Bates College Holds On To Claim the Chummy Broomhall Cup
January 14 (Rumford, ME): Over four hundred cross-country skiers from across New England arrived here on Friday excited to take advantage of the “only show in townâ€; they ended up getting the best show in the history of the TD Banknorth Eastern Cup. The 1.7 kilometer loop that coaches and competitors thought would be a limiting factor ended up setting the stage for action-packed racing and great spectating.
Today’s early races again featured another win by Stratton Mountain School’s Megan Killigrew (Peru, VT) but she was joined by two new faces on the podium: Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT/Craftsbury) and Isabel Caldwell (Peru, VT/Stratton). Youth was the theme as Geraghy-Moats is still in the J3 age-group and Caldwell is in her first year as a J2. Yesterday’s second-place finisher Ethan Dreissigacker (Craftsbury) moved up to take a 16-second victory over teammate and fellow Morrisville, VT resident Jake Barton. GMVS claimed the final spot on the podium with first-year J2 David Sinclair (Waitsfield, VT).
After junior skiers swept the top four spots in the first day of women’s competition, Hannah Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT/Dartmouth) and Cassidy Edwards (Glen Arbor, MI/Middlebury) today salvaged the pride of New England’s collegiate skiers by claiming the top two spots. Junior Ida Sargent (Orleans, VT/Burke Mtn) grabbed third and was followed by UVM’s Carina Hamel (Southampton, MA) and Middlebury’s Jenny Hamilton (Aspen, CO). Collegiate dominance was again the theme in the men’s competition where only World Junior Team member Alex Howe (Gilford, NH/Gunstock) could manage a spot in the top five. Michael Sinnott (Sun Valley, ID/Dartmouth) ran away with the victory while local Andover, Maine native and former Chisholm Ski Club member Fred Bailey (Colby) skied into second. Sylvan Ellefson (Vail, CO/Bates) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) rounded out the top five.
Today’s event was the conclusion of the 3-day Tour de Rumford competition. GMVS coach Justin Beckwith easily captured the men’s title when his closest competition (and boss) Jon Arne Enevoldsen bowed out of today’s competition. Sophie Caldwell’s consistent performance throughout the weekend allowed her to overtake her day one teammate Parker Tyler for the women’s title.
The Chummy Broomhall Cup is the first annual Maine Collegiate Nordic Ski Championships Broomhall Cup and is named in honor of Rumford native, 10th Mountain Division veteran, two-time Olympian and the head of the Chisholm Ski Club, Wendall “Chummy†Broomhall. The prize is an overall team award combining the score of both the men’s and women’s teams from Maine’s colleges. Bates College claimed the cup by building a huge lead on the first day of competition and skiing well enough to hold off a fast charging Colby team on the second day. Bates College coaches Becky Woods, Bob Flynn, and Jordi St. John accepted the award from Maine Governor John Baldacci at the conclusion of today’s event.
Source: NENSA
