Jorden Wakeley and Kaitlyn Vanias win Forbush Opener

Sun, Dec  14, 2025 - By Mike Muha

Forbush Corner kicked off the 2025-2026 Michigan Cup race season in high gear: Immaculate trails, firm but covered in packed new snow, a great course. The temperature was a bit cool (13F) and there was a wind, but the wind turned out not to be a factor because of the tree cover. A few snow squalls and it was a beautiful race! 

The "10km" race ended up being 7km but no one complained as everyone was a bit nervous about their first race of the season. Not nervous? Jorden Wakeley and Kaitlyn Vanias, who both kicked butt. Wakely powered in at a fast 19:11, followed by Alex Vanias (20:40) and Kevin Tarras (20:46). Kaitlyn Vanias cruised in at 22:08, with Rebecca Davis taking second place (23:02) and Karin Gillis in third (24:57).

Older skiers Dennis Paull (Male 60-64, 21:54) and Karin Gillis (Female 60-69, 24:57) had fast times that beat the vast majority of younger skiers!

The short race was just over 5km. also saw some fierce competition, particularly among the youth. Zack Dunne led the male field with the fastest time of 14:03, beating Arrow Cole (17:51) and Aaron Greenberg (22:26). Lindsay Smith was the overall female winner with a time of 16:15, followed closely by Jemma Cole (16:53) and Lulu Cole (16:55). 

In the 5km Male 80+ group, Steve Smigiel won his age division with an incredible time of 28:21, and in the Female 70-79 group, Carole Mueller-Brumbaugh earned the top spot in 31:44.

The Forbush Opener was a great start to what should be a great Michigan Cup season!

