Klebl, Bascio notch wins at U.S. Disabled XC nats

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Chris Klebl (sit-ski) won the men's 15 km title Tuesday at the U.S. Disabled Cross Country Championships at Michigan Tech with Andy Soule (sit-ski) in second place.

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Chris Klebl (sit-ski) won the men's 15 km title Tuesday at the U.S. Disabled Cross Country Championships at Michigan Tech with Andy Soule (sit-ski) in second place.
    Soule, who lost both legs in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device went off, had the fastest raw time (1 hour, 2 minutes, 56.3 seconds). Klebl, paralyzed in a 1995 snowboarding accident, was second fastest (1:03.47.2). However, when the timing factors, which help equalize times by disability, were used, Klebl was the winner. Soule was silver medalist and Sean Halsted, paralyzed after a fall from a helicopter in 1998, took the bronze medal.
    Monica Bascio (sit-ski), who had a baby in July and is returning to competitive form, was the lone woman to compete in the 9 km race.
    For the first time, the entire U.S. Disabled Cross Country team is comprised of sit-skiers. Head coach Jon Kreamelmeyer said having all six athletes in the same disabled category helps make training and coaching more efficient because there's one focus for everyone.
    "It's our first race of the season, so this was a good start for us," Kreamelmeyer said. "We had an excellent camp [in Colorado's Summit County] before Christmas. Chris decided to train on his own, but the others were together for a week and that was a good lead-up for this first race. We did some team building and got in some excellent conditioning workouts. I was quite pleased with everyone giving it his or her best.
    "In this opening race at nationals [where 450-plus are competing in able-bodied events], we were the first ones on-course, and after some snow during the night, it was slow … but that's OK. The effort was solid, which is so important. Everyone was letting it go," the coach said. "Chris skied well. Andy is still learning the sport, but he and Sean are so motivated and have such a good attitude. They have a quiet determination and they're picking up the sport every time they race or train."
    The next disabled race is Thursday, the medium distance events — 10 km for men, 5 km for Bascio.