Freeburg wins Bigfork Whitewater Festival
By FAITH MOLDAN
Bigfork Eagle
With water levels that seemed just right, about 50 participants and good weather for the majority of the weekend, the 31st annual Bigfork Whitewater Festival went off without a hitch May 26-27.
Co-organizer Nikki Dezanni said the lower water levels this year were better than last year’s higher levels that kept gates from being placed on the upper course for the expert slalom. The beginner course was also adjusted last year due to the high water levels.
The Wild Mile was friendliest to Eric Freeburg. He placed first overall and in the expert slalom with a time of 2:06. Freeburg was second in the downriver race and third in boater-cross. Freeburg finished last year’s festival in second place overall.
Bigfork native Nate Wilcoxen wasn’t far behind. Wilcoxen finished the weekend in third place with fourth-place finishes in both the expert slalom and downriver race.
“Any year being in the top three is good,” Wilcoxen said. “The competition was pretty solid. There were a lot of real good paddlers here.”
He finished first overall in 2003 and has “10 solid years of competition” at Whitewater, he said. Wilcoxen clocked a time of 2:45 in the expert slalom and 7:25 in the downriver race. He was second in the boater-cross competition.
“The water was at medium flow, which made it a more technical slalom and was better.”
Wilcoxen added that John Gangemi did a lot of work so that the kayakers could use the access on Hwy. 209 near the dam.
“That’s been in the works for about five years,” Wilcoxen said. “It’s a big thing for us.”
Rounding out the top ten was Whitewater co-organizer Mike Dezanni. Dezanni was eighth in the overall standings. He placed sixth in the expert slalom with his time of 2:52, ninth in the downriver race with a time of 7:39 and 15th in boater-cross.
Local kayakers David Meyers and Dane Hollinger also competed in the Whitewater Festival. Meyers, a sophomore at Bigfork High School, placed 13th in the overall standings. He did his best in the downriver race, placing 12th. Meyers finished 19th in the expert slalom.
“The water was a lot different than last year,” Meyers, who has competed in the Whitewater Festival for four years, said. “The lines were different. It was more difficult but fun. It’s always a fun event.”
Meyers clocked a time of 3:46 in the expert slalom and 7:46 in the downriver race.
Hollinger, a 2004 graduate of BHS, placed 16th overall. He was 15th in the expert slalom and 20th in the downriver race. He finished the slalom in 3:31 and downriver race in 7:59.
Greg Fortin won the lower or beginner slalom. He was penalty-free with a time of 2:18.
Sean Kelly took first in the downriver race. Kelly finished in 7:00, just one second ahead of Freeburg.
Luke Cummings of Whitefish was another winner. He took first in the boater-cross competition. He was second in the expert slalom with a time of 2:35 and sixth in the downriver race with a time of 7:28. Cummings finished the weekend second overall.
This year’s Whitewater Festival was sponsored by Sportsman Ski Haus, Silver Moon Kayak Co., Eva Gates Fudge Co., Showthyme, Wild Mile Deli and Restaurant, Runnerup Sports, Century 21 Glacier Gateway and Bigfork Liquor.
Overall Results
? Eric Freeburg - 1st place slalom, 2nd place downriver, 3rd place boater-cross
? Luke Cummings - 2nd place slalom, 6th place downriver, 1st place boater-cross
? Nate Wilcoxen - 4th place slalom, 4th place downriver, 2nd place boater-cross
? Greg Stenger - 5th place slalom, 5th place downriver, 5th place boater-cross
? Brett Burgland - 3rd place slalom, 8th place downriver, 6th place boater-cross
? Jesse Person - 20th place slalom, 13th place downriver, 4th place boater-cross
? Karl Crittenden - 7th place slalom, 3rd place downriver, 10th place boater-cross
? Mike Dezanni - 6th place slalom, 9th place downriver, 15th place boater-cross
? Sean Kelly - 16th place slalom, 1st place downriver, 17th place boater-cross
? Josh Carpenter - 13th place slalom, 10th place downriver, 23rd place boater-cross
? Jamie Maxwell - 12th place slalom, 15th place downriver, 27th place boater-cross
? Jake Hall - 8th place slalom, 21st place downriver, 29th place boater-cross
? David Meyers - 19th place slalom, 12th place downriver, 31st place boater-cross
? Tim Seward - 14th place slalom, 17th place downriver, 31st place boater-cross
? Cody Olszyk - 17th place slalom, 14th place downriver, 31st place boater-cross
? Dane Hollinger - 15th place slalom, 20th place downriver, 35th place boater-cross
? Chad Colby - 26th place slalom, 16th place downriver, 42nd place boater-cross
? Paul Moffatt - 21st place slalom, 22nd place downriver, 43rd place boater-cross
? Peter Kitts - 22nd place slalom, 23rd place downriver, 45th place boater-cross
? Casey Williams - 27th place slalom, 19th place downriver, 46th place boater-cross
? Bob Baranas - 24th place slalom, 28th place downriver, 52nd place boater-cross
? Cheyene Rogers - 28th place slalom, 25th place downriver, 53rd place boater-cross
? Olin McCrumb - 29th place slalom, 24th place downriver, 53rd place boater-cross
? Stefan McCrumb - 25th place slalom, 29th place downriver, 54th place boater-cross
? Jeremy Kneeland - 30th place slalom, 26th place downriver, 56th place boater-cross
? Dan Blackburn - 9th place slalom, 9th place boater-cross
? Seth Trufant - 10th place slalom, 10th place boater-cross
? Bib #56 - 11th place slalom, 11th place boater-cross
? Fred de Lepper - 18th place slalom, 18th place boater-cross
? Tom Bansak - 23rd place slalom, 23rd place boater-cross
Remaining Downriver Race results
? Chris Evans - 7th place downriver
? Dave Friedman - 11th place downriver
? Hans Castren - 18th place downriver
? Garret Menaker - 27th place downriver
Lower Slalom results
? Greg Fortin - 1st 2:18
? Bib #16 - 2nd 2:22
? Eric Walberg - 3rd 2:25
? Bib #18 - 4th 2:26
? Jamie Schafter - 5th 2:30
? Shawn Baker - 6th 2:34
? Blaine Stimm - 7th 2:35
? Sam Makman - 8th 2:40
? Corey Ledbetter - 9th 2:48
? Dave Friedman - 10th 2:48
? Morgan Sadler - 11th 3:09
? Chris Babic - 12th 3:11
? Bib #16 - 13th 3:31
? Brett McCrumb - 14th 4:02
? Steve Trimble - 15th 4:08
? Bib #59 - 16th 4:23
? Katie Kosnoff - 17th 6:09
? Glen Wood - 18th 7:24