There were many cancellations last April, both for the hosting Straight Arrow Enduro Riders, and the district in general. This year was just warm enough that the Arrows were able to host both this practice/race weekend and a weekend practice the week before. That event, dubbed Sand Blast 2009, was believed to be the first outdoor motocross event in over fifteen years to be held in the Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin area during the month of March.

The 25+ A class was relatively early in the order and the first moto was Gate’s initial appearance. Tim Zebro lead briefly, but Gates was by before the first lap was over and proceeded to pull away. Sheldon Fratzke had his 250 two-stroke singing as he quickly worked his way up to second. Bill Medek, a regular front-runner at the track, was third. They would stay that way to the checkers, followed by Robert Kohl and Pat McNamara.

Gates was as smooth as ever around the rough track. Photo courtesy of PhotoPohl

The second moto played out much the same way with Gates, Fratzke, and Medek again 1-2-3, making the calculations for the overall quite simple. Rory Horner finished 4th in the moto, for 4th overall, with McNamara rounding out the overall top five.

The 30+ A races were later in the order, and included a few different players, but for Gates, the results were pretty much the same, leading every lap of both motos. In the first moto, Medek was second early, but fell. The Straight Arrows moto-chair, Charlie Forrest, was there to take advantage. The moto would end with Gates and Forrest gapped out, and Zebro getting by Medek on the last lap. 40+A winner, Chuck Thompson, rounded out the top 5.

In the second moto, Gates again was jetting away by the end of the first lap, this time with Zebro in tow. That would be how they would finish, followed by Medek, Forrest, and Norman Miesen. Overall, it was Gates, Zebro, Forrest, Medek, and Thompson.

Medek leads Fratzke in the first 250 A moto. Photo courtesy of PhotoPohl

A few new classes were added to District 23 this year, but on this day, they were not too well attended. A 65 7-11 class was added, allowing riders with 65s to ride two classes with one bike, but at this track, none of the riders, or more likely, none of the rider’s parents, opted to double their track time. There were no takers on the 60+ class either, which some might argue would indicate their wisdom. In the 55+ class, Danny Buckwalter rode to the inaugural victory and the early points lead.

The 125-only class was upgraded to a points-paying class this year. Six riders signed up, but in the end, the battle for the lead was youth versus experience. Shane Rhode took a close second moto win for the overall, fending off veteran sand master, Ross Thompson.

Twenty-five riders entered three classes, but none could quite pull off the triple. Besides Gates, several other riders were able to win two classes. Torsten Strom topped 50cc Oil-Injected 4-8 and 50cc Multi-speed 4-8, Brandon Reihm won 85cc 12-15 and Supermini, Keenan Strom took the overalls in Schoolboy 12-16 and 250 C, Fratzke won 250 A and Open A, Aaron Hansen swept Open B and 14-24 B, and reigning Girls class champion, Shayana Wilson, celebrated her birthday with a victories in the Girls 9-13 and Women classes.

The next and last race of the season at the track takes place May 5th with a practice day on the 4th. The smart money says that it will get over 40 degrees at that one, the unofficial minimum temperature for a certain race report scribe to participate. The other Straight Events this year are the Stone Lake Hare Scrambles and the Duquette Enduro.

For nearly 500 photos of this event, check them all out at PhotoPohl

Results
50cc Oil Injected 4-8:
1.Torsten Strom (COB); 2.Ezra Engstrom (KTM); 3.Jonah Gingras (KTM); 4.Conner Klemhagen (COB);

50cc Multi-Speed 4-8:
1.Torsten Strom (COB); 2.Jonah Gingras (KTM); 3.Ezra Engstrom (KTM); 4.Conner Klemhagen (COB);

50cc Pre-Mix 4-6:
1.Jonah Gingras (KTM); 2.Torsten Strom (COB); 3.Jackson Lindberg (KTM); 4.Conner Klemhagen (COB);

50cc Pre-Mix 7-8:
1.Travis Frias (COB); 2.Tallon Parent (COB); 3.Pheenix Schaffer (KTM); 4.Ezra Engstrom (KTM);

65cc 7-9:
1.Noah Mcpherson (Suz);

65cc 10-11:
1.Jeremiah Lindberg (KTM);

85cc 9-11:
1.Gavin Wilkins (Kaw); 2.Noah Mcpherson (Suz); 3.George Hodkinson (Yam); 4.Trevor Cluraghty (Suz);

85cc 9-12:
1.Spencer Henrikson (Kaw); 2.Gavin Wilkins (Kaw); 3.George Hodkinson (Yam); 4.Alex Timmer (Hon);

85cc 12-15:
1.Brandon Riehm (Kaw); 2.Devin Donaho (Yam); 3.Spencer Henrikson (Kaw); 4.Bret Holland (KTM);

Supermini 12-15:
1.Brandon Riehm (Kaw); 2.Spencer Henrikson (Kaw); 3.Shayanna Wilson (Yam); 4.Devin Donaho (Yam);

Schoolboy 12-16:
1.Keenan Strom (Hon); 2.Shane Rhode (Yam); 3.John Pintar (Hon); 4.Cory Holland (Yam);

126cc - 250cc Jr. 14-16:
1.Tyler Allen (Kaw);

Girls 9-13:
1.Shayanna Wilson (Yam);

122-125cc 12+:
1.Shane Rhode (Yam); 2.Ross Thompson (Kaw); 3.John Pintar (Hon); 4.Cory Holland (Yam);

