Canadians Win Sprints at Nordic Heritage Spring Series

Presque Isle, ME (March 20): The Canadians got down to business and Devon Kershaw and Rhonda Sandau outsprinted the field for the $1,000 winners' prize in the first event of the Nordic Heritage Spring Series, on the courses of the Maine Winter Sports Center, in Presque Isle, ME. 
 
The men's final sprint consisted of Kershaw, U.S. Ski Team's Andrew Newell, Subaru Factory Team/LLBean's Dave Chamberlain, and Middlebury College's Colin Rodgers. Kershaw won but the sprint for 2-3 and 4 went to the line. Maine Winter Sports Center's Tim Burke won the consolation final sprint to grab fifth place and the $100 prize.
 
The women's final included Caledonia Nordic's Jaqui Benson, UVM's Molly Gray, and Maine Winter Sports Center's Kelsey Bouchard. Sandau, who had won all her heats, was again the clear leader, but Benson had to outsprint Gray for second. Stratton Mountain School's Morgan Smyth won the women's B-final for the fifth place.
 
The junior men saw Holderness School's Bryce Connery pass through his heats easily, and he won just as easily, ahead of Stratton Mountain's Cam McKugler and Bret Bedard, and Maine Winter Sports Center's Brian Olsen. MWSC's Blake Sherwood snagged the fifth place overall, in the junior's B-Final
 
 
The Nordic Heritage Spring Series continues on Saturday with the men's 10km and the women's 5km classic race. Sunday's event is the men's 15km and women's 10km freestyle. And the Series wraps up on Tuesday, March 25th with the men's 30km and women's 15km classic mass start races.  For more information on the Maine Winter Sports Center's Nordic Heritage Spring Series, contact 207/762-6972, or visit www.MaineWSC.org.
 
Complete results available at <Nensa.net