Team VT Victorious at U16 Championships
Last weekend, 8 CNSC U16’s traveled to the annual New England U16 Championships at the Mountain Top Inn and Resort in Chittenden, VT. These championships are the pinnacle of many young athletes’ seasons and feature a jam-packed series of four races in three days. Friday afternoon was a 5k freestyle race, Saturday morning was a 5k classic race followed by an afternoon freestyle sprint, and Sunday was relay day! Teams from New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York are vying for the coveted J2 Cup (what U16’s used to be called). There are also guests skiers from the Midwest, but they do not count in team scoring. The first three races are run in a wave start fashion, with a skier from each state starting each minute.
Jumping for joy! (Mark Isselhardt photo).
Fresh of the bus on Friday afternoon, the CNSC juniors didn’t show any signs of weariness and jumped right into the competition with some speedy results.
5k skate
Girls
8. Anna Isselhardt
10. Ayla Bodach-Turner
51. Margaret Voisin
Boys
7. Orion Cenkl
19. Charlie Krebs
42. Linden Stelma-Leonard
46. Alan Moody
67. Sage Grossi
On Saturday morning, with beautiful classic skiing conditions, the racing continued.
5k classic
Girls
11. Ayla
21. Anna
45. Margaret
Boys
4. Orion
30. Charlie
35. Linden
53. Alan
78. Sage
With only a few hours to rest, the athletes readied themselves for the fast and furious sprint competition.
Sprint
Girls
7. Ayla
10. Anna
54. Margaret
Boys
9. Orion
21. Linden
36. Alan
38. Charlie
61. Sage
On Sunday, everyone participated in the relay race. It was the most exciting relay format of all: mixed gender and mixed technique! The teams were each made up of two girls and two boys.
Relay
11. Orion
17. Sage
19. Ayla
20. Anna
23. Alan and Linden
31. Charlie
37. Margaret
At the end of the day, the victorious state was crowned, and it was Vermont! Congratulations to all these racers for shining throughout an entire tough race series! See the full results here.