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Junior Nationals 2018

This past week marked another incredible Junior National Championships. From the windy, wet stretches of New England our team flew out to the dry, dusty deserts of Utah to compete against the best in the nation. The courses at the 2002 Olympic venue of Soldier Hollow were a total blast to ski on. We were limited to a 3.3k loop which suited us Vermonters just fine! Especially nice was the amazing mountain vistas and snowcapped rocky peaks which made it hard not to feel inspired to race fast and enjoy the outdoors.

Racing kicked off with individual classic events, and MNC skier started their week strong. Magda skied two consistent laps and held tough in the altitude to finish 27th, while Isaac narrowly missed out on the top-10 with a 12th-place finish. Aidan scored an All-American performance in his first-every JNs race by taking 8th! We were starting off strong! The U16 boys, the group I had the pleasure of coaching, ended up the top team in the country with a 1st (Will Koch), 2nd (Finn Sweet), 8th (Aidan), 12th (Carl Kellogg) and 16th (Brian Bushey).

Having an icy course and plenty of klister helped New England ski strong, but in what is typically our strongest event (New England produces the country’s best classic skiers) we were a bit surprised to get handily beaten overall by the Rocky Mountain region who definitely made the most of their high-altitude awareness. There was nothing left to do but turn it around!

The next day, a super fun sprint course helped usher in that turnaround. While the U18 men stole the day for the points with 4 in the top 6 (including a 1-2 performance by James Kitch and Ben Ogden, and a 6th from Greg) the rest of the group skied great as well. Magda continued to put up stronger skate results in this later part of the season, as did Isaac although they were both just outside of the heats. Aidan qualified a solid 11th, making up about 8 seconds on the field in the last 500m flat and rolling portion of the course. This would prove key later in his quaterfinal as he made a great surge to get into the semis and eventually B-final! Aidan finished that day in 12th.

Magda heading out in the skate sprint qualifier (Paul Bierman photo)

Aidan cruising out of the start in his quarterfinal heat…the PNSA girls look impressed! (Paul Bierman photo)

After a busy two days of racing, we had a bit of a chance to regroup with an off day. With the U16 boys, our goal was to start the day focused, then relax, then bring the focus back for the final push. We talked about some goals and reflections early in the morning, writing some notes down on paper. Then, I collected the notes and we spent the rest of the day unwinding with some non-ski activities. The U16 boys, or “Da Boiz” or “The Boyz” are becoming quite a cultural phenomenon at Junior Nationals. Last year we took a pretty intimidating group photo and this year we of course needed to replicate that. All week we had been eyeing an old train station and railroad cars with the Uinta mountains as their backdrop. That was no doubt the site of our photo, we decided, and we just needed something to get on the same page with.

Will and Finn preparing their Jorts and discussing just how long (or rather, short) to go with the length

I can’t remember if it was Finn or Carl who made the suggestion, but we ended up at Walmart to get ourselves some sunglasses and jeans, along with a pair of scissors to make some sweet Jorts. After we cut with precision, we “distressed” the jeans by kicking them around in the dirt and gravel in order to get that nice worn look…that’s what the cowboys did, right? Either way, U20 men’s coach Rob Bradlee was kind enough to put up with our crew and agreed to take this years group photo…I’m not sure how I’d describe it but I suppose I’ll just post it here for the world to see:

Presenting the top-ranked U16 men’s team in the entire country. Possibly the most interesting team in the country as well!

Of course, this was only a minor distraction as we had plenty of racing to get after in the coming days. It wasn’t long before our goals were brought back out and we focused on the final two days of racing: a mass start skate race and the team relays.

In the mass start skate race, the older skiers went early and Isaac nabbed another top-20 finish. By the time the U16 races started it was pure slush and sun! This was a great day for Da Boiz as Will Koch took his 3rd gold medal in 3 races. Next, Carl crossed the line in 4th, Aidan in 6th, and Brian in 8th. 4 skiers in the top 8!

In the women’s race, Magda had a really tough crash that hyperextended her arm and left her out of the results for this day. With a visit to the medical station and a sweet tape and sling job, she was ready to give it one more go the next day.

Magda and U16 girls coach Hilary, ready to give it 100% no matter the obstacles!

Relay day was a big day for the club! We had 2 members on the podium, with Isaac’s team getting 3rd and Aidan’s team getting the WIN! It’s been a few years but that’s right, we are super proud to have a NATIONAL CHAMPION this year! Congrats to Aidan and his relay teammates Will and Finn. It was in fact another killer day for Da Boiz. Finn led off for team 1 and skied into the tag zone in 3rd, but it was Brian Bushey (scrambling for team 2) that WON the opening leg. Aidan skied his best race of the week on the 2nd leg, bringing the team up into first and tagging Will Koch in the lead spot. Will just extended and extended the lead, enough that we were all able to wait in the finish area to celebrate when Will crossed for the win and Carl brought it home for the 2nd team. It was as good as it gets for this crew.

