For the sixth time in the past seven years, the men's portion of the Wisconsin Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Climbing For A Cure stair climb, held this year on Thursday, Nov. 13, was dominated by an elite climber from south of the Illinois border. Eric Leninger, who made the drive from the Chicago area for the climb, took home his third win in three tries in races at Milwaukee's US Bank Center. It was the 31-year-old's second CFF Climbing For A Cure victory. His 5:09 finish tied his personal best, set in 2008, also the building's sixth-fastest ever finish. The victory ties him with another elite Chicago climber -- Jesse Berg -- for most US Bank Center victories. Illinois success at the Milwaukee climb extended to the women's competitors as well, as a Chicago-area climber took home a first-place female finish at the CFF climb for the seventh time in the past 10 years. A newcomer to the sport of stair climbing, Liz Ruvalcaba, 30, took home top female honors and became the fifth woman to crack the 7-minute mark at the US Bank Center. Her 6:37 finish, which came in only her second-ever stair race and was also good enough for a second-place overall finish to Leninger, ranks as the fourth-fastest female finish in the building. Kenosha's Brian Rummelhart, 45, was Wisconsin's fastest climber, finishing third overall in 6:44. Stephanie Vetter, 33, of Menomonee Falls, was Wisconsin's fastest woman and the second-fastest woman of the night with a time of 7:35. In its 25th year, the Wisconsin CFF's 2014 Climbing For A Cure saw 339 participants scale 47 stories and approximately 1,000 steps -- an increase from 287 in 2013. Full results from the climb can be found HERE. |