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Pros clock top 90-Miler times

Joe Moore of Lake Placid nears the finish line of the Adirondack Canoe Classic on Sunday in Saranac Lake. Mike Lynch/Lake Placid News

SARANAC LAKE – A team of pro racers from Michigan recorded the top time in the Adirondack Canoe Classic this past weekend.

Bruce Barton, Mike Davis, Weston Willoboughby and Zach Mack finished the 90-mile, three-day race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake from in 11 hours, 40 minutes and 43 seconds.

“The race went well for us,” Barton said Sunday at the finish line on Lake Flower. “We didn’t have any problems. We had a pretty good lead every day. It was hard, but we didn’t have anyone pressing us so it felt good.”

Barton said it was his sixth time in the race, and he believes it’s the first time he’s been on a team that had the fastest time overall.

“This is the best team I’ve ever been on,” he said.

Barton comes to the race every year with a large contigent of friends and family. Normally that includes his father-in-law August Triebold, but this year the 86-year-old wasn’t able to make it.

“He’s 86 now and he’s still paddling all right,” Barton said. “He had a knee replacement, so he can get across the portages a little better. I think he’ll come back.”

Barton’s wife, Roxanne, was part of a strong team herself in this year’s 90. She teamed with Gloria Wesley, Rebecca Davis and Holly Reynolds to take the top time in the women’s C-4 stock class, finishing in 12:32:07.

In the voyageur canoe class, there was a change at the top for the first time in a few years. In recent years, the Dog Breath team captained by Roger Henry has had the top time. This year, a team from Philadephia had the fastest. The team consisted of captain Erik Werner, Jeff Forkin, Kathy Grimes, Bob McNamara, Tes Myrie, Albert Spring and Brayton Palmer. They finished in 12:35:01, just ahead of Dog Breath’s time of 12:49:30. Dog Breath consisted of Alec Davis, Ed Greiner, Amanada Castignetti, Jim Amell, Jeff Shultis, Amanda Harrison, Joe Schlimmer, Dylan Kirk and Henry.

“On the start of day one, we were head to head and we found that a bit trying, so we tried to get away from them,” Werner said. “We were successful, and they would catch us here and there. They never got far behind and the same thing on day two. They were right next to us, and we just put our spring on and got away from them, but they were right there the whole day. I give them a lot of credit.”

Third place in the voyageur class went to the Adirondack women team captained by race organizer Grace McDonnell. She teamed with Celia Evans, Elsa Evans-Kummer, Amy Sauer, Joanne Maly, Candice Porvaznik, Tiiffany Kivlen and Kathleen Brannon to finish in 15:21:10.

There were numerous locals who also picked up plaques for placing this past weekend.

Lake Placid’s Joe Moore finished first in the solo recreation class with a time of 14:22:27. Moore is the owner of Placid Boatworks in Lake Placid.

Rodger Dempster of Saranac Lake finished first among three paddlers in the men’s veterans C-1 stock class with a time of 15:59:37.

Paul Van Cott of Saranac Lake took first place in the solo guideboat division, finishing in 21:33:15 in a class that started with four rowers. Two were not eligible to finish to place in the class. One dropped out and the strongest rower in the class, Ben Rochon of Quebec, wound up getting disqualified after he switched boats to help a two-person guideboater who had lost his partner.

Lake Clear’s Stephen Buzzell was the only C-1 Amateur paddler in the race and finished in 20:08:41. Saranac Lake’s Michael Maguire was the second of three paddlers in the touring kayak division with a time of 16:55:46.

Roger Gocking of Saranac Lake was number one in a two-person race in the men’s veterans touring kayak class, finishing in 14:21:29.

Gene Newman and Dave Thomas teamed with Kirsten Domas and Jon Santor of Rainbow Lake in the C-4 open class to finish in 12:18:48 for third place.

Becky Sutter and Guy Middleton of Saranac Lake took second place in the competitive C-2 stock mixed class. They finished in 14:41:40, behind Joanna Faloon and Dan Mallett of Canada, who finished in 14:03:42.

Donna Walsh of Saranac Lake and Cary Hall of Lake Placid took first place in the women’s C-2 stock class with a time of 15:50:27. They beat Ashley Evans and Chloe Mattilio of Paul Smith’s College, who finished in 16:09:02.

Chris Morris of Saranac Lake and Luke Meissner of Lake Clear took second in a two-boat race in the men’s open class for C-2 amateur racers with a time of 17:38:31.

Joe Garso of Lake Clear teamed with David Funk of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to finish second of three racers in the men’s masters C-2 amateur class with a time of 15:50:05.

Sarah Dantuano of Saranac Lake and Medeina Ryan of Rainbow Lake were the only women to race in the C-2 amateur class, finishing in 16:39:31.

In the men’s open C-2 stock class, Chris Burnham of Saranac Lake and Nicholas Gouwens of Lake Placid finished first with a time of 14:41:10. Matthew Williams and Louis Ferrone of Paul Smith’s College came in third in 15:19:24.

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