Worth checking out the Live Feed Video at the 3 hour and 18 minute mark: that’s when a guy by the name of Aidan Burt starts to turn on the jets and catch up to that lead spot! Just watch that awesome push on the uphill and crazy fast skis on the downhill.

JN Relay Video

The Boiz, psyched with the win and watching for Carl to bring it in for the next team!

National Champions!

Winning Junior Nationals feels pretty good! Congrats guys!

That relay was an amazing way to cap off the week for those guys. What was even better was watching the ladies relay with all of team New England cheering their heads of for Quincy and Magda as the anchors of the two U16 women’s teams. Quincy had a killer week with top-10 in every race, and Magda battled it out with one-and-a-half arms to bring her team home in 8th!

Of course, there were lots of other photos from the week, but I’d like to share some group shots below. One thing we did was gather together a big group of MNC “past and present” which included the current team members as well as alums like Will, Ben, Eliza, and Brandon. In the photo below you have 4 divisions and 5 age groups represented by skiers with MNC connections. And that’s not to overshadow our training friends still in New England like Greg, Conor, and Adam Glueck!

Pugs past and present!

At official team photo time we also have some more current MNC squad members! Of course this is bittersweet without Ali who had to miss the trip due to illness…but you can also consider this MNC FUTURE team, not just present 😉

All of team New England, the top region in the country for the 5TH YEAR IN A ROW!!!

A stoic and intimidating photo of the U16 Boiz who are not to be messed with

It was an incredible week in Utah and it only builds the excitement more for races to come, training to be done, and more killer performances to be chased. Let’s go TEAM!

All results can be found via Summit Timing

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MNC has 2nd National Champion in 3 years and many top-10’s !!!

It has been an incredible start to the week at Junior National Championships here in Stowe. Today was a big race for Forrest Hamilton, who won a national title for the U16 Classic Sprint. This is the 2nd national champion we’ve had in the past three years (Henry Harmeyer in 2012 also in the sprint). Forrest skied a really awesome race on Monday and finished 3rd in the 5km classic, as well. Forrest missed out on Junior Nationals last season, and he used that as motivation to improve, and today he enjoyed the fruit of his labor.

Forrest atop the podium!

Forrest atop the podium!

Henry Harmeyer skied an incredible race today and finished 6th place in the U18 boys sprint. Henry won his quarterfinal with the fastest heat of the day then eeked his way out of his semifinal and into the A-final. He hung tough all the way to the finish. It was pretty cool to see — Henry has been in the A-final for 3 consecutive years now! Henry also skied a great 10km classic race on Monday to finish 13th overall in U18.

Henry Harmeyer

Henry Harmeyer

Jack Hegman had a great race again today and finished 3rd in U20 in a photo finish with his UVM teammate Cole Morgan. Jack now has 2 podiums this week.

Ben Hegman started the week strong in the 10km classic on Monday. He was the top New England finisher in U18 with a 6th place showing. Today he made it into his first sprint heats of the year and finished 18th on the day.

Ben Hegman

Ben Hegman

Autumn Eastman also blasted onto the national scene on Monday with her 5km classic race. In her first event ever at Junior Nationals she skied up to 13th place in the U18 women. Great job and congrats Autumn!

Coach / Volunteer Jake Hollenbach

Coach / Volunteer Jake Hollenbach

These races wouldn’t be possible without tons of help from volunteers, parents, sponsors and coaches. Coach Jake Hollenbach was on the trails all day today as a volunteer. The Harmeyer family, Dave Lustgarten, Lisanne Hegman, Amy Kuzio have all played important roles as volunteers. Ethan John, Marika Massey Bierman and Eliza Thomas helped as forerunners on Monday. The Supples and Mammut are also big supporters of this entire week. Annavitte Rand is helping as an event photographer. And lastly, a HUGE thanks to Bill Harmeyer who has basically become a full-fledged member of the New England wax staff. We’ve had great skis thanks in part to his tireless efforts testing wax. I imagine he has skied over 100km in the past few days. Thank you Bill !

