Nordic Heritage Eastern Spring Series

Saturday's Classic Races
Atomic's Pat Weaver and Caledonia Nordic's Jaqui Benson Win $1000 and the Nordic Heritage Spring Series' 10 and 5km classic

Presque Isle, ME (March 22): Team Atomic's Pat Weaver charged one of the strongest fields of men since U.S. Nationals to win the second event of the Nordic Heritage Spring Series, the men's 10km classic race.  His time of 28:51 earned him $1000, and put him 18 seconds ahead of Middlebury College's Colin Rogers. Third place and $300 went to Subaru Factory Team's Dave Stewart, 14 seconds behind Rogers. Canadian National Team member, Devon Kershaw, winner of Thursday's Sprints, took fourth, and U.S. Development Team/Stratton Mountain School's Andy Newell snuck into fifth, just four seconds ahead of Subaru Factory Team/MaineWinterSportsCenter's Dave Chamberlain.
 
In the women's 5km classic race it was Caledonia Nordic's Jaqui Benson who won the race and $1000 by 48 seconds ahead of Alpina/Madhus' Natalie Cartright, who earned $500 for second place.  Then the field tightened and Stratton Mountain School's Morgan Smyth, just back from Junior Olympics, got third, 6 seconds behind Cartright, and only a second ahead of Atomic/Salomon's Dorcas Wonsavage.  Sarah Peters, from Carleton College, won $100 for her fifth place finish. 
 
Sunday the Spring Series continues with the mass start men's 15km and women's 10km freestyle races, which begin at 10am and 11am respectively, with an Open Class 10km freestyle race at 12:30pm. Spectators are welcome to cheer on the racers and enjoy the beautiful Nordic Heritage Lodge.  The Spring Series finishes up on Tuesday with the men's 30ks and women's 15km mass start classic races.
 
Sunday's Freestyle Race
Team Atomic's Wonsavage and Weaver Take the Freestyle races at the Nordic Heritage Spring Series

Presque Isle, ME (March 23): Team Atomic swept first place in the Freestyle races at the Nordic Heritage Spring Series.  Pat Weaver won his second race of the Spring Series, the men's 15km freestyle race, while Atomic/Salomon teammate, Dorcas Wonsavage won the women's 10km event held at the Maine Winter Sports Center in Presque Isle, Maine.
 
Wonsavage led the women's field from the start, finishing with a time of 29:03, over a minute ahead of second place, Sarah Peters of Carleton College.  Natalie Cartright, skiing for Alpina/Madhus was third, 36 seconds ahead of XC.com's Rhonda Sandau, from Ontario. Stratton Mountain School's Morgan Smyth finished in the money with fifth place. The
 
Pat Weaver's Atomics also carried him to first place by over a minute margin ahead of Rossignol's Justin Freeman, who is just back from the World Championships.  Freeman nipped in ahead of Subaru Factory Team's Dave Stewart by just 7 seconds.  Rossignol/Sleepy Hollow's Eli Enman was fourth, eleven seconds ahead of Team Rossignol teammate Scott McArt.
 
With a heavy prize table for the junior skiers and prize money in each event of $1000 for first, $500 for second, $300 for third, $200, and $100 for fourth and fifth, the Spring Series has drawn an incredible field of the strongest skiers from the U.S. and Canada. The Nordic Heritage Spring Series finishes up on Tuesday with the men's 30ks and women's 15km mass start classic races. Start times are 9 and 10:30am respectively and spectators are welcome to enjoy the beautiful Nordic Heritage Lodge, the best spring skiing in the East, and the best nordic racing in North America.
 
<Full Results at Nensa.net