New England
Espy and Freeman Win TD Banknorth Silver Fox Trot (source: nensa.net)
Posted by: Pat Cote
Summary: Hanover, NH — Adele Espy, home from representing the United States at World Junior Championships, and Olympian Justin Freeman earned victory at today’s TD Banknorth Silver Fox Trot Eastern Cup at Oak Hill. Good snow and lots of sun made for a fun day of skiing for competitors from the top to bottom of the results.
All Photos by Kris Dobie – Krisdobie.smugmug.com
Hanover, NH — Adele Espy, home from representing the United States at World Junior Championships, and Olympian Justin Freeman earned victory at today’s TD Banknorth Silver Fox Trot Eastern Cup at Oak Hill. Good snow and lots of sun made for a fun day of skiing for competitors from the top to bottom of the results.
Hillary Rich (Stratton Mountain School) was the next fastest woman, 44-seconds behind Espy, but 28 ahead of the 3rd place finisher Jess Snyder (JLS Sports.) Stratton’s Karmen Whitham was 4th and local standout Heidi Caldwell grabbed an impressive 5th place finish.
For the men, Justin Freeman was chased by fellow Olympian Patrick Weaver and earned the narrow 12-second victory over the challenging 10 kilometer course. Fred Bailey (Maine WSC), Sam Tarling (Burke) and Dartmouth’s Eric Packer rounded out the top 5.
In the separate J2 races it was local skier Patrick Caldwell (Ford Sayre) earning the boys win over New York’s Charlie Bencze and Cambridge Sports Union’s Jackson Rich. For girls, Cambridge Sports Union’s Corey Stock edged Elena Leuthi (GMVS) by just 5.5 seconds, and Tara Geraghty-Moats (Craftsbury) was third.
Today was the second-to-last New England Junior Olympic Qualifier and TD Banknorth Eastern Cup Series Race. Both conclude tomorrow with the TD Banknorth Gunstock Eastern Cup in Gilford, NH. Athletes will race classic technique, five kilometers for J2’s and women, ten kilometers for men. At the conclusion of the races, athletes will gather at the Margate Inn for New England Junior Olympic team naming, a highlight to the season for many of the region’s juniors.
Link to Junior Olympic Standings
Link to J2 Qualifier Standings
Link to TD Banknorth Eastern Cup Standings
Alaska
Another Beautiful Day of Racing in Fairbanks
By John Estle
Deutschland Uber Alles – Ja!
The brother-sister combo of Marius and Aurelia Korthauer accomplished on Sunday what they had twice just missed accomplishing on February 7-8 at the Besh Cup races — twin victories — in the February Frolic, the third and final race in the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks’ Chest Medicine Fairbanks Distance Series, presented by Raven Cross Country.
The mass-start race was held in the skiathlon, or pursuit, format with skiers starting with 15Km of classic skiing, followed by 15Km of skating after changing equipment. Skiers who didn’t want to ski 30Km could ski just the 15Km classic. Bright sunshine was the hallmark of the day, and the sun’s effect on the snow actually caused some waxing problems for some of the classic skiers later in the classic leg. Temperatures started in the low double-digits and reached the high teens or low 20’s by the end of the race.
Marius Korthauer started with a strong pace that only a few could follow, even in the early kilometers. After the first 1.5Km, the pack was down to five with Alaska Nanooks John Parry and Ray Sabo (both only racing 15Km), FXC coach Pete Leonard, and FAST’s Werner Hoefler in tow. Coming off the Tower Loop, the pack was down to four, Leonard having dropped off the back.
At the end of the first 15Km lap it was Parry and Korthauer with a big gap back to Sabo. As they passed under the BHCCSC walkway Parry headed straight into the finish, while Korthauer hung a left into the transition area. After first heading down the wrong side of the transition area, Korthauer recovered and went the right way. As Korthauer was changing to skate gear, Ray Sabo finished the 15 in second place, and Werner Hoefler was on the east side of the stadium.
Korthauer skied the classic 15Km in 46:25, Hoefler in 46:33. Cody Priest (50:57), Pete Leonard (51:01), Dave Edic (52:04) and Will Coleman (52:07) were next into the transition zone.
On the skate leg, Korthauer more than doubled his margin over Hoefler, winning by 2:37 in 1:33:51. Leonard overtook Priest to nail down third in 1:42:47. Will Coleman also overtook Priest to place fourth, with Priest fifth. Dave Edic was 6th overall and first in the 50-59 men’s class.
In the women’s race, Aurelia Korthauer led from the get-go, and was never challenged by her distaff competitors, and was beaten by only six men. Korthauer’s 15Km classic time of 54:25 was a little more than 12 minutes faster than the second fastest classic skier among women, Heather Best (1:06:38). Jane LeBlond (1:07:05), Lisa Beattie (1:07:32) and Brandy Reeves (1:07:45) looked like a clear top five for the women — it was just a question of what would happen in the next 15Km, and what order they would finish.
Korthauer kept up nearly the same pace for her next 15Km, skiing only 33 seconds slower on her second lap (1:49:23). Leblond continued her “start slowly and gradually pick it up” strategy overtook Best to cop the runner-up spot in 2:13:24, with Beattie third (2:15:42) and Best dropping to fourth (2:18:19). Brandy Reeves’ top five position wasn’t as solid as it looked at the changeover, as she dropped to sixth. Christine Matson gained 4:30 on Reeves in the skate to beat her by 13 seconds.
After Parry and Sabo in the 15Km, it was former Nanook Stian Stensland in third, 6:30 behind Sabo. Karl Hanneman, Rick Johnson and Jim Mery finished 4-5-6 overall, and 1-2-3 in the 50-59 men’s class.
Kristen Bartecchi won the women’s 15Km in 1:07:09 after skiing near LeBlond for much of the first lap. Nancy Hanneman and Nicole Stewart were second and third.
Overall Results with Leg Times for 30Km
Overall Results for 15Km and 30Km, with leg times for 30Km
Anchorage Cup: Sven Johansson 30K “Tour Of Kincaid”
By Patrick Stinson
The Sven Johansson 30K was held Sunday under sunny skies at Kincaid Park in Anchorage. The day was marked by great weather and relatively fast, old snow starting with clean corduroy for the lead pack to break for the rest of the field. The Sven runs what is arguably the toughest Anchorage race course of the year, covering “every major hill” in the park.
Racers warm up to an easy initial 10K with open-field skating on warmer snow over the Mize and Sisson loops before disappearing into hill-climb oblivion in the colder, tree-covered trails of the Park Proper. The course is a tribute to the Kincaid character, using steep but relatively short climbs and exciting transitions into fast down-hills or winding V2-alternate skiing. Trails like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Mize’s Folly,” “S-Turns,” “Ice Box,” and the previously unnamed “DX5” round out the usual suspects in the challenging course that finishes with a surprisingly fast final 1.5K into the stadium.
Much to the aspiring local racer’s dismay, a healthy portion of local APU star athletes showed up to the start line to dominate the field again. APU and Soldotna home-boy Brent Knight had the fastest time in the mens’ field by 12 minutes, and APU’s Katie Ronsse beat teammate Tazlina Mannix in the final 200 meters for the womens’ win. APU coach Dylan Watts was second for the men and APU student skier Mikey Matteson was third. Kate “Duser” Arduser rounded out the womens’ lead pack with a third place.
The Sven is the final race of the AMH Anchorage Cup, and points from the popular local series were tallied and prizes were awarded after the race.
Full results for The Sven Jonhonsson 30K are available here.
