LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Shaw Grigsby was invited to participate in the Bass Fishing competition at the third annual ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge as an alternate. Not being one to let an opportunity go to waste, the Gainesville, Fla. angler took full advantage on Saturday to claim the gold medal.

Grigsby brought in five bass weighing 12 pounds 4 ounces in his winning effort. Last year's silver and bronze medallists pulled off a repeat performance as Texans Gary Klein (Weatherford) and Clark Wendlandt (Cedar Park) brought in 9-13 and 8-12 respectively.

Two-time gold medallist Peter Thliveros actually ended up tied with Wendlandt for third; however the biggest bass was used as the tie-breaker and Thliveros' 2 pound 6 ounce bass was edged by Wendlandt's 2-8 catch.

"It was a blessed day," said blissful gold medallist Shaw Grigsby. "I can't say enough for what's happened to me all week. This whole week has just been … amazing."

Overall, a crowd of 26,200 witnessed action on Saturday. The total attendance after three days for the Games stands at 49,650. Last year the Games drew a four-day total of 31,070.

Medal count

The United States maintains the international lead in medals with 38. New Zealand is in second with 4. In the competition among the states, Wisconsin leads Minnesota by a 12 to 8 margin.

Nation Gold-Silver-Bronze-Total

United States 14 13 11 38
New Zealand 1 2 1 4
Canada 1 2 0 3
Australia 1 0 0 1

State Gold-Silver-Bronze-Total

Wisconsin 3 4 5 12
Minnesota 4 3 1 8
Pennsylvania 1 2 0 3
Connecticut 1 0 1 2
Alabama 0 1 1 2
Texas 0 1 1 2
California 0 0 1 1
Florida 1 0 0 1
Georgia 1 0 0 1
Idaho 1 0 0 1
Louisiana 1 0 0 1
New York 1 0 0 1
North Carolina 1 0 0 1
Oregon 1 0 0 1
Arizona 0 1 0 1
Mississippi 0 1 0 1
Missouri 0 1 0 1
Wyoming 0 1 0 1
Arkansas 0 0 1 1
Kansas 0 0 1 1
Tennessee 0 1 0 1
Washington 0 0 1 1
West Virginia 0 0 1 1

Sporting Dogs

The Sporting Dogs competitions saw their share of action Saturday with medals in Big Air and the Super Weave Agility. For the second consecutive year, Big Air saw a new world record set as Little Morgan, trained by Michael Jackson of Shakopee, Minn., recorded a jump of 26 feet 6 inches to claim the gold. Little Morgan shattered the old world record of 23' 5".

Wally, trained by Melissa Holden of Clinton, Miss., jumped 23' 7" for silver and Kiki, trained by Stamford, Conn.'s Chris Litwin, jumped 23' 5" for bronze.

"This was an amazing experience for such an ordinary guy and his dog," said Jackson. "The best thing about the Great Outdoor Games is that it draws the best competitors in these events on a national (level)."

In the Small Dogs Super Weave event, Jag, trained by Erin Schaefer of Phoenixville, Pa., took the gold with a final time of 21.235 and no faults. Taz, trained by Murfreesboro, Tenn's Jean Lavalley, claimed the silver and Barbara Davis and Shimmer of Newman Lake, Wash. took bronze.

Target sports

In the finals of the Shotgun Grid competition held on Friday night, Robbie Purser of Macon, Ga. claimed the gold by defeating Montgomery, Ala.'s Tre Sides 20 to 19 in the finals of the head-to-head bracketed competition. Jeff Vick of Northport, Ala. brought home the bronze for his efforts.

"This was a great shotgun game. It was a whole lot easier for the audience to follow and get involved in and that made it fun for the shooters. It was great to be here competing and ESPN and NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) ran a great event," said Purser.

Princeton, La.'s Jerry Miculek claimed gold in Rifle Targets, defeating Albertis, Pa. shooter Doug Koenig 100-71. Carl Bernosky of Ashland, Pa. topped Westerly, R.I.'s Mark Mazzotta 100-36 for the bronze.

Timber

Timber events saw the most action on Saturday with medals awarded in the men's and women's Log Rolling and Endurance events. Medals were also awarded in Speed Climbing and the Boom Run Champions Challenge.

Tina Bosworth of Lake Geneva, Wis. outlasted Jenny Atkinson of Grand Marais, Minn. for the gold in Women's Log Rolling, while Elizabeth Hoeschlar of LaCrosse, Wis. took bronze.

Canadian Darren Hudson of Barrington, Nova Scotia took home the gold in Men's Log Rolling by besting Branson, Mo.'s Dan McDonough. J.R. Salzman of Hayward, Wis., claimed his second bronze and third medal overall in the 2002 Games.

Croghan, N.Y.'s Matt Bush thrilled the home state crowd by wining New York's first medal of the Games in Men's Endurance. Bush's gold medal effort bested Auckland, New Zealand's Dion Lane, who claimed silver. Claiming bronze and also from Auckland was Jason Wynyard.

Sheree Taylor of Te Aroha, New Zealand topped Alma Center, Wisc.'s Penny Halvorson by nearly two seconds to claim gold in the Women's Endurance event. North Island, New Zealand's Allyson Clarke claimed bronze by defeating Tina Scheer.

Brian Bartow of Grants Pass, Oregon took gold in the Speed Climbing event defeating silver medallist Wade Stewart by a margin of .31 seconds. Hayward, Wis.'s Brian Linville earned the bronze.

Stillwater, Minn.'s Jamie Fischer claimed gold with a 2-0 victory over Mandy Erdman of Lacrosse, Wis. in the Boom Run Champions Challenge. Erdman took silver in the event which pitted the winners of the Men's and Women's Boom Run events.