Team Maine Wins Overall TDBanknorth J2 Nordic Ski Championships
March 12 (Rumford, ME): Yesterday, the 37 truckloads of snow from Roxbury Pond were melting fast, running rivers off the freestyle course at Black Mountain. Today, the course was firm, almost fast, for the final, deciding event of the TD Banknorth Eastern J2 Championships – the 4×2.1km freestyle relay.
Going into this event, for J2 skiers age 14 and 15, Vermont's team of 20 girls and 20 boys was ahead by 98 points. The lead seemed insurmountable. Running the mixed gender relay, girl-boy-girl-boy, it was the Maine girls out fast, with NH's Jenia Badamshina and VT's Dia Davis, following a tremendous lead by the Joliet, Quebec guest-skier. The tag zone was a tangle of poles, hand and skis during the first tag, but became easier with each passing leg. Still, the excitement continued throughout the race, as the skiers raced their heart out, working to gain even one more place for their team, for their State, many for their last race of the season.
Overall Individual Winners,
2006 J2 Championships – Boys
1. Justin Fereshetian, Maine, 386 points
2. Will Anderson, New Hampshire, 379 points
3. Lucas Milliken, Maine, 373 points
The overall title comes down to depth, and Maine had it. Down 98 points going into the relay, it was the blue with gold uniforms of Maine that kept the green Vermont suits at bay, earning 500 more points than VT. And New Hampshire and Massachusetts, separated by only 52 points going into the relays, were also fighting for every place, every point. In the end, MA pulled ahead of NH, by 272 points.
Overall Team Points, after four events.
1. Maine, 16,289
2. Vermont, 15,887
3. Massachusetts, 11,662
4. New Hampshire, 11,390
Complete results and scores, for the TD Banknorth Eastern J2 Championships are available at the Chisholm Ski club website, http://www.chisholmskiclub.org/chisholm_results/2005-06/05-06_results_frameset.htm
Every J2 skier, parent, and coach that met the Chisholm Ski Club volunteers this weekend has left Black Mountain realizing that the United States does have a history of cross-country skiing. And, not only did they meet it, they have now become a part of it.
Source: NENSA
