Juniors Shine at Junior Nationals
Griffin on his way to 27th in Friday's classic race (NENSA photo).
Avery racing to 19th in the skate competition (NENSA photo)
Callie in the classic individual race (NENSA photo).
Alex finishing a sprint heat, on her way to 10th (NENSA photo).
Phoebe cruising in the skate race (NENSA photo).
Last Updated: 12.Mar.2017
With a flurry of venue and race format changes, Junior Nationals were held at the jumping complex in Lake Placid, New York from March 6th- March 11th. Five Craftsbury juniors represented team New England: Griffin Wright, Callie Young, Phoebe Sweet, Avery Ellis, and Alex Lawson. The coaching staff also had a strong Craftsbury presence, with Ollie Burruss as the head kick wax tech, Jake Barton on the wax team, and Audrey Mangan as the U20 men’s coach.
The racing kicked off on Monday with individual start skate races for all. Griffin Wright set the pace for the day, with an 11th place finish in the 5k U16 boys race. Next was the 5k U18 girls race, where Callie Young was 15th and Phoebe Sweet was 51st. The U20 girls also raced 5k, where Alex Lawson was 13th and Avery Ellis was 19th.
Tuesday was a rest day, followed by a classic sprint day on Wednesday. In the U16 boys race, Griffin qualified 5th, finished 4th in his quarterfinal and finished the day in 17th. In the U18 girls race, Callie qualified in 12th and Phoebe squeaked into the rounds in 30th. Phoebe was 4th in her quarterfinal and she finished 20th overall. Callie finished 2nd in her quarterfinal, 2nd in her semifinal and finished the day in 6th! In the U18 sprint, Avery qualified in 9th and Alex half a second behind in 10th. Avery finished 5th in her quarterfinal and finished the day in 21st. Alex finished second in her quarterfinal, 4th in her semifinal, and 4th in the B final, landing her in 10th place at the end of the day.
After another rest day on Thursday, racing resumed with individual classic races on Friday. The races were supposed to be mass starts, but with the venue changed to the jumping complex, individual races were the only feasible options. In the U16 boys 5k, Griffin was 27th. In the U18 girls 10k Phoebe was 21st and Callie was 30th In the U20 girls 10k, Alex was 4th and Avery was 17th.
JN’s concluded with some relay racing action. Griffin teamed up with Zander Martin and Tim Cobb for an 11th place finish in the U16 boys race. In the U18 girls race, Callie was on a team with Rena Schwartz and Kirsten Miller and they finished 5th. Phoebe was on a team with Lillian Fischer and Madeline Reiders and they finished 19th. In the U20 girls race, Alex Lawson was on the 2nd place team with Mary Kretchmer and Mackenzie Rizio, and Avery teamed up with Ingrid Thyr and Skylar Tubber for 7th.
Congratulations to these juniors on great races in Lake Placid and All –American honors going to Callie and Alex! And to the entire New England team for bringing the Alaska Cup home yet again.
Results can be found here.