The Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosted its first FIS race of the season this past Saturday, with a 10-kilometer skate race for the women and a 15-kilometer skate race for the men. Saturday’s race was held in honor of Tom Kendall and Bill Henchy, longtime mainstays and friends of the Craftsbury community.

The first race of the day was the FIS women’s race. With temperatures just above 0 degrees, skiers bundled up and raced two laps of the North 5k loop. Former GRP skier Kaitlynn Miller skied away with the win, besting the field by over 30 seconds. Evelina Sutro, current UVM skier and GRP summer training partner, and Callie Young (Dartmouth/CNSC) finished second and third, respectively, separated by a mere second. Rounding out the top five was Margie Freed (GRP) in 4th place and Michaela Keller-Miller (GRP) in 5th place. Additional CNSC skiers in the top 10 were Rena Schwartz (Dartmouth) in 7th place and Phoebe Sweet (UVM) in 9th place.

Following the women’s races was the master’s race, where skiers took to the course to complete 10 kilometers. On the men’s side, Eli Enman (NWVE/Rossignol) took the win by just over a minute. Enman was followed by Tom Thurston in 2ndplace and Nate Laber (Mansfield Nordic Ski Club) in 3rd place. In the women’s race, Kasie Enman (NWVE) finished in 1st place, with Amy Caldwell (Caldwell Sport) and Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) rounding out the podium in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.

In order to space out racers throughout the day to follow best Covid practices, the FIS men’s race started at 1 pm. By then, temperatures had raised only slightly. Skiers in the men’s race completed three laps of the North 5k loop for a 15-kilometer course. GRP skier Braden Becker came out on top, followed by UVM skiers Matias Ovrum in 2nd and Jacob Nystedt in 3rd. Just off the podium was Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (GRP) in 4th place and former GRP skier Benjamin Lustgarten in 5th place. Bjorn Westervelt, CNSC junior and current UVM skier, also finished in the top 10, racing to a 6th place finish.

Complete results for the 2021 Kendall Cup can be found at https://bullitttiming.com/events/Kendall-Cup-2021.

Kendall Cup recap