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 Three youngsters signed up to be in the event,
Ryan Ballinger of Atlanta, Lincoln Friedlein of Downs, and the lone
female in the competition Payton Norin of LeRoy.
The rules for the junior split are similar to those of the
professional and other splitting events throughout the weekend, but
with a few caveats because these are younger people.
In order to participate the kids have to be between the ages of 10
and 15. They must have parental consent and a parent/coach must be
on the field with the kids during the events.
The parent coach can help the kids get their wedges started as
needed and can advise and encourage from the sidelines.
For the youth ‘split the log’ is only a half-log and the kids are
only required to split it into two pieces. Rules for cleaning up the
work site, removing wedges from the logs and making sure the logs
are separated from one another completely before calling time are
similar to those of all the other splits.
Going onto the field with Ryan Ballinger was his dad Casey. Cody
Friedlein went onto the field with son Lincoln, and Peyton Norin was
accompanied by her dad Jonathon.
On the field, announcer Heidi Mueller introduced each of the three,
and then set the mark for them to start splitting.
Ryan Ballinger went at his log with a vengeance and
finished splitting it into two pieces and clearing his work site in
an amazing 54 seconds. The other two took a
bit longer but also finished well. First place was awarded to
Ballinger with Peyton Norin taking second and Lincoln Friedlein
finishing third.
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After the event, all three received certificates and a gift from the
Railsplitting Association for their excellent efforts.
Ballinger is 13 years old and lives on the farm with his family. He said that he
has been helping his dad with wood splitting since he was six or seven. Family
members standing about at the event agreed, saying that Ryan is a hard worker
and is very good at helping out at home, including splitting wood.
[Nila Smith]
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