Last Updated: 05.Jan.2016

Green Racing Project skiers are off to a great start at US Senior Nationals in Houghton, Michigan, which kicked off over the weekend. 4 women are representing the GRP at Nationals, which is used as selection for Under-23 World Championships, World Juniors, and for World Cup start rights. GRP skier Heather Mooney is eligible to qualify for U23’s in Romania, while the senior athletes Caitlin Patterson, Kaitlynn Miller, and Liz Guiney are vying for international races starts. A four race series, Nationals are held every year in early January and thus are not attended by most US World Cup racers, but still allow the top domestic skiers to compete for the title of National Champion.

10k Classic Individual
Nationals kicked off on Sunday, January 3rd with individual start classic races. GRP skier Caitlin Patterson had a standout result, winning the women’s 10k by over 30 seconds and notching her first National Championship victory on a day that also saw her brother Scott, skiing for APU, take the men’s 15k win. Kaitlynn Miller, an Elmore, VT native, made it a 1-2 punch by taking 2nd to Patterson, marking her first time in the top 10 at Nationals. Liz Guiney took 7th place, and Heather Mooney was 22nd, as the 4th U23.

Freestyle Sprint
It was a quick turn-around to the second day of racing, a 1.5k freestyle sprint. The GRP women all had solid qualifier results, with Patterson leading the way in 6th, Guiney in 11th, Miller 13th, and Mooney 24th. In the quarterfinals, both Patterson and Miller advanced easily with wins in their heats, and Guiney took second in her quarter to advance. Mooney took 5th in her heat and maintained her qualifying position of 24th, as the 3rd U23. In the semifinals, Patterson advanced to the A Final with a 2nd place in the second semi, and both Guiney and Miller took 3rd in their respective semis, with Miller winning the lucky loser berth to the Final and Guiney ending the day in 7th. In the A Final, Patterson chased eventual winner Jennie Bender was able to hit the podium again with 3rd, while Miller fought hard for her 4th place on the day.

Next up, the GRP women will race a 20k freestyle mass start this Thursday the 7th, and then finish the week with a classic sprint on the 9th. Results from US Nationals can be found on www.superiortiming.com, and those interested in watching the live feed from Nationals can check the schedule HERE and the live feed from CXC here!