Westervelt Skis and Shoots to Top Finishes at U.S. Biathlon Trials
CRAFTSBURY – Bjorn Westervelt dreamed of training with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) when he was 15 years old while skiing with Craftsbury Ski Club and learning how to do the sport of biathlon. GRP biathletes, like Olympians Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee, would coach Westervelt occasionally over those early years.
photo by Eric Hanson
Westervelt grew up in Stowe and graduated last year from UVM. He joined the GRP this past summer to train full time in biathlon. The training has paid off as Westervelt skied to two second place finishes and a win at last week’s U.S. Biathlon Trials at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
The top biathletes from around the U.S. and Canada tested their skills in three races over four days last week, skiing two sprint races and one mass start distance race. On the men’s side, GRP skiers Luke Brown and Tim Cunningham, both having several top-five finishes. Paul Schommer, a former U.S. World Cup biathlete, showed he is back in form winning both 10 km sprint races and placing 3rd in the 15 km marathon. Schommer shot clean in the second sprint race hitting all 10 targets. For every shot missed, a skier has to ski a penalty loop that takes about 25-30 seconds.
photo by Eric Hanson
The most exciting race was the men’s 15 km mass start race where the leader board changed after each shooting. After the two prone shootings, Schommer shot 10 for 10 and had a 30 and 60 second lead over the next two skiers. In the third shooting stage, standing, Schommer missed three shots allowing Westervelt to move from 6th to 1st when he cleaned all five targets. In the fourth and final shooting stage, Westervelt then missed three shots. National Guard Biathlete Eli Nielson moved into 1st place with good shooting and steady skiing, while Westervelt left the range side by side with Schommer 10 seconds back. The two reeled in Nielson over the next 2 km and with 400 meters to go, Westervelt made his move on the steep Chip Hill to pull just enough ahead to win the race by two and three seconds ahead of Nielson and Schommer, respectively. Vladislav Kapustin (National Guard Biathlon) shot 20 for 20 in both prone (lying down) and standing, finishing 4th.
GRPer Michaela Keller-Miller is a skier trying to learn shooting and is making progress. In the first sprint race, she placed 3rd despite missing four of 10 shots; Miller used her ski speed to make up for the four penalty laps. On day-two, she only missed two shots and placed 2nd. Jackie Garso (GRP) had a great first day only missing one target and placed 2nd. Former Rutland, skier, Chloe Levins, won both sprint races by missing only one target during both days. On the final day of racing, Levins continued her dominance hitting 18 of 20 shots, skiing to first. Garso had a gutsy race after missing two targets in the first shooting stage. She hit all five targets in the 2nd shooting stage, missed once in each of the standing stages and moved up from 5th to 2nd in the last half of the race.
photo by Eric Hanson
Westervelt and likely, Garso, will now have an opportunity to race in Europe on the IBU circuit (International Biathlon Union), a level below World Cup.
Craftsbury Hosts New England’s First Eastern Cup Ski Event of the Season
CRAFTSBURY – Over 430 Junior and college-aged skiers, with their parents and coaches, made their way to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center for two days of ski action this past weekend. This was the first of four weekends where junior skiers test their skills. The top finishers of the season will qualify to represent the northeast at U.S. Junior Nationals in March at Soldier Hollow, Utah.
On Saturday, skiers headed out every 15 seconds in the 1.5 km sprint-plus to see who would make the top 30 in their respective age classes. The top 30 open class and under 18-20 skiers would move onto five quarterfinal rounds. Former Craftsbury Ski Club (CSC) racer Quincy Massey-Bierman made it through the quarters and semis to win the final just ahead of Waterbury skier, Ava Thurston (Dartmouth). Greta Kilburn (UVM) who resides part-time in Greensboro, placed 7th on the day. CSC’s Ruth Krebs placed 11th, Emily Linton 24, Camille Bolduc 26, Isabel Linton 38, and Sara McGill 44. In the under 16 (U16) group, CSC’s Nora Demaine qualified 18th and Adele Pritchard was 10th.
photo by Eric Hanson
On Sunday, skiers awoke to zero degrees and sun. The temperatures did not rise much but the sun and no wind made for a glorious day of cheering and racing hard in the distance races. The ladies went out first with skiers skating four times around a 2.5 km loop with two major climbs. This time, Ava Thurston bested Massey-Bierman by one second in 29:12. Kilburn placed 6th and high school senior Krebs placed a tremendous 8th. Krebs had the 5th fastest last lap. Krebs will attend Bowdoin College next year. Other CSC skiers include Claire Serrano 18, Sara Saligman-McGill 29, Isabel Linton 33, Emily Linton 34, Anya Moriarity 64 and Olivia Serrano 73.
For the guys, Luke Allan (Dartmouth, Ottawa Canada) skied away from the field by almost 45 seconds in 24:30 ahead of Middlebury’s Jack Christner and Finn Sweet (Craftsbury Academy graduate, now at UVM). Other CSC skiers included Sisu Lange 34, Samuel Brondyke 42, Asa Lloyd 97, Max Demaine 100, Magnus Hayden 104, Zeb Whitlock 106, Luke Murphy 107 and Samuel Martin 153. There were 170 starters in the men’s race.
photo by Eric Hanson
In the U16 5 km races, Olivia Hanna (Ford Sayre – Hanover, N.H.) took the win. CSC skiers included Leila Griffith 7, Adele Pritchard 8, Aemilia Terrone 24, Nora Demaine 25, Hadley Abbene 26, and Lillian Suddaby 31. In the boys race, Foster Whitworth (Holderness) won in 12:54. CSC skiers included Isaac Nadzam 9, Oryon Hart 15, Oakley Crawford 29, Graham Moriarity 31, Travis Roy 39, Riley Volk 53, Elliott Stewart 56 and Reid Moriarity 59.
