Albuquerque, n.m. — Katrina Geurkink put her best foot forward for the Lebanon-based Thor’s Stone Athletic Club during last weekend’s USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Nationals at the Albequerque Convention Center.

Geurkink, 55, started on Saturday by winning the national shot put title among women ages 55-59. The third of Geurkink’s six attempts went 34 feet, 5.25 inches, good enough to win the crown by more than two feet.

Geurkink’s two other age-group events came on Sunday. The former University of Vermont athlete placed third in the 16-pound weight throw, tossing a best of 37-10.25. She added runner-up honors in the 25-pound super weight throw later in the day, throwing a personal-best of 28-3.25 to take second place behind Oneithea Lewis (31-0).

Shamrock 5K on Tap

Lebanon — The unofficial start of the Upper Valley’s running season is just weeks away in the form of the Shamrock Shuffle 5K in downtown Lebanon.

The five-kilometer road race and one-mile fun run are set for March 18, beginning and ending at Colburn Park. The fun run, which is free, starts at 11 a.m, with the 5K following at noon.

Online registration is available at a discount at www.shamrock5k.com through March 11. The cost, which includes a long-sleeve T-shirt, is $22.50 for ages 18 and older, $17.50 for ages 13-17 and $12.50 for ages 12 and younger. Registration increases by $5.50 for each age group after that date up to the day of the race.

Bananas, bagels and sports drinks will be available pre-race for all competitors, while a post-race St. Patrick’s Day party is set for afterward at Salt hill Pub. The race is also the first of the season for the eight-event Upper Valley Running Series.

For more information, visit the race website or call Lebanon Parks and Recreation at 603-448-5121.

On the Ice

Bruins Alumni Game

Woodstock — The Boston Bruins alumni team returns to the Upper Valley on Saturday for its annual fundraising game at Union Arena.

The Bruins will play a squad of coaches and parents involved in this weekend’s Bear Squirt Tournament, with the faceoff set for 4:30 p.m. Past Bruins standouts scheduled to take part include Ken Linseman, Rick Middleton, Kenny Hodge, Bob Sweeney, Graeme Townshend and many others.

Proceeds from the evening go toward Union Arena’s operating budget. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for ages 14 and younger.

Stop by Union Arena to purchase tickets, or call UA at 802-457-2500.

Wild Bantams at Tourney

Hooksett, n.h. — The Hanover Bantam Green youth hockey team went 1-3-0 in group play against teams from the Eastern U.S. and Canada during last weekend’s Presidents Day tournament at Tri-Town Arena.

The Wild’s weekend got off to a flying start on Friday with a 7-3 win over the Somerville, Mass.-based Max Pro Jets. Austin Kapoukrandis had a pair of goals and Pratt Stetson scored once with two assists as Hanover bolted to a 4-1 lead through two periods. Curtis Rice, Nathan St. Pierre, Andrew Duany and Sawyer Goodwin also dented the net for the Wild.

Hanover found the going tougher the rest of the way, dropping games to the Connecticut Oilers (5-2), East Coast Wizards (7-6) and New Hampshire Avalanche (3-2) to close the tournament. St. Pierre and Stetson scored against the Oilers, St. Pierre added a had trick against the Wizards, and Kapoukrandis and St. Pierre provided the goals against the Avs, who broke a 2-2 tie with 2:18 left in the game.

Woodstock Red Advances

Middlebury, Vt. — A pair of 3-1 wins over Chittenden-South Burlington on Sunday sent the Woodstock Bantam Reds to the finals of the Vermont Tier II playoffs over the weekend.

The doubleheader with CSB came about after a one-win, one-loss start to the tournament. Essex rallied from a goal from Woodstock’s Tommy Bissaillon for a 2-1 overtime win over the Wasps on Saturday. Woodstock bounced back with a 2-1 defeat of host Middlebury later in the day, with Riley Shepherd and Aiden Yates scoring the goals and Shepherd joining Andrew Gubbins in the assist department.

