Editor's note: Initial results from the Fly Fishing final at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge are included, with complete coverage Saturday, July 10.

Taylor wins Women's Endurance for Mum

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.

Young guns dominate first round

The nation's young guns captured the top three seeds while winning five of eight first-round shotgun matches Friday night at the fifth ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

Travis Mears of Burleson, Texas, shot the night's only perfect round, hitting all 20 clay targets to advance as the No. 1 seed going into Saturday night's final rounds at Madison's Alliant Energy Center. The 17-year-old Texan finished one shot better than Brett Dorak, 18, of Sobieski, Wis., and Anthony Matarese Jr., 18, of Pennsville, N.J.

The Great Outdoor Games Shotgun competition pits shooters in a bracketed format. Two shotgunners take turns shooting four sets of five targets. The shooter who breaks the most out of the 20 targets wins the round and advances.

Mears finished fourth at the 2003 Games at Reno-Tahoe, and Dorak was the 2003 silver medalist. This is Matarese's first appearance at the Games.

The other young guns to advance Friday night were Jamie Riggs, 19, of Franklin, Tenn., with a score of 16; and Chris McClelland, 17, of Stewartstown, Pa., with a 16. Sandwiched in between all the youngsters were three of the nation's top veterans: Robbie Purser of Macon, Ga., with a score of 18; Andy Duffy of Ronan, Mont., 17; and Richard Aitken, of Colorado Springs, Colo., 16. Purser was the Games bronze medalist in 2003 and the gold medalist in 2002.

Heavy rains earlier in the evening canceled the practice rounds, but Mears and Dorak said that didn't bother them.

"I usually don't practice right before the event anyway, because if I don't shoot well in practice, I don't want that hanging over me," Dorak said. "I just like to go out there fresh and shoot."

The event's final rounds begin at 9 p.m. at the Alliant Energy Center grounds.

Bartow takes Hart in Tree Topping gold

Tree Topping lumberjacks sit on top of the world and bring more than 10,000 fans to their feet at the Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

At the highest point over Willow Island at the Alliant Energy Center, 65 feet above the timber stage, Brian Bartow of Grants Pass, Ore., won the Tree Topping event over Greg Hart of Maple Ridge, B.C., with a final time of 35.16 seconds, winning his first gold medal in this event.

Tree Topping is one of the most spectacular events, calling for the skills of the lumber jacks of days gone by, when hardened men scaled the majestic pine trees in the northern forest to take off the tops of the trees for the lumber below them to be sent down river to the mills.

With the crowd cheering the final two contestants, Brian Bartow scaled the 65 foot pole with the ease of a spider, earning respectful praise from his opponent.

"I've competed against Brian before and knew that the only way to beat him was to get to the top as fast as possible and finish the event in 36 seconds," Hart said. "I did that, but I also hoped Brian would make the smallest mistake, and he didn't."

Bartow, who in the first round of competition was set against his father Steve Bartow, beat his dad by 13 second and cheered his father at the top of the pole as he waited for him to complete his cut.

Hendrix captures third Archery title

Randy Hendrix of Clemons, N.C., overcame frequent rain and erratic winds Friday to capture his third archery gold medal in the past four years during Great Outdoor Games V presented by Dodge.

Hendrix won gold medals in 2001 and 2002 at the Lake Placid Games and settled for bronze in 2003 at the Reno-Tahoe Games. He won his third championship in a dramatic gold-medal round victory over Wayne Endicott of Springfield, Ore., who was making his first appearance at the Games.

Drama hounded Hendrix from start to finish in all four of his matches. He overcame strong challenges from Mike Slinkard of John Day, Ore., in the first round and then had to win a shoot-off in the second round against Olympics archer Rod White of Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

"All these guys are very tough shooters, no matter how many times they've been here," Hendrix said. "I'm just happy and relieved. This was a great field of archers. I feel fortunate to be shooting with them."

Endicott reached the gold-medal round with Hendrix by knocking out last year's gold and silver medalists in the second round and quarter-finals. After winning his first-round matchup against Donald Bishop of Arden, N.C., Endicott shocked the crowd by defeating the 2003 gold medalist, Darren Collins of Galena, Kansas, in the second round. Collins and Endicott finished their match tied, and Endicott won the round in a shoot-off. In the quarter-finals, Endicott brought the crowd to its feet again when he defeated Randy Ulmer of Cave Creek, Ariz., the silver-medalist from the past two Games.

By capturing the top four spots, Hendrix, Endicott, Ulmer and Jackie Caudle of Gadsden, Ala., automatically qualified for the 2005 Great Outdoor Games.

The archery competition will air Sunday, July 18 from 3:30-5 p.m. ET on ABC.

Gofron, Brauer lead Freshwater Doubles

It's been a long time since professional bass angler Denny Brauer seriously attempted to troll for walleyes, but the familiar feeling didn't go away Friday in the first round of the Freshwater Doubles fishing competition at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

Brauer, the 1998 CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion from Camdenton, Mo. and all-time BASS money-winner, teamed up with Mike Gofron of Antioch, Ill., the second-ranked money winner on the Professional Walleye Trail, to catch 21 pounds, 2 ounces, of walleye and largemouth bass and take the lead in the two-day tournament.

Six teams of pros, one each from the BASS and PWT circuits, fish together and can weigh in three largemouth or smallmouth bass and three walleye, with the heaviest total catch winning the gold medal. Anglers can fish on the Madison Chain of Lakes, which includes Mendota and Monona lakes and several other smaller fisheries connected by canals. Varying size limits for the walleyes and a "no culling" rule for bass add to the strategy, considering that anglers must decide whether to release a fish or put it in the livewell and keep it since no bass can be released once they're retained.

Gerald Swindle of Hayden, Ala., the reigning CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year, was paired with 2003 PWT champion Dave Plautz of Muskego, Wis., and was second in the standings with 19-3. Two big walleye weighing more than 3 pounds sent Swindle into orbit.

"I was screaming so much when we caught those two fish I lost my voice," he said. "I started to think someone was going to come tell us to leave the lake, I was yelling so much."

Fly Fishing champion Egan defends crown

1. Lance Egan, Sandy, Utah — 13.75 inches
2. Jim Hickey, Jackson, Wyo. — 8 inches
3. Ryan Barnes, Salt Lake City, Utah — 7.75 inches
4. John Wilson, Russellville, Ark. — 7.5 inches
5. Chuck Farneth, Little Rock, Ark. — Zero inches
5. Mike Dawes, Victor, Idaho — 0 inches
5. Foster Hetherington, Brandon, Vt. — 0 inches
5. Lance Stanchfield, Wise River, Mont. — 0 inches
5. Steve Bechard, Oneida, N.Y. — 0 inches
5. Capt. Tom White, Marathon, Fla. — 0 inches
5. Rick Hartman, Harlingen, Texas — 0 inches
5. Brian Capsay, Durango, Colo. — 0 inches

(Look for complete coverage of Fly Fishing on Saturday, July 10.)