Peoples Academy Ski Relays

MORRISVILLE – Ballerinas and lions took to the trails at Peoples Academy (PA) cross country ski relays a week and a half ago. In the boys’ race, 25 two-person teams raced around the fields of PA with many dressed in costumes. Ben Wetherell and Sage Grossi crossed the line first (15:48) followed by Nick Reed and Sisu Lange of St. Johnsbury in the varsity boys race. Silas Hunt and Soren Stelma-Leonard teamed up for Craftsbury Academy (CA) to finish 8th. In the girls’ race, sisters Adele Pritchard and Clare Pritchard of Montpelier won in 19:25. Anja Moriarity and Tillie Lange (St. Johnsbury) placed 2nd. Ava Purdy of Wheelock and Emma Reed (St. Johnsbury) finished 4th among the 14 teams. In the JV race, Lamoille Unions Leland Naugle and Isaac Stebbins were first of 13 teams. Henry Sterner and Aiden Jewell of Stowe led the middle schoolers with Oryon Hart and Stig Link (CA) close behind in 2nd. Aemelia Terrone and Eliza Bunton (CA) finished 5th along with Hollis Allen (CA) teaming up with Pippa Abeene (PA) in 10th among the 30 teams.

Locals Ski at Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The second Eastern Cup regional race and U.S. Supertour took place at Mount Van Hovenberg the weekend of January 20-21. Ruth Krebs who lives in Craftsbury and attends St. Johnsbury Academy had some great races skiing to 20th overall in the sprint race and qualifying for the heats where she finished as the 2nd Under 18 U.S. skier. She was in the same races as skiers hoping to make it the World Cup. Emily and Isabel Linton of Coventry finished 75th and 90th respectively. The Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) women skiers, Michaela Keller-Miller, Margie Freed, and Alex Lawson, placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. On the next day in the 10 km race, Lawson placed 2nd only 0.63 seconds behind Alayna Sonnesyn (Stratton SMS T2) with Freed 3rd and Keller-Miller 8th. Krebs skied to 31st overall and was the 4th U.S. U18 skier. GRPer Braden Becker placed 7th in the men’s 10 km race.

U.S. Supertour Joins the Craftsbury Marathon Weekend

CRAFTSBURY – After a morning of pouring rain on Friday, the skies slowed to a drizzle with the occasional snowflake for a day of sprint racing. Alayna Sonnesyn (Stratton SMS T2) took the win ahead of teammate Lauren Jortberg (SMS T2) and Michaela Keller-Miller (Craftsbury Green Racing Project – GRP) after four rounds of racing on the 1.6 km course. Greta Kilburn, a Burlington High School senior with ties to Greensboro skied to 24th place among these high-powered women from across North America. GRPer Alex Lawson would finish 8th for the day and Margie Freed 13th. On the men’s side, Bailey Finnegan (SMS T2/UVM graduate) won a photo finish ahead of Michael Earnhardt (Alaska Pacific University – APU), and Julian Smith (Thunder Bay, Ont.). GRPer Braden Becker was having a great day winning his quarterfinal, finishing in the top two in the semifinal, but then broke a pole at the start of the final. He still scrambled back to contention after receiving a pole to finish 5th.

On Saturday, the Supertour skiers took the day off leaving the racing to citizen racers from across the Northeast and Canada. Participants skied three 13.5 km laps in the slushy snow. Four Craftsbury GRP alumni skied to four of the top five places with Anika Landis (Boston, Mass.) winning in 2:23:48. Caitlin Patterson (Portland, Me.) placed 2nd, Ida Sargent (Victory) 3rd, and Hallie Grossman (Albany) was 5th. Jessica Bolduc and Annie Rowell, both of Craftsbury, skied to 14th and 15th. Tressa Urie from Albany and a junior at the Putney School, placed 24th. In the men’s 40.5 km race, former U.S. Olympian, Kris Freeman, showed he is still fast winning in 2:06:23. Edward Southward of Ottawa placed 2nd and Kris’s brother, Justin, was 3rd. Damian Bolduc of Craftsbury was 35th.

Katherine Mason (Carleton Univ., Ont.) won the 27 km classic race in 1:37:19 followed by Quincy Massey-Bierman (Burlington/Greensboro) and Emily Drake (Ottawa) in 3rd. Marika Massey-Bierman was 5th, JoAnn Hanowski (Greensboro) 7th, Margie Prevot (Greensboro) 9th, and Linda Ramsdell (Craftsbury) 15th. In the men’s 27 km race, GRP alum, Ben Lustgarten, placed first in 1:22:36. Devon Pegrum and Raphael Gerout, both of Ottawa, placed 2nd and 3rd. Greensboro’s Jim Fredericks finished 20th.

Sunday featured a two-lap 27 km freestyle race with the Supertour skiers going out first. The lead men’s pack of nine skiers blistered the course covering the first 13.5 km lap in about 32 minutes. The pace quickened on the second lap with John Steel Hagenbuch (Dartmouth) winning in 1:03:56. Michael Earnhardt (APU) finished four seconds behind with Luke Allen (Dartmouth) and Garrett Butts (APU) both five seconds off the leader. Braden Becker (GRP) held on for 6th with Joe Lynch (GRP) 20th and John Schwinghammer (GRP) 24th. Craftsbury Ski Club junior skier, Luke Murphy, finished 42th, Roger Prevot (Greensboro) 68, and Troy Howell (Albany) 103 in the 150-person field. Damian Bolduc was the victim of a multi-person crash on the treacherous Elinor’s Hill which was skied down to icy lanes and foot plus berms of soft snow. Fortunately, there were only a few scrapes and bruises. The women’s race was a bit smaller and calmer with Alayna Sonnesyn winning for the second time this weekend in 1:12:04 ahead of GPRers, Margie Freed and Alex Lawson. Greta Kilburn had another solid race skiing to 10th, Susan Dunklee (Craftsbury) 13th, Hallie Grossman 17, and Jessica Bolduc 37. The race proved challenging for both citizen racers and the top skiers who lapped the slower ones on the narrow, twisty course. Hopefully the mortals were inspired by the graceful faster skiers and the world cup want-to-be’s appreciated regular skiers out donning a racing bib. Both Alex Lawson and Margie Freed said the lead women’s pack put on the breaks for some slower skiers. The zigs and zags and occasional slowdowns did not seem to affect the race outcome too much in this community and international event.

Lamoille Union Ski Relays

CRAFTSBURY – Lamoille Union hosted cross country ski relays a week-and-a-half ago at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. In the boys’ race, 25 two-person teams raced around the north Lemon’s Haunt trail. Ben Wetherell and Sage Grossi crossed the line first (15:48) followed by Nick Reed and Sisu Lange of St. Johnsbury in the varsity boys race. Silas Hunt and Soren Stelma-Leonard teamed up for Craftsbury Academy (CA) to finish 8th. In the girls’ race, sisters Adele Pritchard and Clare Pritchard of Montpelier won in 19:25. Anja Moriarity and Tillie Lange (St. Johnsbury) placed 2nd. Ava Purdy of Wheelock and Emma Reed (St. Johnsbury) finished 4th among the 14 teams. In the JV race, Lamoille Unions Leland Naugle and Isaac Stebbins were first of 13 teams. Henry Sterner and Aiden Jewell of Stowe led the middle schoolers with Oryon Hart and Stig Link (CA) close behind in 2nd. Aemelia Terrone and Eliza Bunton (CA) finished 5th along with Hollis Allen (CA) teaming up with Pippa Abeene (PA) in 10th among the 30 teams.