10th Annual Commando Orienteering Meet

( Bob Thobaben )

August 23,2003 dawned with weather that was sunny, with low humidity and temperatures in the low 80’s. Good running weather for August, however stinging nettle and a few pesky deer flies made the outdoors a little irritating. The White course was 2.3 Km, following a maze of mowed farm trails with 10 controls. The #4 control behind the pond caused the most problems for the competitors. The Orange course was 5.1 Km and had 12 controls that were generally situated along corn and soybean fields with a few controls tucked in along a flowing creek. The Commando was in four parts. 1st & 2nd – collect the 12 controls of the Orange course and climb two deer stands of 26 and 14 feet in height. 3rd - Shoot five archery arrows (similar to a biathlon in the Olympics) at a target 20 yards away and have your time reduced. Hit the straw and have 1 minute deducted from your time, however hit the paper deer and have 5 minutes deducted from your overall time. 4th Ride your bike 10.1 Km along township roads and find 5 controls hidden under bridges. Most people jumped in the farm pond to clean up and cool off following this great effort. Below are the results:

White Course – 2.3 Km with 10 controls & 14 competitors

  1. David Taylor – 12:10
  2. Cordt Thobaben – 19:02
  3. Allen Cherry – 20:02
  4. Sam Cherry – 21:06
  5. Mary Dean – 29:34
  6. Raymond & David H. – 33:50
  7. mike, Will & Matt – 36:30
  8. Tag, Alex, & Noah – 47:10
  9. Brach Schwegan – DNF (3 controls)

Orange Course – 5.1 Km with 12 controls & 18 competitors

  1. Matthew Robbins – 68:00
  2. Mark Swies – 76:09
  3. Mike Minium – 80:30
  4. Serge Preobrazhensky – 107:50 (lost punch card but had the plastic cover punched.)
  5. Eric Combs – 151:36
  6. Livi combs & Jeremy – 186:40
  7. Gabe Svobodny – DNF ( 11 of 12 controls )
  8. Jennifer underwood & Jacob Hellickson – DNF (9 of 12 controls)
  9. Wei Wei & Lalita Bowman – DNF (7 of 12 controls)
  10. Ossa & Chante Moore – DNF (3 of 12 controls)
  11. Bevin Keen – DNF (3 of 12 controls)
  12. Shawn Becker & Jessica Kirkbaum – DNF (3 of 12 controls)
  13. Alexander Reeobrazhesky – DNF (2 of 12 controls)

Commando Course – 5.1 KM, 2 climbs, 5 arrows, & 10.1 Km biking with 6 competitors

  1. Matt Bond – 102:30
  2. Tom Svobodny – 104:00
  3. Dick Arnett – 160:00
  4. Ty Grable – 214:52
  5. Tom Wentling – 218:20
  6. Bill Swift – DNF (10 of 12 Orange controls but had everything else at 105:15 minutes)

We hope to see you all next year when paintball will be reintroduced and some swimming.

Bob Thobaben

937-382-4739