Craftsbury, VT (February 19): Putney Ski Club’s Brayton Osgood and Burke Mountain Academy’s Liz Stephen were repeat winners this weekend, winning the final TD Banknorth Eastern Cups held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. They won yesterday’s 5 and 10km classic races, as well as today’s 10km freestyle races, solidifying their overall position at the top of the NENSA points list.
The men’s race hardly in question — Osgood was the favorite. “It was a great course. There was no place to rest because you had to work the downhills as well as the uphillsâ€, he said, despite the fact he was using the weekend as a tune-up for next weekend’s U.S. Birkebeiner marathon. What was in question was who and how they would stack behind him. Surprisingly it was three Mainers who were snapping at his heels. Russell Currier, a J1 biathlete training with the Maine Winter Sports Center, was just 16 seconds behind Osgood. Nils Koons, an OJ skier from Sidney, ME, was 3rd, followed by Maine Winter Sport Center teammate, Tom Keefe (Cummington, MA).
In the women’s race Stephen started in the back of the A seed and threaded her way through the field en route to a time of 28:12, one minute 18 seconds ahead of her Burke teammate, Elise Moody-Roberts (Cape Elizabeth, ME). In third, at 29:47 was Ford Sayre’s Dorcas Wonsavage, holding fast at age 41. In fourth was yet another Burkie Bear, Ida Sargent (Orleans, VT), just 6 seconds off the podium. BMA’s Stephen, Moody-Roberts and Sargent have been named to the Junior Olympic Team. Stephen, however, will defer and race in Europe on the OPA cup circuit.
Originally these races, the Silver Fox Trot on Saturday and the Cheri Walsh Memorial on Sunday, were to be held in Hanover and Holderness, NH, respectively. But the lack of snow forced the organizers to move them to the only skiable snow, south of Aroostook County, ME*, at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Volunteers from the Ford Sayre, the Holderness and the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club worked together to pull off excellent classic and freestyle races for over 150 racers each day, culminating in the naming of the 2006 New England Junior Olympic Team.
*The NENSA Championship events begin in March, in Maine where there is still plenty of snow for skiing!
• The TD Banknorth Bill Koch League Festival, in Bethel, ME — a youth ski festival full of racing and recreation on skis, March 4-5th.
• The TD Banknorth J2 Championships will be hosted by the Chisholm Ski Club, at Black Mountain in Rumford, ME, March 10-12th.
• The TD Banknorth Eastern High School Championships will be in Presque Isle, ME, and followed by the
• International Spring Series, ten days of elite racing, including the National Men’s 50k and the women’s 30km classic.
Top 10 results below.
Complete results and photos at www.NENSA.net .
TD Banknorth Eastern Cup
J2 Girls 5km freestyle — top 10
1 Sophie Caldwell, Stratton Mountain School/Peru, VT 15:11
2 Kaitlynn Miller, Stowe Nordic Outing Club/Morrisville, VT 15:27
3 Stephanie Crocker, Berkshire Trails Ski Club/Poughkeepsie, NY 15:44
4 Holly Whitney, Maine Coast Nordic/Bowdoinham, ME 15:47
5 Megan Killigrew, Stratton Mountain School/Peru, VT 15:49
6 Liza Goodwin, NYSEF/ Keene, NY, 16:01
6.Karmen Whitham, Stratton Mountain School/Readsboro, VT 16:01
8.Danielle Baron, Gunstock Nordic Association/Gilford, NH, 16:02
9.Beth Taylor, Ford Sayre/Norwich, VT 16:09
10. Evgenia Badamshina, Gunstock Nordic Association/Gilford, NH 16:12
TD Banknorth Eastern Cup
J2 Boys 5km freestyle — top 10
1 Chase Marston, Stratton Mountain School/Charlotte, VT 13:22
2 Ethan Dreissigacker, Craftsbury Nordic Club/Morrisville, VT 13:25
3 Alex Schulz, Craftsbury Nordic Club/Johnson, VT 13:37;
4 Joey Bard, Maine Winter Sports Center/Woodland, ME 13:42
5 David Sinclair, Green Mountain Valley School/Waitsfield, VT 13:51
6 Sam Tarling, Maine Coast Nordic/ Cumberland, ME 13:54
7 Michael Gibson, Craftsbury Nordic club/Stowe, VT 13:56
8 Jake Barton, Morristown Nordic/Morrisville, VT 14:14
9 Dylan Grald, Ford Sayre/ Grantham, NH 14:16
9.Will Anderson, Gunstock Nordic Association/ Norwich, VT 14:16
TD Banknorth Eastern Cup
Women’s 10km freestyle — top 10
1 Elizabeth Stephen, Burke Mountain Academy/E. Montpelier, VT 28:12
2 Elise Moody-Roberts, Burke Mountain Academy/Cape Elizabeth, ME 29:30
3 Dorcas Wonsavage, Atomic-Ford Sayre/Hanover, NH 29:47
4 Ida Sargent, Burke Mountain Academy/Orleans, VT 29:53
5 Jennie Bender, Northeast Nordic/Johnson, VT 30:11
6 Alice Nelson, Burke Mountain Academy/Hanover, NH 30::35
7 Amanda Ivey, Northeast Nordic/Oxford, ME, 30:42
8 Megan McClelland, NYSEF/Keene Valley, NY 31:07
8.Annelies Cook, Maine Winter Sports Center/Saranac Lake, NY 31:07
10. Sophie McClelland, NYSEF/ Keene Valley, NY 31:15
TD Banknorth Eastern Cup
Men’s 10km freestyle — top 10
1 Brayton Osgood, Maine Winter Sports Center/Putney, VT 25:21
2 Russell Currier, Maine Winter Sports Center/Caribou, ME, 25:37
3 Nils Koons, Waterville/Sidney, ME, 25::46
4 Tom Keefe, Berkshire Trails/Cummington, MA, 25::48
5 Alex Howe, Gunstock Nordic Association/Gilford, NH, 25:56
6 Dylan McGuffin, Gunstock Nordic Association/Northfield, NH, 26:05
7 Zachary Wetherell, Burke Mountain Academy/Dalton, MA, 26:08
8 Forrest Horton, Bowdoin College/Brunswick, ME, 26:34
8.Harry Poole, Burke Mountain Academy/Yarmouth, ME, 26:34
10.Sam Marshall, Gunstock Nordic Association/Etna, NH, 26:37
For complete results www.NENSA.net > Results.
For photos, www.nsbphotos.com
