Monday Rundown: Soldier Hollow & Almaty (Updated)

FIS Nordic Junior World Championships (Midway, Utah): Classic sprint

[UPDATED] On the first day of Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, three U.S. women, four U.S. men and two Canadian men finished in the top 30 to qualify for the heats in the women’s and men’s classic sprints.

Of those nine North Americans, three reached the semifinals: Julia Kern, Hannah Halvorsen and Bill Harmeyer, all representing the U.S.

Germany’s Janosch Brugger beat out four Norwegians and a Finn in the men’s final, finishing in 3:43.00 minutes, just 0.04 seconds ahead of Petter Stakston of Norway. Norway had two on the podium with Herman Martens Meyer in third (+3.83).

Harmeyer reached the semifinal after qualifying in 11th and placing fourth in his quarterfinal. He advanced with a fast-enough time after finishing 1.13 seconds behind Staktson, who won that first men’s quarterfinal. In the first semifinal, Harmeyer stumbled on the course’s biggest climb, broke a pole and ended up sixth, 23.23 seconds behind Stakson, who also won that heat.

Also for the U.S., Kam Husain qualified 27th and finished sixth in the second quarterfinal, 1.5 seconds behind Norway’s Jo Svinsås, who won the heat.

In the third men’s quarterfinal, Canada’s Reed Godfrey finished fifth, 7.59 seconds behind Russia’s Vladislav Vechkanov in first, after Godfrey qualified in 25th.

American Lance McKenney qualified in 29th and went on to finish fourth in the fourth quarterfinal, 2.02 seconds behind Russia’s Egor Kazarinov, who won that heat.

Two North American men raced in the fifth quarterfinal, with Canada’s Étienne Hébert finishing fourth (+1.43) and American Logan Diekmann finishing sixth (+3.98) behind Norway’s Thomas Helland Larsen in first. Hébert qualified in 13th and Diekmann 23rd to start the day.

In the women’s final, Russia’s Polina Nekrasova won decisively, beating out two Germans, Antonia Fräbel in second (+3.56) and Coletta Rydzek in third (+4.58).

Kern, of the U.S., qualified in 11th then placed second in the first quarterfinal, just 0.19 seconds behind Nekrasova, to automatically advance to the semifinals. In the first semifinal, Kern fell and ended up fifth, 28.05 seconds behind Nekrasova, who won that heat as well.

Halvorsen qualified 13th then won the fifth quarterfinal by 0.75 seconds. She went on to place sixth in the second semifinal, 8.14 seconds behind Fräbel in first.

American Lauren Jortberg qualified 27th and placed fourth in the second quarterfinal, 4.4 seconds behind Norway’s Kristine Stavås Skistad, who won that heat.

Results (brackets): Men | Women

Qualifying results: Men | Women

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World University Games (Almaty, Kazakhstan): 5/10 k classic

Russia took four of the six available podium spots in the opening day of nordic racing at the World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

In the 10 k classic, Valeriy Gontar took an 8.9-second win over Russian teammate Dmitriy Rostovstev. It was an upgrade for Gontar, a student at Penza State University, who was third in this event at the 2015 Universiade. Rostovtsev is a former podium finisher at U23 World Championships. Alexandre Pouye of France was third, +21.8.

Vincent Mason of the University of Wyoming had the best U.S. finish, clocking in at 44th (+2:54.0). Teammate Will Timmons finished 73rd and Sam Wiswell 80th, Mitchell Hollman (Air Force Academy) 82nd, Kevin Geisen (Western State) 84th, and Cameron Moore (Western State) 85th.

For Canada Jordan Cascagnette (Team Hardwood) finished 49th, +3:12.3. Conor Thompson (Université Laval) finished 53rd, Carrington Pomeroy (Nakkertok) 57th, William Dumas (Skinouk) 58th, Gavin Shields (Lappe Nordic) 59th, and Alexis Morin (Université Laval) 77th.

In the women’s 5 k classic, Lilia Vasilieva earned a 13.3-second victory over Russian teammate Anna Nechaevskaya, a podium finisher at last year’s Russian National Championships. Anna Schevchenko of Kazakhstan – who started the season on the World Cup and finished 32nd in the La Clusaz 10 k – was third, +15.2.

Elise Sulser led the United States in 23rd place; the University of Wyoming skier was 1:58.4 off the pace. Teammate Meghan Kent was 48th and Yara Thomas 49th. Emma Malmqvist (Colorado Mesa University) placed 50th, Sierra Jech (State University of New York) 60th, and Sierra Foster (Oregon State University) 61st.

For Canada, Christel Pichard-Joliceur (Université Laval) was one spot behind Sulser in 24th (+2:02.5). Emma Camicioli (Rocky Mountain Racers) placed 40th, Shelby Dickey (Highlands Trailblazers) 43rd, and Kyla Vanderzwet (Nakkertok) 47th.

Results