s Pursuit, Dunklee dominated the field, taking first place with a time of 34:38.7. Stratton Mountain School graduate Hallie Grossman of South Burlington, Vt. took second place with a time of 38:45.3. U.S. Biathlon Team member Kelsey Dickinson took third place with a time of 39:19.7.

For the Super Sprint, held March 30, Doherty took first place  at 14:47.6. Cody Johnson of the U.S. National Guard Biathlon Team and Fort Kent, Maine, took second place with a time of 15.13.7, followed by Travis Cooper of the National Guard Biathlon Team and Kenai, A.K.

In the women’s Super Sprint, Dunklee took first place with a time of 16:08.1 in a close race with Clare Egan (second place with a time of 16:22.0) and fellow Vermonter and Olympian Emily Dreissigacker of Morrisville, Vt. (third place with a time of 16:51.5).

For the full results, including the Saturday Citizen’s Race visit the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club homepage, here.

Featured Photo Caption: Susan Dunklee competes in the Women’s Sprint at the 2019 U.S. Biathlon National Championships. Photo by Dave Priganc.