U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships presented by L.L. Bean: Day Three Recap
Oksana Masters poised to start the qualifier. Photo: John Lazenby
Aaron Pike negotiating a turn on the course. Photo: John Lazenby
Dan Cnossen powering to the win. Photo: John Lazenby
Women's national championship podium. Photo: John Lazenby
Last Updated: 05.Jan.2019
On the third day of U.S. Nationals presented by L.L. Bean, Craftsbury held the second and final race of Paralympic Nordic Nationals to crown national champions in the sprint. Eighteen athletes took on the highly technical course, which featured tight turns, a twisting downhill, and a climb back up to the finish stretch.
The men’s sit ski qualifier resulted in a tie between U.S. Paralympians Aaron Pike and Dan Cnossen, with Canadian Yves Bourque qualifying in third. Cnossen took the lead in the final, crossing the line ahead of Pike to claim his second national championship this week. Yves Bourque placed third in the final, though because he is Canadian, the third-place national championship podium spot went to Kevin Burnside Jr.
After qualifying in second behind Kendall Gretsch, Oksana Masters took over the lead in the final of the women’s sit ski race, for her second national championship of the week. Masters was followed by Gretsch, and the two were joined on the U.S. podium by Joy Rondeau. All three represented the U.S. at the Pyeongchang Paralympic games. Third place overall went to Canadian Lyne-Marie Bilodeau.
The standing category qualifier was won by U.S. Paralympian Grace Miller, who repeated her win in the final to become the national champion. Jesse Bachinsky of Canada defeated Team USA’s Ruslan Reiter in the final to take the men’s win, while David Collins was named national champion in the visually impaired category.
Today’s winners were presented with flannel shirts from The Vermont Flannel Company along with their medals. Congrats to all racers and newly crowned national champions!
U.S. Nationals continue with the 20/30k freestyle mass start tomorrow, followed by the junior 7.5/10k in the afternoon. We encourage you to come watch what should be an exciting day of racing!