Last week was the final Junior races of the season. Things got underway during the week with the State Championships (Boys on Monday, girls on Wednesday) and continued into the Open Junior Championships on the weekend (Boys on Saturday, girls on Sunday).
MNC was heavily represented at both events! Notably, skiers affiliated with MNC took 9 of the top-10 spots in the women’s D1 races. Hattie Barker swept the classic and skate D1 races, and Ava Thurston swept the classic and skate D2 races.
The Open Junior Championships were a great testament to the strength of VT skiing. Much like the U16/Eastern HS qualifier race, this was a solid look at how juniors from across the state stack up. Ski academies, club teams, and high school programs were all represented, and there was one race for all the groups: a 5km freestyle with two jumps and a couple of Nordic Cross features thrown in!
The boys kicked it off with a strong showing for the MNC U16 squad. Taylor, Rye and Brady continued a strong string of efforts to lead the way for the club in 12th, 14th, and 15th for U16 skiers.
You can find full men’s results here, and a separate U14/U16 result compilation here
It went from slushy to snowy overnight before the race, but the sun returned for some great race footage!
After the men’s race, it was time for the coaches to have a quick lunch and then keep the train moving ahead for the next day. A small gathering from the girls team arrived to do a course preview, and we had a blast checking out the jumps and getting in some pre-race work. What does that mean? A lap of the course, some speeds on key sections, some L3 to fire up the engines, and some fast speeds to be fully ready. Given the sun and the handy action from the GoPro we also have a short video for this ski:
The women’s race the next day was not quite as sunny, but the heat came from the skiing as the girls completely TORE UP the course! MNC had 5 finishers in the top 10, led by a 1-2 punch from Ava and Rose, with Hattie only 4 seconds away from the podium sweep in 4th! Rebecca continued a strong week after placing 2nd at States to rock a 7th here, while Emma Crum snagged 9th.
Close behind was Virginia in 12th, taking the U16 crown in her best skate race of the season! There was a lot of MNC up and down the field…we had 21 racers in this event!
You can find full women’s results here, and a separate U14/U16 result compilation here.
The women’s video can be seen below!
Bringing out the flag for a little group cooldown
What’s next? We will keep skiing as long as the snow holds out! There is a FIS race this weekend at Craftsbury that looks to be the final in-person race of the season. Not everyone will be competing in this race, but the snow is going to stick around (particularly at higher elevations and on snowmaking loops) and the move is to keep the skiing going.
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