Junior Nationals continued yesterday with a classic sprint, and New England extended their lead in the Alaska Cup (the award for top region) by a big margin with some great performances. MNC played a role with some more standout performances, showing the depth of our program and our competitive abilities in any distance and technique!
The first big highlight for MNC was Anders skiing to a 3rd place in the U16 men’s qualifier, and following it up with some dominant heat performances to work his way up to the A-final with Quarry Road skier and NE teammate Ellis Slover. After a tough start which saw Anders and Ellis at the back of the pack near the top of the course, they both skied aggressive and powerfully back into the stadium to climb to 3rd (Ellis) and 5th (Anders) to mark an amazing race!
L-R Tabor (7th), Ellis (3rd), Anders (5th)…strong U16 boys gang!
Ava topped the women’s qualifier, and skied away from all of her heats to take her 2nd national title in as many races. Also qualifying for the heats were Hattie and Virginia, who scored top-30 finishes thanks to some battles in the quarterfinals.
The course featured two challenging climbs, icy tracks (perfect for New England) and some rolling mountain bike-style bumps on the descent back into the stadium.
Special shoutout to MNC alum Julia Oliver who had an All-American (top 10) performance in the U20 classic sprint! But the day featured many more racers and age classes.
In the U16 girls race, Julia Thurston pumped some motivating music, focused on getting herself in the best headspace for racing, and totally crusher her qualifier. She got caught up in a crash on the big climb and missed advancing to the semis, but hearing about all of these heats reminds me of how much of a learning experience this all is. Going head-to-head against the other regions can make Eastern Cups seem pretty relaxing…something about knowing all your competitors versus being in a totally unknown situation. There’s a LOT to be learned at a championship event, from racing itself to the prep and physical/mental aspects away from the race trail.
All the results can be found on Superior Timing.
Racing continues tomorrow (Friday) with mass start classic races and relays on Saturday. Be sure to follow along with all the action!
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