Maine Wins Eastern High School Championships

Carrabassett Valley, ME (March 15):  Joanna Kinsman (Fryeburg, ME) and Marc Vanderhoof (Rutland, VT) now have two Eastern High School Titles to their names, after Friday's Freestyle Sprints and Saturday's 5km Classic races at the Banknorth Eastern High School XC Ski Championships.  But it was the Maine team that came through with the overwhelming win for the day, with Maranacook's Ed Hunter, Messalonski's Ben Koons, and Blake Sherwood 2-3-4.  Simon Thomas-Train broke up their streak with a 5th place for New York, but then it was Telstar's Fred Bailey in 7th, sandwiched by Vermont's Jimmy Ades in 6th, and Pat Maher (Rutland)  Aaron Lackowski and Jordan Hamblett in 8th, 9th and 10th. New Hampshire's best skier was Todd Nordblom in 15th, and Massachusetts Maxime Guillaume came in 33rd

In the Girls 5k Classic race Kinsman was supported by teammates Megan Dumais (Turner) in 2nd, Claire Egan 5th, Kira Beckel (Leavitt) 6th,  Kalie Dunn (Mt. Blue), 9th, and Katie Craig (Portland)10th. New York's Marlijne Cook grabbed a podium spot – 3rd place. And Vermont saw only Susan Dunklee (4th) and Jennie Bender (7th) in the top 10.  Greta Olafsen had a terrific 8th place for New Hampshire and Massachusett's best was  Kara Reilly in 20th.

In the afternoon's 4x3km classic mixed gender relay, Maine's depth gave them 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th – 6 teams in the top 10 – but Vermont led from the start, winning by over 30seconds. Their second team was ninth.  New York grabbed the 4th and New Hampshire snuck into tenth.

Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, ME (March 16):  Vermont's Mark Vanderhoof went four for four this weekend, with individual wins in the Sprint, the 5km Classic, the 5km Freestyle race, and the 4x3km Classic relay.  Vermont's Jennie Bender scorched the girls field and won today's 5km freestyle race by fifteen seconds.  

But their individual wins were not enough to lift Vermont ahead of the strong Maine team, even though today Vanderhoof got support from teammates Pat Maher (6th), Jimmy Ades (7th) and Aaron Lackowski (8th) and Bender had Ali Demarchis (5th) and Susan Dunklee (6th) to back her up.  New York fielded a small team, but had incredible results today from Simon Thomas-Train and Scotty McClelland, who finished 2nd and 3rd, and Marlijne Cook placed 8th in the girls race.  The highlights for New Hampshire included Dylan McGuffin's 11th and Katrina Howe's tie for 10th. And Massachusetts'  Maxime Guillaume (33rd) and Alyssa Sessions' (9th) and Hannah Specht (13th) led for their team.

Maine's depth was unbeatable, with four boys in the top 10: Ben Koons (4th), Ed Hunter (5th), Steve Cloutier (9th), and Fred Bailey (10th), and five girls in the top 10: Jennie Bender (2nd), Joanna Kinsman (3rd), Megan Dumais (4th), Kalie Dunn (7th), and Heather Zimmerman (10th).

After the final tally, Maine won the overall Eastern High School Championships.  Maine finished with 12,217 points, ahead of Vermont, 10,198. New Hampshire was 3rd with 8167, Massachusetts was 4th with 6,329 and New York fifth with 3,063.  

For complete results visit <www.nensa.net.

– The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) is a non-profit organization, and oversees the US Ski Association’s regional Olympic development programs for cross-country skiing in New England, as well as recreational, educational and competitive programs for NENSA members and their communities.
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