Junior Nationals recap

From the spring issue of NENSA News — a brief report from Junior Nationals by the Harmeyer Bros.
Bill & Henry Harmeyer
Being a twin is pretty awesome. We’ve known each other
since before we were born, and we strapped into our
first set of skis on the same day, in the same place, at the
same time. On that day, our competitive spirits were put
into motion, and that spirit continued with us on our long
journey to Fairbanks.
When we first arrived at the venue, we were both surprised
by the quality of the grooming and facilities. Birch Hill is
perhaps one of the nicest ski areas we have ever raced at.
The wide trails, spectacular location, and beautiful envi
ronment are definitely world cup worthy. And we both
felt privileged to be able to race there. It was amazing to
be racing against the top junior athletes from all around
the country too. All of the athletes, who we spoke to and
socialized with were inviting even after a not so great day
of racing. All athletes demonstrated that they were both
strong technically and physically. We both look forward to
racing against them in the future.
The races were very competitive, especially for the two
of us. Racing against each other for the past 15 years has
always been competitive. But when it comes to racing at
nationals, that competitive spirit goes to a whole new level.
We can both agree that the 5km mass start classic was
the most exciting race of the week. With over 50 athletes
in the J2 race, it was fast straight from the start. Both of
us skied together in the front pack for the first half of the
race before being dropped by our fellow teammate Koby
Gordon and three other kids. The race was decided practi
cally at this point, with the top three being in that group.
Even after a full week of racing, we left it all out on the
course. Both of us had exciting sprint finishes, and both of
us can agree that we slept for most of the plane rides back
the next day.
The coaches were outstanding. The wax techs and age
group coaches were all supportive. During the 5km mass
start, the coaches went ballistic for everyone. It was amaz
ing having the crowd cheering, and the sun shining. It
was a great experience. And our trip wouldn’t have been
possible without the help of the National Nordic Founda
tion, and the Nensa Athlete Fund. Both programs provide
immense support to cross country skiers throughout the
nation. Without them, the development of the sport would
not be progressing at the rate that it is today. Hell, we just
had two Americans on top of the World Championship
podium. What more could you ask for!

VT wins J2 Champs; MNC Top-10’s at Junior Nationals!

Team Vermont at the J2 Champs. Photo from NENSA.net

Team Vermont at the J2 Champs. Photo from NENSA.net

Updates on the NENSA website make it look as though the J2 Championships had some beautiful weather in addition to the always fun atmosphere. Going into the final day, Maine held a lead over Vermont, but the VT’ers pulled out the title with strong relay performances. Forrest Hamilton had a strong weekend on the boys side, taking a 3rd in the 5km skate race. Several other locals were seen in the results (and photos catching big air) including cyclocross star Cooper Willsey (CVU), Charlie Maitland (CVU), Charlie Cobb (MMU), Peter Unger and Ben Longenbach (CVUers), and Nigel Sarrazin of Colchester. The local gals were also well represented, with Lydia Picotte (MMU), Rachel Slimovitch (CVU), Abby Grab (MMU), and Kate Burke (CVU).

Full results from the J2 Champs.

Junior Nationals in Alaska:

Link to official Junior Nationals 2013 website.

Link to Summit Timing – results / start lists and LIVE RESULTS for Junior Nationals.

Today were also the first day of competition at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks is a cold and dry place, where it snows in October and that snow doesn’t melt until April or May! Conditions are excellent here at Birch Hill — if a bit cold — but we’ve had so few cold powder days in the past 2 seasons of racing. Today were the 5/10km individual skate races on a grueling course. The trails start with challenging S-turn descents that put lactate and adrenaline into your body immediately. Then the main climb smacks you in the face around the 1km mark. The course trends up for nearly 2.5 km before rolling and downhill stretches.

Our local athletes and MNC athletes absolutely killed it today: brothers Jack and Ben Hegman began the day by both placing 4th in the OJ and J1 categories, respectively. Next on course were the J2 Boys and brothers Bill Harmeyer and Henry Harmeyer were the cookie-portion of an oreo sandwich (placing 5th and 8th) while Nathanael Kuzio was the delicious cream filling (placing 7th). CVU grad Sienna Searles placed 23rd in the OJ gals category and South Burlington’s Aleksandra Zakrzewska was 27th OJ.

Ben Hegman en route to 4th place J1 in the country!

Ben Hegman en route to 4th place J1 in the country!

Nathanael Kuzio skates to a 7th place finish in J2!

Nathanael Kuzio skates to a 7th place finish in J2!

Bill Harmeyer climbing to 5th place J2

Bill Harmeyer climbing to 5th place J2

Henry Harmeyer en route to 8th place J2

Henry Harmeyer en route to 8th place J2

Ben Hegman en route to 4th place J1 in the country!

Ben Hegman en route to 4th place J1 in the country!

Jack Hegman en route to 4th OJ

Jack Hegman en route to 4th OJ

Yeseterday we took some of the J1/OJ boys out to see the ice sculptures from the recent World Ice Carving Championships. Here is the winning sculpture — a huge scene with a valiant knight attacking a dragon that has a woman held captive in chains. It is truly amazing to see in person:

The winning sculpture at World Ice Carving Championships!

The winning sculpture at World Ice Carving Championships!

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