122-250 A:
1.Sheldon Fratzke (Suz); 2.Joshua Patzoldt (Yam); 3.Bill Medek (Hon); 4.Chad Johnson (Kaw); 5.Michael Riehm (Kaw);

122-250 B:
1.Aaron Hansen (Kaw); 2.Michael Mikrot (Hon); 3.Matt Zebro (Kaw); 4.Chad Noaeill (Hon); 5.Brent Winans (Hon); 6.Matt Kline (Yam); 7.Eric Edman (Kaw); 8.Josh Virnig (Yam);

122-250 C:
1.Keenan Strom (Hon); 2.Matthew Brisbois (Yam); 3.Brad Richardson (Kaw); 4.Jonathan Meyers (Hon); 5.Jacob Sjodin (Kaw); 6.Damon Medek (Yam); 7.Ryan Schwab (Kaw); 8.Jordan Rapp (Yam);

122-OPEN A:
1.Sheldon Fratzke (Suz); 2.Daniel Holmes (Kaw); 3.Robert Kohl (Kaw);

122-OPEN B:
1.Chad Noaeill (Hon); 2.Matt Zebro (Kaw); 3.Michael Odencrans (Suz); 4.Justin Collins (Hon); 5.Josh Norick (Hon); 6.Tony Selle (Hon); 7.Matt Kline (Yam); 8.Isaac Beckel (Yam);

122-OPEN C:
1.Scott Lewis (Yam); 2.Justin Wilhelm (Suz); 3.Colin Carpenter (Yam); 4.Devin Ruprecht (Hon); 5.Evan Huotari (Hon); 6.Tim Rasmusson (Yam); 7.Jonathan Meyers (Hon);

14-24 A:
1.Daniel Holmes (Kaw); 2.Michael Riehm (Kaw);

14-24 B:
1.Aaron Hansen (Kaw); 2.Chad Noaeill (Hon); 3.Connor Ahlers (Hon); 4.Tony Selle (Hon); 5.Matt Zebro (Kaw); 6.Matthew Virnig (Yam); 7.Damon Johnson (Hon); 8.Eric Edman (Kaw);

14-24 C:
1.Brad Richardson (Kaw); 2.Ryan Schusted (Hon); 3.Justin Wilhelm (Suz); 4.Bobby Bretheim (Yam); 5.Jonathan Meyers (Hon); 6.Josh Gingras (Kaw); 7.Lana Merkley (Hon); 8.David Oreskovich (Yam);

25+ A:
1.Bruce Gates (Hon); 2.Sheldon Fratzke (Suz); 3.Bill Medek (Hon); 4.Rory Horner (Yam); 5.Patrick Mcnamara (Hon); 6.Norman Miesen (Yam); 7.Timothy Zebro (Hon); 8.Robert Kohl (Kaw);

25+ B:
1.Michael Mikrot (Hon); 2.Chas Kadlec (Yam); 3.Joseph Stumne (Kaw); 4.Rob Murphy (Hon); 5.Travis Butterfield (Hon); 6.Casey Lajoie (Hon); 7.Andy Odencrans (Suz); 8.Ryan Neslund (Yam);

25+ C:
1.Colin Carpenter (Yam); 2.Caleb Keppeler (Yam); 3.Jacob Ham (Kaw); 4.Cory Minke (Hon); 5.Chris Kusch (Yam);

Vet 30+ A:
1.Bruce Gates (Hon); 2.Timothy Zebro (Hon); 3.Charles Forrest (Hon); 4.Bill Medek (Hon); 5.Chuck Thompson (Hon); 6.Norman Miesen (Yam); 7.Patrick Mcnamara (Hon); 8.Robert Kohl (Kaw);

Vet 30+ B:
1.Travis Butterfield (Hon); 2.Jamie Koch (Kaw); 3.Robert Housh (Yam); 4.Casey Lajoie (Hon); 5.Chris Nelson (Hon); 6.Rob Murphy (Hon); 7.David Okeeffe (Hon);

Vet 30+ C:
1.Chris Kusch (Yam); 2.Jon Josephson (Yam); 3.Andrew Anderson (Kaw); 4.Travis Cluraghty (Yam); 5.Chris Haeg (Yam); 6.Tracy Anderson (Yam);

Senior 40+ A:
1.Chuck Thompson (Hon); 2.Norman Miesen (Yam); 3.Craig Mcneil (Hon); 4.Mike Mineheine (Hon);

Senior 40+ B:
1.Robert Housh (Yam); 2.Todd Mcilroy (Suz);

Senior 40+ C:
1.Scott Williams (Hon); 2.R Bretheim (Yam); 3.Suad Hodzic (Yam);

45+ A:
1.Mike Mineheine (Hon); 2.Craig Mcneil (Hon); 3.Tim Hanson (Hon);

45+:
1.Mark Brunsberg (Hon); 2.Tim Kight (Hon); 3.Scott Williams (Hon); 4.Michael Rapp (Yam); 5.Patrick Duffy (Yam);

50+:
1.Craig Cherrington (Hon); 2.Tim Kight (Hon); 3.Steve Ahlers (Hon); 4.Jerry Dillon (Yam); 5.Patrick Duffy (Yam);

55+:
1.Danny Buckwalter (Yam);

Women:
1.Shayanna Wilson (Yam); 2.Alyssa Rapp (Yam);

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