MADISON, Wis. — Sheree Taylor didn't know if she would be able to make the trip from New Zealand for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge because of her mother's lingering illness.
Taylor did, though, and as the No. 2 seed in the Women's Endurance competition reached the finals against top-seeded Peg Engasser of Cortland, N.Y. When the final bit of sawdust hit the floor late Friday night at the Alliant Energy Center, Taylor had upset Engasser for the gold medal.
"Just a few weeks ago, I didn't know if I was coming," said Taylor, who completed the three-event contest in 1:29.72 for her third Great Outdoor Games endurance title. "I've been nursing my mum, Gloria Benton, for a while now and wanted to do well for her. I think I'll give her a ring and maybe this will give her a lift."
Athletes must cut two discs with the Stock Saw chainsaw before moving to the Underhand Chop, where they stand on a log that must be completely cut with an axe before they can advance to the final Single Buck crosscut saw finale.
Engasser was a step behind after the Stock Saw cut, with a slight bobble on her upstroke costing her precious seconds. She caught up on the Underhand Chop until a knot briefly wedged her axe before she made the turn to begin cutting the back side of the log. Taylor also encountered a knot, but was first to the Single Buck and had completed four strokes before Engasser began sawing.
Engasser also encountered an unexpected twist when she completed the Underhand Chop. The log stands from the prior Men's Endurance competition were left on the stage between the saw and chop logs. Despite their presence during her final preparations, the stand threw off Engasser's timing.
"Thursday night those stands weren't there and I didn't know which way to go," she said. "But that's not an excuse. It's not the reason I lost the race. I thought I did pretty well, and I wanted to saw better than I did Thursday, which I think I did.
"I knew Sheree would be in the medal round, for sure. I didn't know if I'd get out of the first round. I try not to think ahead about things like that, so I was just concentrating on each round."
In the consolation round for the bronze medal, Erin LaVoie of Spokane, Wash., easily captured the medal over crowd favorite Penny Halvorson of Alma Center, Wis. They were seeded fourth and third, respectively, and LaVoie wanted to avenge her penalty mistake in the semifinal round that cost her a shot at the gold.
Going against Engasser, on her opening Stock Saw cut the saw slid out early and failed to make a complete disc thick enough to satisfy the judges. That 15-second timing penalty put Engasser in the finals.
The 22-year-old LaVoie also had to battle a bit of overconfidence against Halvorson. It was a near-deadlock until the Underhand Chop, when LaVoie finished first and had made 10 slices with the Single Buck before Halvorson began her final exercise.
"I didn't pay enough attention to her," LaVoie explained. "I wasn't focused on her and just thought I'd win. I wanted to prove I could beat her and also beat my time from Thursday night against Peg, because I wanted to be in the finals.
"I was scared about the stock saw cutting out on me again and it was close, but they counted it. When I got into the chop, I just got into my zone and was off."
LaVoie captured the bronze in 1:28.62, which was less than a hundredth of a second faster than her semifinal time before the penalty was added. Halvorson finished at 1:43.07 failing to overcome LaVoie's strong effort on the chop and blazing start with the saw.
In her first moments as the new Women's Endurance champion, Taylor collapsed briefly on the log after her final slice, relishing the championship while knowing she defeated the defending gold medalist.
"I've worked hard," she said.
Final Standings - Women's Endurance
1. Sheree Taylor, Te Ahora, New Zealand
2. Peg Engasser, Cortland, N.Y.
3. Erin LaVoie, Spokane, Wash.
4. Penny Halvorson, Alma Center
5. Mary Dooley, Waterport, N.Y.
6. Nancy Zalewski, Plymouth, Wis.
7. Brenda Boyko, Viola, Idaho
8. Dany Boulanger, Valley Field, Quebec, Canada
Results (by round)
Final round
Sheree Taylor 1:29.728 def Peg Engasser 1:58.642
Consolation round
Erin Lavoie 1:28.628 def Penny Halvorson 1:43.071
Semifinal round
Peg Engasser 1:38.771 def Erin Lavoie 1:43.633
Sheree Taylor 1:23.814 def Penny Halvorson 1:47.900
Quarterfinal round
Peg Engasser 1:37.228 def Mary Dooley 1:58.828
Erin Lavoie 1:41.266 def Nancy Zalewski 2:00.900
Sheree Taylor 1:37.281 def Brenda Boyko 2:17.350
Penny Halvorson 1:54.071 def Dany Boulanger 4:00.000
