Wow! We had over 180 racers ski in the MNC Skiathlon this past weekend! Many of the usual Masters New England racers were joined by college racers from Williams, Middlebury and St. Lawrence University, junior skiers from MNC, Stratton Mt. and GMVS, and even Reese Hanneman, 2016 US National Champion and Olympian just back from PyeongChang! In the BKL event we had over 100 racers from MNC, Craftsbury, Frost Mt., Ford Sayer, Stratton Mt., Onion River and a few others. Quite a turn-out!
Mother Nature blessed us with a bit of new snow earlier in the week and temps hovered around freezing on Sunday, making for great conditions out on the course. The groomers at Craftsbury did an awesome job grooming and helping Rick Costanza set up the course and transition zone.
Peter Kling heads out at the start to the classic leg.
In the men’s race, GMVS coach Peter Kling finished first by a secure 11 seconds over Middlebury College skier Lewis Nottonson. Olympian Reese Hanneman was third.
Hallie Grossman leads out the women’s field.
The women’s race was won by Craftsbury Green Team Biathlete Hallie Grossman, followed by Ford Sayer’s Elissa Bradley and St. Lawrence University skier Lucy Hochschartner. MNC had a number of Masters’ age group podium winners. Jim Fredericks, Joanne Hanowski, and Coach Jen Carlson all won their age classes, while Coach Tom Thurston and Kort Logenbach took seconds and Jim Addison and Andy Bishop were awarded thirds. Great job MNC Masters!
MNC Junior Kai Richter double poles up most of the start hill.
We had a number of MNC juniors who did the race, using it as a tune-up for Easterns and or Biathlon Nationals. Rose Clayton and Lily Porth were third and fifth in the U-18 class, while Marika Massey-Bierman was second in the U-20 class. Baxter Bishop and Kai Richter were second and third in the U-18 race with Dakota Amblo, Brook Hodgeman, Sammy Leo and Charles Martell rounding out the field.
The afternoon BKL Races began with the Lollipop race. A few lollipoppers also skied in the Grade 1/2 race which was 1km of classic only. Anna Brilhart was MNC’s only 1/2 racer and she did a great job today.
Anna Brillhart
3/4 girls
Many of our MNC 1/2’s raced up in the 3/4 race! This is double their normal race distance, so hat’s off go to Riley, Hayden, Astrid, Hazel and Sylvie who all gave themselves quite a challenge by racing with the older kids! The 3/4 girl’s race was won by MNC’s Pippa Diller, followed closely by Kate Carlson who was second. Riley Morigeau had an unfortunate fall just before the finish line. She quickly picked herself up and got to the finish line just a hair before Tessa Diller and they finished fourth and fifth, but it really looked like a tie. In addition to Hayden, Cole Shullenberger also skied the boys 3/4 race. He finished third. Great job to all our 3/4 skiers!
Start of the 5/6 girls race.
MNC skiers Adleigh Frankie, Mia Diller, Finley Barker, Julia Thurston and Virginia Cobb all skied the girls’ 5/6 race and did a great job in the transition zone and out on course. Virginia and Ford Sayer’s Sara Gluek have been trading wins back and forth all season and this race was no exception. Sara came into the transition zone first after the classic leg, but Virginia had a quicker transition and headed out in first on the skate leg first. Sara caught her on Dino hill and held on to the lead for the win, while Virginia finished in second. Julia Thurston also had a good race and finished fifth.
Start of the 5/6 boys race. Niko’s skis stuck and he went down. He still managed a fourth place!
Brady Morigeau, Niko Cuneo, Taylor Carlson, Carl Priganc and Callum MacCurtain all skied the boys 5/6 race. The 5/6 Craftsbury boys dominated this race, but the MNC boys put in some respectable results finishing 4th (Niko), 6th (Taylor), 7th (Brady), 9th (Carl) and 13th (Callum).
Girls 7/8 start. Pony tails flying!
We had lots of girls in the 7/8 race: Ava Thurston, Esther Cuneo, Greta Kilburn, Carly Trapeni, Hattie Barker, Maise Frankie and Rachel Porth. They all did a great job racing today amidst a fast field of girls. Today was a great day for Esther Cuneo. She dominated the classic leg, had a good transition and went on in the skate leg to win the race. Ava Thurston finished second. Greta Kilburn also had an amazing race and finished fourth. Jordon Shullenberger and Rye MacCurtain were our only MNC boys in the large field of 7/8 skiers. Great job skiing boys!
Lastly, thanks so much to Christine Massey-Bierman, Rick Costanza, Max Cobb and all our other volunteers & coaches. We can’t have a race without the help of so many, so thank you all for all your hard work!
For full results: Race Results
For more photos: Dave Priganc’s Album
For more photos: MNC Flikr
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