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On Saturday in Lake Placid, NY, mixed relay teams competed for a unique National Championship, for rivalry-fueled bragging rights, and for the possibility of earning National Nordic Foundation (NNF) distinction and prize money for their teams. It was an international party thrown at the end of a long and challenging season . . . a party that all participants seemed heartily to enjoy.
The top 15 teams all came through the first checkpoint within eight seconds of each other, but that was as close as the racing would get; SMS T2 pulled out to an early lead that it would never relinquish. Live timing systems revealed that the race had broken open by the middle of the second leg, with SMS T2 building a lead of 15 seconds ahead of second place, 30 seconds ahead of third. SMS T2 enjoyed a considerable lead over the rest of the field when the exchange took place at the halfway point as the winning team—Remi Drolet, Julia Kern, Ben Ogden, Jessie Diggins—cruised to victory, arriving at the finish 1:17 ahead of its nearest rival, University of Utah.
The 4 x 5 km Team Relay represents a unique National Championship race; a result that determines podium positions for the National Championship Team Relay, even though numerous participants may be from counties other than the USA. SMS T2’s Remi Drolet is Canadian. Similarly, the runner up team—University of Utah—had three foreign skiers on its roster: Erica Laven, Selma Nevin, and Joe Davies. And the third place team—Alberta World Cup Academy—is comprised entirely of Canadian athletes. This makes for a National Championship race that’s a decidedly international affair.
In the race for the NNF Cup (sponsored by the National Nordic Foundation), SMS T2’s team may have won the day, but it was the University of Utah that earned the Cup with points earned by their athletes’ combined finishes claiming the season-long championship.
Events at Mt. Van Hoevenberg conclude on Sunday with the 40 k Classic Mass Start that marks the end of the domestic ski season. Racing begins at 8am Eastern Time with live timing being provided by Bullitt Timing.
National Championship Mixed Relay RESULTS
NNF Cup TEAM STANDINGS
John Teaford
John Teaford—the Managing Editor of FasterSkier — has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.
