U.S. SKI TEAM’S TOP NORDIC SKIER WINS THE TAMC NORDIC HERITAGE CLASSIC —
Kris Freeman Skips U.S. Nationals to Race in the East, and Prepare for World Cup Podiums
Presque Isle, ME (December 29): Kris Freeman (USST/Andover, NH), U23 World Champion, 2002 Olympian, and currently ranked 49th on the World Cup list (Fasterskier editor's comment), found the snow, ski trails, and the competition he needed to prepare for the World Cup races in Europe next month up in “the County†of Maine. Freeman took the lead from the beginning in the TAMC Nordic Heritage men’s 10km classic race, winning with a time of 27:40.15. UNH’s Chris Mallory, who had chased Freeman’s brother, U.S.Ski Team member Justin Freeman, just the week before, finished second, three minutes back. Nova Scotia’s Ian Murray was third.
Another former Olympian (’88, ’92, ’94) and New Hampshire native, Dorcas Wonsavage (Ford Sayre/Etna, NH), won the overall women’s 10km classic race. Her time of 35:40.08 was two minutes 40 seconds ahead of Dartmouth’s Susan Dunklee. Craftsbury Nordic’s Hannah Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT) was just six seconds behind Dunklee.
None of the visiting skiers or coaches had any idea, as they entered the Nordic Heritage Stadium in Presque Isle, Maine, that it had been “poor sledding†two days ago. Thanks to several potato truck-loads of snow dumped and groomed to perfection, today it was the best skiing in New England.
Stratton Mountain School captured one-two for the Junior2 girls and boys’ 5km classic events. SMS boys Fritz Horst , 16;21.8, and Steven Bedard, 16:28.7, were 7 seconds apart, followed by Maine Winter Sports Center’s Dimitri Luthi in third. Stratton’s Kyle Dewey missed the podium by 2/10ths of a second.
SMS girls Parker Tyler, 18:54.43, and Madeleine Talkington, 19:08.81, were just 14 seconds apart , with Natasha Landry (New Brunswick Provincial Team) in third.
TAMC Nordic Heritage Classic
Junior2 Boys (age 14-15)
Place. Name. Club. Hometown. Time
Fritz Horst, Stratton Mountain School, – ,16:21.8
Steven Bedard, Stratton Mountain School,Cheshire, MA, 16:28.7
Dimitri Landry, Maine Winter Sports Center, – , 16:42.5
Kyle Dewey, Stratton Mountain School, – ,16:42.7
Keith Kantack, Mt. Washington Valley Nordic,Jackson, NH, 17:00.9
Chase Marston, – , -, 17:39.9
Stanis Moody-Roberts, Cape Nordic, CapeElizabeth, ME, 17:43.2
Joey Bard, Maine Winter Sports Center, -,17:55.2
Sam Tarling, Maine Coast Nordic, -, 18:42.7
Ian Tovell, Vermont Academy, – , 18:47.7
TAMC Nordic Heritage Classic
Junior2 Girls (age 14-15)
Place. Name. Club. Hometown. Time
Parker Tyler, Stratton Mountain School, – ,18:54.43
Madeleine Talkington, Stratton Mountain School,- 19:08.81
Natasha Landry, New Brunswick Provincial Team, -, 19:17.72
Elise Moody-Roberts, Cape Nordic, CapeElizabeth, ME, 19:21.84
Karmen Whitham, Stratton Mountain School, – ,19:33.29
Lisa Levesque, New Brunswick Provincial Team, -, 20:10.89
Stephanie Crocker, St. Paul’s School, -.20:38.48
Justine Cyr, Maine Winter Sports Center, – ,21:06.22
d’Arcy Baxter, Stratton Mountain School, – ,21:27.97
Lucy Garrec, – , – , 21:58.57
TAMC Nordic Heritage Classic
Overall Women
Place. Name. Club. Hometown. Time
Dorcas Wonsavage, Ford Sayre, Etna NH, 35;40.08
Susan Dunklee, Dartmouth College, -, 38:01.36
Hannah Dreissigacker, Morrisville, VT,Craftsbury Nordic, 38:07.32
Tracey Cote, Colby College, Waterville, ME,38:09.34
Alice Nelson, Ford Sayre, Hanover, NH, 38:40.99
Emily Dreissigacker, Craftsbury Nordic,Morrisville, VT, 38:40.99
Whitney Cooms, Stratton Mountain School, -,38:41.05
Kathleen Maynard, Mt. Washington Nordic,Jackson, NH, 38:56.07
Liz Kantack, Mt. Washington Valley Nordic,Jackson, NH, 39:10.67
Mae Foster, Stratton Mountain School, – ,39:27.85
TAMC Nordic Heritage Classic
Overall Men
Place. Name. Club. Hometown. Time
Kris Freeman, U.S. Ski Team, Andover, NH,27:40.15
Chris Mallory, UNH, Durham, NH, 30:37.22
Ian Murray, Nova Scotia, – , 30:58.62
Nick Trautz, Craftsbury Nordic, 31:01.12
Ben Knowles, Coastal Nordic, – , 31:52.98
Pavel Sotskov, Vermont Academy, -, 32:19.42
Shane MacDowell, Burke Mountain Academy, -,32:26.81
Ben Hickory, – , -, 32:37.64
Dylan McGuffin, Gunstock Nordic, – , 32:38.79
Nils Koons, Farmington Area Ski Team, Sidney,ME, 32:39.02
The TAMC Nordic Heritage double-header continues Thursday with the One-Kilometer Freestyle Sprints. The qualifying race begins at 11am. The top 16 men and women overall advance to the Official heats, where four skiers race head-to-head, and the top two from each heat advance up the ladder. The Junior 2 (age 14-15) girls and boys advance to the J2 Heats, and there will be Demonstration Heats for Junior-1, Older Juniors, and Masters in the afternoon. There will be a flag ceremony and singing of the National Anthem at 3:45pm. The J2 boys and girls semifinals get underway at 4pm, followed by J1/OJ, Under-23, and masters demonstration heats through 5pm. Official heats for men and women begin at 5:20pm, with a fireworks display at 7:20pm. As always, skiing and spectating is free and open to the public. Come cheer!
The Thursday Sprints are the second of the two-race Junior Olympic Qualifier Sprint Series — a chance for junior racers to qualify for the New England JO Team’s Sprint Team. In addition, it is on the Nor-Am SuperTour schedule, so it is scored for FIS (international) and NRL (national ranking list) points, as well as Banknorth Eastern Cup and NENSA (regional) points.
Complete results and photos available at www.NENSA.net.
Source: NENSA press release