Forbush Opener Overall Results

7km Race
Bib	Place	Age Place	Name	Finish Time
113	1.		Jorden Wakeley, M, 35	19:11
122	2.		Alex Vanias, M, 35	20:40
104	3.	1.	Kevin Tarras, M, 42	20:46
86	4.	1.	Eric Parrott, M, 33	20:47
87	5.	1.	Dennis Paull, M, 61	21:54
109	6.	1.	Dane Trudgeon, M, 18	21:55
61	7.	1.	Glenn Goodman, M, 59	21:58
78	8.	2.	Danny Medina, M, 31	22:05
111	9.		Kaitlyn Vanias, F, 35	22:08
56	10.	2.	Yvon Dufour, M, 61	22:18
82	11.	1.	Riccardo Monaco, M, 52	22:27
94	12.	2.	Stephen Smigiel, M, 58	22:48
57	13.	1.	Anthony Fisher, M, 21	22:59
53	14.		Rebecca Davis, F, 35	23:02
79	15.	2.	Matt Meersman, M, 49	23:04
67	16.	3.	Craig Hughes, M, 59	23:09
52	17.	3.	Michael Davis, M, 34	23:46
110	18.	2.	Joe Tucker, M, 29	23:50
62	19.	2.	Eric Grimes, M, 52	24:19
54	20.	1.	Ken Dawson, M, 75	24:20
131	21.	4.	Anders Gillis, M, 39	24:34
130	22.	1.	Karin Gillis, F, 64	24:57
98	23.	3.	Allen Sorgenfrei, M, 61	24:58
112	24.	4.	Theo Vonwallmenich, M, 55	25:01
49	25.	1.	Douglas Cornell, M, 66	25:02
77	26.	3.	Travis Mecklenburg, M, 22	25:19
118	27.	2.	James Beebe, M, 65	25:31
117	28.	3.	Blair Zordell, M, 65	25:33
68	29.	3.	Patrick Keegan, M, 48	25:37
102	30.	4.	Steve Steffke, M, 63	25:55
83	31.	5.	Mike Muha, M, 68	26:00
48	32.	1.	Heather Compton, F, 50	26:02
47	33.	2.	Don Camp, M, 73	26:04
119	34.	4.	Steve Seager, M, 67	26:12
75	35.	4.	Michael Mccoy, M, 43	26:17
96	36.	5.	Randy Smith, M, 64	26:20
105	37.	6.	Mike Temkin, M, 62	26:39
55	38.	5.	Dan Dubes, M, 68	26:43
92	39.	1.	Mary Schlimmer-Willoughby, F, 34	26:46
66	40.	4.	Jacob Hartman, M, 20	26:48
97	41.	3.	Robert Smith, M, 52	27:00
88	42.	7.	Jukka Pietila, M, 60	27:05
?	43	5	Joel Heeres, M, 49	27:08
99	44.	2.	Deanna Spencer, F, 55	27:19
108	45.	5.	Owen Triebold, M, 20	27:21
121	46.	2.	Wendy Anderson, F, 64	28:18
58	47.	6.	Matthew Gabriel, M, 41	28:45
63	48.	3.	Cyril Grum, M, 73	29:09
80	49.	5.	Andrew Miller, M, 34	29:09
51	50.	3.	Cheryl Darnton, F, 58	29:11
129	51.	1.	Hannah Steffke, F, 27	29:13
46	52.	2.	Cecili Bugge, F, 25	29:23
95	53.	8.	Mark Smith, M, 62	29:57
115	54.	4.	Gregory Worsnop, M, 70	30:00
84	55.	7.	Richard Neier, M, 68	30:06
