Setting the fastest time of the evening and the best time in the King of the Hill competition, sixteen year-old, Jay Sallstrom, was the star of the 2005 Saturday Night Mankato Hillclimb. No one was able to get below five seconds on the 290-foot hill, but fine runs through out the class order highlighted an exciting evening of Hillclimb action.

Once a year, the Kato Cycle Club hosts an evening Hillclimb. With a start time of 5:00, the first round was still in daylight, while most of the second round took place under the lights. 150 riders signed up and were no doubt happy that this was taking place at night. The heat index earlier in the day was in the 100s.

It was then on to the full-size bikes. Riding a 125, Ryan Peterson set a 7.338, but Prebe came back with a 6.717 on his 200. Keeping it in the family, 250cc rider, Aaron Prebe, topped that with a 6.214. That time held through the 450s, but then three riders in 600cc class dropped below six seconds. Steve Cane came in at 5.628, Mike Wood had a 5.281, and Sallstrom put in a wild, feet-off-the -pegs ride to top the charts at 5.076. Duane Walser was the only Open class entry to go under six, leading that class with a 5.752. The only

The Kato Cycle Club has been a chartered AMA club since 1936, the oldest in Minnesota. Besides promoting hillclimbs, the club is very active in road events. The membership also includes off-road racers and enthusiasts. With three events this year, the club makes changes to the hill between events in order to make it more interesting for the riders and fans. The two-jump configuration of the hill this time was considered easier than the previous event and the times reflected that. Several improvements were also made to the timing and lighting systems and both worked flawlessly though out the evening.

Two fine second round rides leapt Prebe and Nate Redman to the top of the 125s, with Prebe’s 7.112 barely edging Redman. Prebe then topped the 200 class with a 6.410, handing Jay Sallstrom his only defeat of the night.

Sallstrom’s first round run held up as the top score of the day. He also topped the end of the night, King of the Hill competition, in which the riders with the top ten times all take one shot for glory. Other class winners included Four Stroke rider, Kory Fashnet with a 6.055, John Steinmetz topping the 50+ class with a 7.280, and Charlie Hickok turning a respectable 7.158 in the exhibition, Stock class.

Many sponsors help make this event possible, including Reichel Insulation and Spotless Drywall, Kato Roofing, Pro Home Builders, John Prom Construction, and The Road House Bar and Grill.

Note - The photos on this web page were re-formatted for fast load times. To see these photos and many more in full quality,check out the Manakto, MN Hillclimb, July 16 link of Col's MotoSports.

Results:
Micro 4-8:
1.Mitchell Koester ; 2.Loran Cipala ; 3.Logan Peterson ; 4.Jacob Walser ; 5.Luke Cipala ; 6.Victoria Reichel ; 7.Nathan Prebe ; 8.Cole Exner ;

65cc:
1.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 2.Mitchell Koester ; 3.Logan Cipala ; 4.Dylan Nichols ; 5.Nathan Prebe ; 6.Logan Peterson ; 7.Zach Gulden ;

Mini Jr:
1.Zach Degross ; 2.Casey Wood ; 3.Jackson Exner ; 4.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 5.Logan Cipala ; 6.Dylan Nichols ; 7.Alex Gerdes ; 8.Gabrielle Prebe ;

Mini Sr.:
1.Jacob Prebe ; 2.David Fasnacht ; 3.Jason Sternitzke ; 4.Seth Seymour ; 5.Jaclyn Gerdes ; 6.Tanner Knudson ;

125cc:
1.Bobbi Cipala ; 2.Nate Redmann ; 3.Jacob Prebe ; 4.Ryan Peterson ; 5.Harry Exner ; 6.Kevin Braun ; 7.Jared Gitter ; 8.Jessica Prebe ;

200cc:
1.Jacob Prebe ; 2.Nate Redmann ; 3.Jared Gitter ; 4.Jay Sallstrom ; 5.Jason Sternitzke ; 6.Tyler Pieper ; 7.Shane Sandmeyer ; 8.Zach Nelson ;

250cc:
1.Mike Wood ; 2.Ryan Stevermer ; 3.Ryan Peterson ; 4.Aaron Prebe ; 5.Jamie Griecar ; 6.Kory Fasnacht ; 7.Shane Sandmeyer ; 8.Chad Schmidt ;

450cc:
1.Jay Curtis ; 2.Darren Degross ; 3.Chad Schmidt ; 4.Jamie Grecar ; 5.Aaron Prebe ; 6.Jeff Colhour ; 7.John Curtis ; 8.Mike Foley ;

600cc:
1.Jay Sallstrom ; 2.Mike Wood ; 3.Steve Cain ; 4.Jamie Griecar ; 5.Kaleb Northrup ; 6.Ryan Stevermer ; 7.Justin Odegaard ; 8.Jeffrey Tucker ;

750cc:
1.Kaleb Northrup ;

Open:
1.Duane Walser ; 2.Curtis Sullivan ; 3.Justin Odegaard ; 4.Corey Danberry ; 5.Matt Gulden Jr. ; 6.Kyle McConnaughey ; 7.Kaleb Northrup ; 8.Cody Walser ;

Senior:
1.Jay Curtis ; 2.Duane Walser ; 3.Jeffrey Tucker ; 4.Tim Cain ; 5.John Curtis ; 6.John Steinmetz ; 7.Brian Lexvold ; 8.Steve Doty ;

50+:
1.John Steinmetz ; 2.Dave Byer ; 3.Greg Schmidt ; 4.Rick Wiltscheck ; 5.Tim Loomis ;

Four Stroke:
1.Kory Fasnacht ; 2.Chad Schmidt ; 3.Jeff Colhour ; 4.Aaron Prebe ; 5.Brian Lexvold ; 6.Steve Doty ; 7.Logan Sheppard ; 8.Corey Danberry ;

Stock:
1.Erik Loomis ; 2.Aaron Nelson ; 3.Charlie Hickock ; 4.Kyle Ohnsorg ; 5.Jay Sallstrom ; 6.Jeremy Hage ; 7.Rick Anderson ; 8.Cody Slark ;

ATV:
1.Darren Degross ; 2.Steve Atherton ; 3.Tod Hintz ;

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