Craftsbury Juniors Among Top Vermont Skiers at Eastern High School/ U16 Qualifier

Rena en route to a skate podium (Liz Guiney photo).

Jacob Morse smoothly strides up a hill (Eric Hanson photo).

Last Updated: 23.Feb.2016

On Sunday, more than two hundred Vermont middle and high school students competed at the Outdoor Center for spots on the Vermont Elite Team for the Eastern High School Championships and U16 Championships. The hectic day includes a 3k classic race in the morning followed by an afternoon 3k skate race. Times are combined and a cumulative list is created in order to name the Vermont Elite Teams. 22 U16s are selected for the U16 championships, which is scheduled to be held at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine from March 11th to March 15th. Eastern High School Championships are set for the Rikert Touring Center in Ripton from March 18th to 20th. Similarly, around 20 high school athletes were selected from the qualifier, with additional spots awarded after the Vermont State Meet.

In the klistery morning classic race, Alex Lawson took the win for the girls, followed by Callie Young in 5th, Rena Schwartz in 6th and Phoebe Sweet in 12th. A slew of Craftsbury girls finished close together with Marika Massey-Bierman in 19th, Rebecca Thompson in 20th, Jordi Kulis in 21st and Ani Koontz-Miller in 22nd. Ruby Lamb was 26th, Madeline Strasser 29th, Kyle Marie Hekeler 36th and Loren Searles 61st. Quincy Massey-Bierman raced in the guest category and placed 3rd.

Anders Hanson and Matthew Lawlor led the way for Craftsbury boys in the classic race, in 8th and 9th, respectively. Griffin Wright was 16th, followed by Noah Eckstein in 20th and Henry Hoffert in 27th. Jacob Morse was 32nd, Alex Warner 36th and Philip Hekeler 44th. Craftsbury had a large contingent in the guest category: Finn Sweet in 6th, Brian Bushey in 9th, Jack Young in 11th, Cormac Leahy in 13th, David Moody in 14th, Tzevi Schwartz in 15th, Alan Moody in 16th and Sage Grossi in 19th.

The afternoon brought more fast and furious racing, this time in the skate technique. Rena was 2nd followed by Callie in 5th and Alex in 8th, Marika, Ani, Jordi and Madeline finished neck and neck in 18th, 19th, 22nd and 23rd. Schoolmates Rebecca and Ruby were close together in 28th and 29th, followed by Phoebe in 32nd, Kyle Marie in 54th and Loren in 66th. Quincy again placed 3rd in the guest category.

In the afternoon boys’ race, Anders placed a strong 4th, followed by Mathew in 17th and Noah in 21st. Jacob was 28th, Alex 31st and Henry 34th. Griffin and Philip were close in 40th and 41st. In the guest category, Finn was 7th, Brian 8th, Jack 9th, Cormac 11th, Alan 13th, Tzevi 16th, Sage 18th and David 20th.

The all-important combined results were tabulated at the end of the day. For the girls overall, Rena was 3rd, Alex 5th, Callie 6th, Marika 16th, Phoebe 19th, Jordi 20th, Ani 21st, Rebecca 24th, Ruby 27th, Madeline 28th, Kyle Marie 42nd, and Loren 64th. In the U16 category, Rebecca was 3rd, Ruby 4th, Kyle Marie 6th, and Loren 13th. For the HS boys: Anders was 7th, Matthew 10th, Noah 18th, Griffin 28th, Jacob 30th, Henry 31st, Alex 34th, and Philip 43th. Griffin was the 5th U16. Competing at the U16 championships will be: Rebecca Thompson, Ruby Lamb, Kyle Marie Hekeler, Loren Searles and Griffin Wright. Girls attending Eastern High Schools will be: Rena Schwartz, Alex Lawson, Callie Young, Marika Massey-Bierman, Phoebe Sweet, Jordi Kulis and Anica Koontz Miller. The boys will be: Anders Hanson, Matthew Lawlor and Noah Eckstein. More athletes will be added to the girls and boys EHS rosters after the VT State Meet.  

Results can be found here.

Stay tuned for upcoming results from U16’s, Eastern High Schools, the Bill Koch Festival, and Junior Nationals!