50	56.	7.	Jesse Crandall, M, 46	30:25
70	57.	8.	John Kusku, M, 41	30:26
125	58.	8.	Devan Thielfoldt, M, 65	30:54
90	59.	3.	Lavinia Raffoul, F, 60	31:43
106	60.	9.	Jeremy Treadwell, M, 65	32:10
69	61.	5.	Fred Koehler, M, 71	32:39
100	62.	5.	Timothy Spencer, M, 56	32:57
101	63.	9.	Mike Steffke, M, 62	33:20
114	64.	1.	Linda Weeks-Kaleita, F, 71	33:32
89	65.	10.	Khalil Raffoul, M, 60	33:32
81	66.	4.	Melinda Mitchell, F, 67	34:55
45	67.	6.	Geoff Brousseau, M, 39	35:14
120	68.	5.	Christine Seager, F, 63	35:42
41	69.	4.	Mike Appel, M, 54	36:14
42	70.	11.	Nickola Baic, M, 64	36:27
116	71.	6.	Zbigy Zlobicki, M, 75	37:24
76	72.	10.	John Mckeon, M, 65	37:31
40	73.	5.	Christopher Anderson, M, 51	38:49
59	74.	7.	William Ganser, M, 76	39:42
93	75.	2.	Tove Shere, F, 73	40:39
71	76.	1.	Lindsey Lefelhoc, F, 43	40:53
127	77.	6.	Ralph Scharnowski, M, 58	41:03
74	78.	6.	Leslie Maclin, F, 67	42:37
64	79.	7.	Tim Gustafson, M, 59	43:10
43	80.	11.	Douglas Ball, M, 67	44:32
65	81.	2.	Katie Harris, F, 45	45:14
103	82.	4.	Gwenn Stevenson, F, 59	45:31
126	83.	6.	Jack Mcauliffe, M, 24	46:07
123	84.	3.	Christianna Jones, F, 42	48:53
5km Race
Bib	Place	Age Place	Name	Finish Time
6	1.		Zack Dunne, M, 15	14:03
17	2.		Lindsay Smith, F, 15	16:15
3	3.		Jemma Cole, F, 16	16:53
4	4.	1.	Lulu Cole, F, 15	16:55
134	5.		Arrow Cole, M, 12	17:51
5	6.	2.	Kayla Dunne, F, 13	18:54
132	7.	3.	Kialey Gillis, F, 14	20:56
133	8.	1.	Hanna Derealt, F, 30	20:58
7	9.	1.	Aaron Greenberg, M, 12	22:26
14	10.	1.	Frank Rynalski, M, 71	24:56
124	11.	2.	Rex Donahey, M, 70	27:07
16	12.	1.	Steve Smigiel, M, 80	28:21
20	13.	3.	Ernie Brumbaugh, M, 79	30:49
21	14.	1.	Carole Mueller-Brumbaugh, F, 71	31:44
12	15.	2.	Linda Mc Giinnes, F, 75	33:07
9	16.	4.	Gary Kaleita, M, 72	33:10
1	17.	5.	Frank Nizio, M, 77	35:48
10	18.	1.	Chris Lintner, M, 49	37:06
2	19.	6.	Lloyd Anderson, M, 78	37:25
11	20.	1.	Valerie Lintner, F, 48	37:30
13	21.	1.	Sofia Messinis, F, 23	38:06
128	22.	1.	Michelle Smith, F, 61	39:09
8	23.	2.	Peter Johnson, M, 80	44:45
15	24.	3.	Jerry Shere, M, 82	46:58
18	25.	4.	Ricard Wells, M, 80	54:11

