By Steph Anderson, Photos: Lynette Ross
Two days after becoming a dad, Zach Herfendahl grabbed a win in Ironwood, Michigan riding his Arctic Cat Catalyst sled to the top spot in the Pro Open Class. Zach said “Saturday was an outstanding day on the Catalyst RXC! Making back to back wins on this future Arctic Cat has been nothing short of outstanding for us. Overall the track was extremely rough and made for some really precise racing to stay trouble free. We ran two awesome heats, winning each one to come away with the overall win for Pro Open. Can’t thank my team enough this week, my wife and I just had our first born and they stepped up to allow me to just show up and ride with top notch equipment as always!” Second place went to Aaron Christensen and third to Paul Brown.
Luke Van Lyssel won his first Semi Pro Improved Stock race. The Semi Pro Improved Stock ran 2 four lap races and combined the time to determine the results. In the first heat Luke was a half lap in and had an off when his carbide caught, and it pulled him off course. He said the snow dust was a definite factor in the first heat. When asked about his season he said “It has been a lot of hard work for the past two years. Two years ago, I moved up a class. This year I have worked on making big improvements in my sled and on being consistent. I have had more success this year with some podiums, but it is exciting to get my first top box podium win.” Second place went to Jessie Hallstrom and third place to Boe Bunke.
Herfindahl was also the Pro Factory winner on Sunday, claiming the season championship in both premier divisions. In addition, Zach was named Rider of the Year and Sportsman of the Year. In both Pro Open and the Pro Factory second place went to Aaron Christensen and third was Justin Tate.
The Pro Women Season winner was Gabby Hallstrom who was also named Most Improved Rider of the Year. For the season points Unity Gausen was the second place winner and Unity also was the co-winner of the Rookie of the Year award. McKinna Cloose was on the top podium spot for Ironwood MI after a two-day combined time race, and she was also the third-place season points winner. After the banquet Gabby said, “It was a great first year in the Pro Women’s class, and stepping into the Christian Brothers team with Skidoo. The season had its challenges but overall it was another fantastic one and ended on a high note. The Most Improved Award made my year even more special.”
Luke Van Lyssel won his first Semi Pro Improved Stock race on Saturday in Ironwood. The Semi Pro Improved Stock ran 2 four lap races and combined the time to determine the results. In the first heat Luke was a half lap in and had an off when his carbide caught, and it pulled him off course. He said the snow dust was a definite factor in the first heat. When asked about his season he said “It has been a lot of hard work for the past two years. Two years ago, I moved up a class. This year I have worked on making big improvements in my sled and on being consistent. I have had more success this year with some podiums, but it is exciting to get my first top box podium win.” Second place went to Jessie Hallstrom and third place to Boe Bunke. The Semi Pro Improved Stock season points winners are Boe Bunke in first place, Evan Peppel in second place and Luke Van Lyssel in third place.
The Semi Pro Factory top podium spot in Ironwood went to Jesse Hallstrom. The Semi Pro Factory season winners were Evan Peppel in first place, Boe Bunke in second place, and Jessie Hallstrom in third place.
Keagen Houser brought home a lot of hardware from the weekend. Keagen is the other co-winner for the Rookie of the Year award. Keagen won both Sport classes in Ironwood. PLUS, he was season points leader in both Sport classes. Second place in both Sport classes for the season was Adam Brandt and third place went to Oliver Olson.
Season points winner for both Expert 600 Limited and Jr 14 – 17 Boys was Elliott Clark. Second place for both classes went to Aaden Olson and Third Place went to Jackson Hammer.
Other Season Points winners were: Craig Ritzinger in Pro Vet 35+, Rielly Clark in Jr 10 – 13 Boys, Kynsie Diesen in Jr 10 – 13 girls, Katie Clark in Jr 14 – 17 girls, Adam Brandt in Vet 30+ and Trail classes, Mike Carver in Masters 40+, and Jon Arneson in Masters 50+, Ryan Derrick in Classic.
Team of the Year award went to Team Revering.