Sunday morning’s win over CSB had no bearing in the standings, but two goals from Owen Coates and one from Luke Ricci set the stage for the afternoon elimination contest. Bissaillon, Coates and Field Willis scored in the afternoon win, with Mason Harkins, Gubbins and Shepherd assisting.

Woodstock will meet up with Essex again this weekend to determine the tier’s champion.

Bantam White in Finals

Woodstock — Woodstock Bantam White swept four games at Union Arena last weekend to reach the finals of the Vermont Tier IV state tournament.

The Wasps opened on Friday with a 5-0 shutout of Chittenden-South Burlington behind Ethan Mello’s perfect goaltending and a two-goal, one-assist effort from Dylan DeSchamp. Saturday started with a 6-1 win over Lyndon, as Ian Schell scored a hat trick with two assists to back another solid effort between the pipes from Mello.

Mello earned his second shutout of the weekend later Saturday, blanking Middlebury by a 3-0 count. Silas Bohen, Schell and Chase Christiansen provided support with goals. The Wasps closed the early portion of the tournament with a 6-1 rout of Middlebury, with Nicholas Lee scoring twice and assisting twice.

The Wasps head to Stowe to face Northshire for the tier championship on March 5.

On the Slopes

Seltzer Wins N.J. Slalom

Vernon, n.j. — Hanover’s Brian Seltzer, skiing for Waterville Valley Academy, edged another Upper Valley rival for the victory in the first of two FIS slaloms at the National Winter Activity Center on Feb. 16 in New Jersey.

Seltzer nipped Hanover Center’s Chauncey Morgan, racing for Burke Mountain Academy, for the victory in the opening race of the two-day meet. Norwich’s Charlie Lang, also competing for BMA, was eighth, while Colin Rozzi (18th) and Alex Purcell (31st) had the best finishes for Hanover’s Ford Sayre Academy. Green Mountain Valley School’s Maggie McCutcheon, of Lyme, was 28th in the girls slalom, with FSA’s Caitlin Blinkhorn finishing 30th.

Friday’s second race found Morgan taking third, Seltzer fifth and Lang 12th among the boys. McCutcheon was 32nd and Blinkhorn 33rd among the girls.

FSA Sends Five to Finals

Hanover — Ford Sayre Academy will send five racers to either the U16 Eastern Championships or Finals after capping the NHARA qualifier season last weekend.

FSA’s Kyle Rozzi, Ethan Ross and Lainie Taylor will head to Stowe for the U16 Eastern Championships on March 9-14 by virtue of their finishes in the six-race qualifier series. Two other FSA skiers, Frans Luttmer and Eva Schiffman, will compete in the U16 Eastern Finals at Okemo on March 11-14.

Qualifiers ended with two slaloms last weekend, one at Proctor Academy and the other at Ragged Mountain. Rozzi had the big weekend for FSA, claiming fifth in both boys races. Ross took 19th and Colter Lingelbach-Pierce was 21st for Ford Sayre at Proctor. Schiffman had the best finish for Ford Sayre among the girls by placing 13th in Sunday’s slalom at Ragged, with clubmate Lucy Doyle taking 31st.

In a (Mobile) Bed

Eastman Races This Weekend

Grantham — The Eastman Community Association will host a day of snow-centered activities in support of David’s House on Saturday, highlighted by a bed sled race at the Eastman Cross Country Ski Center.

The race is open to teams of four people (three to push, one in pajamas to ride), who will create entries based on the various David’s House guest room themes. Beds must be a minimum of twin size (35 inches by 71 inches) but can be larger and must be mounted on at least two skis.

Teams will push their sleds on the Nordic Center’s practice loop. At the race midpoint, the bed’s rider must switch positions — as well as pajamas — with one of the sled pushers for the trip back. The race will cover a distance of 400 yards, with a downhill finish. Teams will be timed, and the top four fastest sleds advance to the semifinals and finals.

Eastman Recreation has also built two sled beds and will make them available to teams who might be interested in participating but are unable to construct a bed.

The cost to participate is $100 per team, with proceeds will benefit David’s House.

The day will also include a display of grooming equipment, a sleboggan demonstration and a chili cook-off. Call Eastman Recreation at 603-863-6772 for more information or to register.