On Sunday, hundreds of Vermont middle and high school skiers, nearly 30 whom are part of the CNSC club, descended on the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, VT for a day full of racing to determine the Vermont Elite teams: the athletes to represent Vermont at the U16 and Eastern High School (EHS) Championships. U16 Championships will take place March 6-8 at Mountain Top in Chittenden, VT and Eastern High School Championships will take place the following week in North Creek, NY at the Gore Mountain Nordic Center March 13-15. These two events bring some of the best young skiers in New England together for four intense competitions packed into three days.

The qualifier day is comprised of two races: a 3k classic in the morning and a 3k skate in the afternoon. The times are combined to create a ranking list. For the U16 championships, 24 boys and 24 girls are named immediately following the qualifier races, based on the ranking list. For the EHS championships, the process is slightly more complicated. The VT Elite team explains the procedure as follows: “The times for both races are combined; the top 20 boys and 20 girls are named to the team from the qualifier results along with 2 alternates. The last 4 spots will be filled based on skiers who registered for the qualifier and posted the top times in the combined results from the individual races at the VT State Meet.” U16’s that are of high school age may compete at EHS if they qualify, but those that are in 8th grade may not. Additionally, Junior Nationals will take place during these two championship weekends, which will further affect who races where.

This article will lay out the results from Rikert. Stay tuned for more details as “Championship Month” approaches and we’ll keep you informed about who is racing where!

Girls:

Combined EHS Rank:

1. Quincy Massey-Bierman

7. Adriennne Remick

9. Isabelle Serrano

15. May Lamb

28. Ayla Bodach-Turner

29. Anna Isselhardt

Combined U16 Rank:

8. Ayla Bodach Turner

9. Anna Isselhardt

11. Margaret Voisin

U14 Results (classic, skate).

U14’s are invited to race but cannot qualify for any trip.

Amelia Circosta (2, 3)

Anika Leahy (3, 1)

Olivia Serrano (4, 4)

Ayla Bodach-Turner (Dave Priganc photo).

Boys:

Combined EHS Rank:

1. Finn Sweet

5. Griffin Wright

6. Jack Young

8. Greyson Davis

10. Aiden Casey

16. Makail Tipton

20. Cormac Leahy

21. Tzevi Schwartz

26. Orion Cenkl

30. Samuel Clark

33. Eli Smith

41. Charlie Krebs

44. Linden Stelma-Leonard

47. Liam McGee

Combined U16 Rank:

6. Cormac Leahy

7. Tzevi Schwartz

9. Orion Cenkl

10. Leo Circosta

15. Linden Stelma-Leonard

20. Alan Moody

22. Sage Grossi

Congratulations to all these junior for two very hard race efforts in one day! See full results here.

CNSC Juniors Shine at U16/EHS Qualifier