Leahy 6th and Demaine 9th in Vermont State Ski Championships

Ruth Krebs from Craftsbury joins her Under 18 U.S. team in Lillehammer, Norway for a week of ski racing in the Scando Cup.
photo from National Nordic Foundation

CRAFTSBURY. – Skiers from over 24 Division I and Division II teams took to the freestyle portion of the Vermont State High School Championships on Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The races involved an individual start 5 km race in the morning where skiers went out at 15 second intervals, and then the team relays took place in the afternoon. Although temperatures neared minus-10 F first thing in the morning, it was plus-10 F by the time races started under sunny skies and little wind. In the girls Division II race, Beth McIntosh of Middlebury Union took first in 14:35. Craftsbury Academy’s (CA) Anika Leahy followed in sixth with Ada Allen 45th. Leahy has been plagued by injuries all season, so this was a positive step forward for her to make the top 10. James Underwood of Woodstock skied the fastest boys time 12:20 in Division II. Max Demaine of Lake Region (LR) placed ninth for his best finish in a state meet. CA’s Oryon Hart placed 29th and Soren Stelma-Leonard was 51st. LR’s Xavier Chapdeline was 44th, Linden Urie 57, and Eli Davis 61. Only the Lake Region boys had enough skiers (four) to field a relay team of the local schools where they finished eighth. The Lake Region skiers train with Craftsbury Academy and coach Hallie Grossman as they do not have an official program through the school.

Linden Urie (63) of Albany, VT and student at Lake Region skis in his first state meet.
photo by Eric Hanson

Divison II girls team results after day-one of two: 1. Montpelier, 2. Middlebury, 3. Woodstock, 4. U-32, 5. Stowe, 6. BFA Fairfax, 7. Lamoille Union, 8. Peoples Academy. Division II boys results: 1. Woodstock, 2. Montpelier, 3. Middlebury, 4. Lamoille Union. 5. Stowe, 6. Peoples Academy, 7. BFA Fairfax, 8. Lake Region, 9. Burr and Burton Academy. The classic skiing state championship race will take place Tuesday, Feb. 25, at Prospect Mountain near Bennington.

Craftsbury Academy’s Anika Leahy (10) skis to the top of the Screamin’ Mimi section of the course at just over the 4 km mark at the Vermont State High School Championships.
photo by Eric Hanson

Craftsbury’s Ruth Krebs Skis for the U.S. at Scando Cup

LILLEHAMMER, Norway – Back in January, a few Craftsbury Ski Club junior skiers entered several races at U.S. Nationals in Alaska. Craftsbury’s Ruth Krebs had some great race results and qualified for the U.S. Under 18 Scando Cup team, which is racing in Norway this week. She is racing against mostly Norwegian skiers among a few other youth from other countries. In the opening freestyle sprint, Krebs finished 70th, but this field included skiers up to 26 years of age, almost nine years older than Krebs. In the 3 km classic race among only junior skiers under 18, Krebs placed 65th of 175 starters. In another only junior race, the 7.5 km mass start freestyle race, she finished 23rd of 79. Her teammate Lena Poduska (Jackson Hole, Wyo.) finished third. Krebs is a senior at St. Johnsbury Academy.