2016 Brookville Canoefest

By Travis Thayer (Brookville, Ind.) – Hundreds of paddlers flocked to Brookville Lake over the weekend to compete in the 2016 Caneofest races. Spectators lined the banks in the Brookville Town Park as three-time Olympian Roland Muhlen won the Canoefest traveling trophy, reports the Franklin County Observer. Muhlen, a Cincinnati native, captured the trophy by winning the C-2 standard canoe race with a time of 1:26:11. He previously won the traveling trophy in 1966 when he began competing as a racer at the age of 23. This year, Muhlen, 73, won the trophy alongside his teammate Tom Thomas of Jasonville, Indiana. The solo biathlon race was won by Jeff Siebert of Brookville, with a time of 2:10:39. The master’s biathlon race was won by Chuck and Aaron Grimes with a combined time of 4:41:13. The Canoefest biathlon consists of an 8.4 mile canoe run, and a 6.7 mile run on land. Other winners included: Male biathlon team winners – Mark and Jake Sheard with a combined time of 4:29:57. Female biathlon team winners – Allison Huelseman and Leah Kaiser with a time of 5:12:36. C-1 men’s canoe race winner – Dan Mecklenburg. C-2 women’s canoe race winner – Alana Schaeffer. Men’s long kayak-1 race winner – David Jacobs. Men’s short kayak-1 race winner – John Baskins. Other weekend activities included live music from My Brother’s Keeper Band, fried chicken dinners, Kids Fest, fireworks, and the princess contest. Bella Monroe was crowned as the 2016 Canoefest Princess. Rebekah Tinch was 1st runner-up, Gracey Massey was 2nd runner-up, and Kylie Lea was Miss Congeniality. Indiana’s largest canoe race began in 1963 and ran until 1990. After a 16 year break, the races started again in 2006.