CRAFTSBURY – Winter has returned with cold and enough snow for skiing in the woods, while many fields have been scoured by the relentless winds of last week. Despite the cold on Wednesday, Jan. 8, nearly 200 middle school and high school skiers from nine schools braved the wind and 5 F temperatures for the first big week of high school ski racing at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. No warm gyms for these kids.
photo by Anna Schultz
First up was the boys’ varsity race, where Samuel Brondyke (Montpelier) took the win of the three-lap 6 km race in 17:39. Teammate Asa Lloyd (Montpelier) followed in 2nd with Zeb Whitlock (Lamoille Union) 3rd. Oryon Hart (Craftsbury Academy, CA) skied to an impressive 6th as a 9th grader. Max Demaine was 9th (Lake Region training w/CA), Soren Stelma-Leonard 24th (CA), and Stig Link 29 (CA). In the girls’ varsity race, Claire Serrano (U-32) won in 17:52, Sara Saligman-McGill was 2nd (Montpelier) and Anika Leahy was 3rd (CA). There were 50 boys and 37 girls in these races. Teams included BFA-Fairfax, Stowe, St. Johnsbury, People’s Academy, Harwood, CA, Lamoille, Montpelier.
photo by Anna Schultz
In the JV race Henry Sterner (Stowe) placed 1st in 6:32 in the one lap 2 km race. Ada Allen (CA) was 14th. Ninety-three middles schoolers took to the chaotic mass start one lap 2 km race with Isaac Nadzam (U-32) leading everyone in 5:35 and Oakley Crawford (CA) close behind in 2nd. Jin Ramsey (All Saints) was 6. There was a huge contingent of CA middle schoolers with Aemilia Terrone 7, Stella Cussack 11, Hollis Allen 12, Eliza Bunton 22, Finn Nunnery 44, Joe Krebs 45, Evelyn Patch 52, Mia Stout 55, Sylvan Van Gulden 56, Adrienne Robillard 57, and Evelyn Stout 67. Hallie Grossman, in her second year of coaching at CA, has done well in giving this crew of youngsters a chance to ski at this level. Grossman is a former U.S. Biathlon skier and now teaches 4th grade at CA.
From Alaska to Italy, Local Skiers Compete
Jack Young (Jay/Colby College) continued to show his sprinting prowess for the U.S. Ski Team during the Tour de Ski in Europe. Young, a senior at Colby College who raced with the Craftsbury Ski Club during his middle and high school years, has had a stellar year with several top 20 results on the World Cup. Here’s a kid who had never skied internationally until last year making his name as a consistently good sprinter. In Tobloch, Italy, Young skied to 17th in the freestyle sprint race in the Tour de Ski. To gain experience, he entered all six races in nine days; the equivalent of the Tour de France bicycle race for cross skiing. His sprint results landed him a spot on the Under-23 U.S. Team for the World U23 Championships, which will be held in Bergamo/Schilpario, Italy, from February 3–9. Young will also compete in a few more World Cup Cross Country races.
Craftbury resident and St. Johnsbury Academy senior, Ruth Krebs, made the trek to Anchorage, Alaska, for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in early January and landed a slot as the alternate to the U.S. Under-18 Scando Cup team. Krebs placed 8th in the U18 10 km skate race, 5th U20 in the 10k CL mass start, and 3rd in the U18 classic sprint. Craftsbury Green Racing Project skier results included Margie Freed 17th overall in the 10k skate race and 21st in the Classic 20k mass start, John Schwinghamer 22nd in the classic sprint, and Michaela Keller-Miller 19th the skate sprint.
In the IBU Cup biathlon race in Arber, Germany, Stowe resident and former Craftsbury Ski Club member, Bjorn Westervelt, placed 22nd.