Forbush Opener Age Group Rankings

7km Race
Bib	Rank	Name	Finish Time
Overall Winners
Female
111	1	Kaitlyn Vanias, F, 35	22:08
53	2	Rebecca Davis, F, 35	23:02
Male
113	1	Jorden Wakeley, M, 35	19:11
122	2	Alex Vanias, M, 35	20:40
...Age Group Winners
Female
Female 20-29
129	1	Hannah Steffke, F, 27	29:13
46	2	Cecili Bugge, F, 25	29:23
Female 30-39
92	1	Mary Schlimmer-Willoughby, F, 34	26:46
Female 40-49
71	1	Lindsey Lefelhoc, F, 43	40:53
65	2	Katie Harris, F, 45	45:14
123	3	Christianna Jones, F, 42	48:53
Female 50-59
48	1	Heather Compton, F, 50	26:02
99	2	Deanna Spencer, F, 55	27:19
51	3	Cheryl Darnton, F, 58	29:11
103	4	Gwenn Stevenson, F, 59	45:31
Female 60-69
130	1	Karin Gillis, F, 64	24:57
121	2	Wendy Anderson, F, 64	28:18
90	3	Lavinia Raffoul, F, 60	31:43
81	4	Melinda Mitchell, F, 67	34:55
120	5	Christine Seager, F, 63	35:42
74	6	Leslie Maclin, F, 67	42:37
Female70-79
114	1	Linda Weeks-Kaleita, F, 71	33:32
93	2	Tove Shere, F, 73	40:39
Male
Male 19 and Under
109	1	Dane Trudgeon, M, 18	21:55
Male 20-29
57	1	Anthony Fisher, M, 21	22:59
110	2	Joe Tucker, M, 29	23:50
77	3	Travis Mecklenburg, M, 22	25:19
66	4	Jacob Hartman, M, 20	26:48
108	5	Owen Triebold, M, 20	27:21
126	6	Jack Mcauliffe, M, 24	46:07
Male 30-39
86	1	Eric Parrott, M, 33	20:47
78	2	Danny Medina, M, 31	22:05
52	3	Michael Davis, M, 34	23:46
131	4	Anders Gillis, M, 39	24:34
80	5	Andrew Miller, M, 34	29:09
45	6	Geoff Brousseau, M, 39	35:14
Male 40-49
104	1	Kevin Tarras, M, 42	20:46
79	2	Matt Meersman, M, 49	23:04
68	3	Patrick Keegan, M, 48	25:37
75	4	Michael Mccoy, M, 43	26:17
135	5	Joel Heeres, M, 49	27:08
58	6	Matthew Gabriel, M, 41	28:45
50	7	Jesse Crandall, M, 46	30:25
70	8	John Kusku, M, 41	30:26
Male 50-54
82	1	Riccardo Monaco, M, 52	22:27
62	2	Eric Grimes, M, 52	24:19
97	3	Robert Smith, M, 52	27:00
41	4	Mike Appel, M, 54	36:14
40	5	Christopher Anderson, M, 51	38:49
Male 55-59
61	1	Glenn Goodman, M, 59	21:58
94	2	Stephen Smigiel, M, 58	22:48
67	3	Craig Hughes, M, 59	23:09
112	4	Theo Vonwallmenich, M, 55	25:01
100	5	Timothy Spencer, M, 56	32:57
127	6	Ralph Scharnowski, M, 58	41:03
64	7	Tim Gustafson, M, 59	43:10
Male 60-64
87	1	Dennis Paull, M, 61	21:54
56	2	Yvon Dufour, M, 61	22:18
98	3	Allen Sorgenfrei, M, 61	24:58
102	4	Steve Steffke, M, 63	25:55
96	5	Randy Smith, M, 64	26:20
105	6	Mike Temkin, M, 62	26:39
88	7	Jukka Pietila, M, 60	27:05
95	8	Mark Smith, M, 62	29:57
101	9	Mike Steffke, M, 62	33:20
89	10	Khalil Raffoul, M, 60	33:32
42	11	Nickola Baic, M, 64	36:27
Male 64-69
49	1	Douglas Cornell, M, 66	25:02
118	2	James Beebe, M, 65	25:31
117	3	Blair Zordell, M, 65	25:33
83	4	Mike Muha, M, 68	26:00
119	5	Steve Seager, M, 67	26:12
55	6	Dan Dubes, M, 68	26:43
84	7	Richard Neier, M, 68	30:06
125	8	Devan Thielfoldt, M, 65	30:54
106	9	Jeremy Treadwell, M, 65	32:10
76	10	John Mckeon, M, 65	37:31
43	11	Douglas Ball, M, 67	44:32
Male 70-79
54	1	Ken Dawson, M, 75	24:20
47	2	Don Camp, M, 73	26:04
63	3	Cyril Grum, M, 73	29:09
115	4	Gregory Worsnop, M, 70	30:00
69	5	Fred Koehler, M, 71	32:39
116	6	Zbigy Zlobicki, M, 75	37:24
59	7	William Ganser, M, 76	39:42
5km Race
Bib	Rank	Name	Finish Time
Overall Winners
Female
17	1	Lindsay Smith, F, 15	16:15
3	2	Jemma Cole, F, 16	16:53
Male
6	1	Zack Dunne, M, 15	14:03
134	2	Arrow Cole, M, 12	17:51
...Age Group Winners
Female
Female 19 and Under
4	1	Lulu Cole, F, 15	16:55
5	2	Kayla Dunne, F, 13	18:54
132	3	Kialey Gillis, F, 14	20:56
Female 20-29
13	1	Sofia Messinis, F, 23	38:06
Female 30-39
133	1	Hanna Derealt, F, 30	20:58
Female 40-49
11	1	Valerie Lintner, F, 48	37:30
Female 60-69
128	1	Michelle Smith, F, 61	39:09
Female70-79
21	1	Carole Mueller-Brumbaugh, F, 71	31:44
12	2	Linda Mc Giinnes, F, 75	33:07
Male
Male 19 and Under
7	1	Aaron Greenberg, M, 12	22:26
Male 40-49
10	1	Chris Lintner, M, 49	37:06
Male 70-79
14	1	Frank Rynalski, M, 71	24:56
124	2	Rex Donahey, M, 70	27:07
20	3	Ernie Brumbaugh, M, 79	30:49
9	4	Gary Kaleita, M, 72	33:10
1	5	Frank Nizio, M, 77	35:48
2	6	Lloyd Anderson, M, 78	37:25
Male 80+
16	1	Steve Smigiel, M, 80	28:21
8	2	Peter Johnson, M, 80	44:45
15	3	Jerry Shere, M, 82	46:58
18	4	Ricard Wells, M, 80	54:11