Last Updated: 09.Feb.2015

With the SuperTour and Eastern Cup circuit both coming to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center trails this past weekend, there was a large contingent of Craftsbury Nordic racers, GRP and juniors alike, out on the courses. The green suits stood out among the crowd, and the racers brought home a number of top finishes in the weekend’s races.

Friday brought a 1.4/1.6k freestyle SuperTour sprint combined with the Dartmouth Carnival. Three GRP women and five GRP men made the rounds, and Jake Barton and Ethan Dreissigacker were just outside the top 30 in 40th and 47th. Alex Howe went on to take 9th after qualifying 3rd, and Gordon was the next GRP skier in 17th. Alex Schulz took 21st after finishing 5th in his quarterfinal, while Mike Gibson and Pete Hegman were 25th and 28th. For the women, Kaitlynn Miller led the way with her 6th place in the A Final, and Caitlin Patterson just missed advancing from her semifinal and ended up 8th. GRP rower Emily Dreissigacker took 29th overall.

Saturday’s individual distance skate races had the largest fields of the weekend, as they combined the SuperTour with both the Dartmouth Carnival and the NENSA Eastern Cup. First up were the U16 Boys, racing a 5k interval start. Mathew Lawlor was the lone CNSC skier in that race, taking 39th. In the U16 Girls race, Callie Young led the way with a 6th place, followed closely by Phoebe Sweet in 9th. Also racing for Craftsbury were Rena Schwartz in 14th, Marika Massey-Bierman in 22nd, and Anica Koontz Miller in 26th. Following the U16 Girls, the men raced 10k on the same course. Alex Howe had the top Craftsbury result in 6th place, and then came Gordon Vermeer in 14th, Pete Hegman in 24th, Andrew Dougherty in 30th, Jake Barton 37th, and Alex Schulz in 76th. Patrick Lawlor of CNSC also raced to the 31st fastest U20 time, while Jacob Morse was 36th in the U18’s. GRP Rower Hugh McAdam also mixed it up with the skiers in 176th place. In the women’s 10k, Caitlin Patterson finished just off the SuperTour podium in 7th, while Kaitlynn Miller had a strong skate result in 11th. GRP Rower Maggie Fellows also raced the 10k as a tune-up for the Birkie, and finished a solid 82nd. Orli Schwartz of CNSC was the 16th U18 in the women’s race, and Avery Ellis was close behind with the 20th best U18 time.

Finally, the SuperTour came to a close on Sunday with mass start classic distance races. First up were the U16 Girls, and CNSC had a stellar day with Rena and Callie taking 9th and 10th, and Marika close behind in 12th. Anica improved on her previous finish to take 23rd. In the U16 Boys race, Matthew Lawlor had the top finish in 15th, followed by Zander Martin, racing up as a U14, in 39th. The women raced next, and both Kaitlynn Miller and Caitlin Patterson made the SuperTour top 6 in 4th and 5th, while Emily was not far behind in 14th place. Orli Schwartz was 37th overall as the 14th U18, and Avery Ellis was 22nd U18 on the day. Finally, the men raced a 15k mass start classic, with impressive results coming from the GRP. Gordon had his first ever SuperTour podium taking 2nd, while Andrew followed in 9th. Close behind were Alex Howe in 13th, Pete Hegman in 15th, Alex Schulz in 21st, and Jake Barton in 22nd.

Thanks so much to all the volunteers who gave their time to make sure the races went smoothly, and to everyone who worked so hard to make these races happen: groomers, organizers, timers, parents, coaches, and wax techs. We truly couldn’t do it without you!

All results from the weekend are available on the Craftsbury SuperTour website.