Locals compete at annual Snowshoe Roundup

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint mother-daughter team placed first and second in the women’s division of the 5K snowshoe race at the third annual Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup recently at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. 

Melinda Van Dyk, 23, crossed the finish in 48:20 for the first place win, and third overall, followed closely by and her mother Debbie Van Dyk, 58, in a time of 48:24 and fourth overall.

The event features 5K and 10K snowshoe races for adults and a Buckaroo race for the youngsters.

In the adult races, a total of 36 racers from Canada, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho signed up for the 5k and 10k distances with equal numbers in each race. Both race courses were challenging and consisted of hills, meadows, forests and open areas on machine and snowshoe packed trails. A fresh layer of snow on race morning made the courses even more demanding.

In the 5K race the first two spots were taken by racers from Washington. Brian Schur (42) from Kennewick, a previous 10K winner, took first place male in a time of 33:18, followed by first time racer Phillip Buser (38) from Richland in 43:10. Timothy Douglas (57) from Priest River was third male and fourth overall with a time of 51:24. Other local finishers included Tom Riggs (71) in sixth place, Bob Krummert (71) in eighth and Georgia York (65) in eleventh place.

Forrest Boughner (28) from Missoula, Mont., easily captured first place in the 10K race for the second year in a row with a time of 39:03. He was followed by his wife Sara Boughner (28), who place second overall and was the first woman to cross the finish line.

Local racers included Vern Eastley (44) in fourth, Eric Grace (46) in fifth, Barbara Hume (56) in 10th, Barbara Brown-Crockett (58) in 12th, Vickie Thompson (56) in 13th, Carol Wright (73) in 14th, Pam Hewitt (55) in 15th and Peggy Gaudet (46) in 16th.

In the Buckaroo race, a total of five youngsters competed, including a 6 year-old. This race consists of a short loop and is not timed. However, all racers were rewarded with a finisher’s award.

Carol Wright of Sandpoint was the most senior racer at 73 years-old and completed the 10K race in 1:39:21. Carol has qualified for, and will be competing in her first Boston Marathon in April.

The Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup has been a regional qualifier for the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships and is sanctioned by the U.S. Snowshoe Association.

This year, the championships will be held in Ogden, Utah on Feb. 26-28.

Forrest and Sara Boughner, the first place 10K male and female winners, will be there to compete.