New England had a great start yesterday, with the freestyle interval start races, in the USSA Junior Nationals, being held at the Olympic Jump Site in Lake Placid NY this week. We had four podiums, including one gold medal and 3 bronze. Julia Kern, SMS elite won the women’s U20 race, and Mackenzie Rizzo, UVM, took the bronze. Ben Ogden, SMS also won the bronze medal in the U18 men’s race, and Will Koch, SMS won bronze in the U16 boys race.

New England showed some nice depth in the first day of racing, with 11 of our athletes getting in the top 10 (All American) for their age group races, and 29 in the top 20 results – which scores the overall National title, a.k.a, the Alaska Cup, at the end of this championship.

For the U16 boys – New England had 5 in the top 20: Third place Will Koch, SMS; 4th place Josh Valentine, Gunstock Nordic; 10th place Matthew Moreau, CSU; 11th place Griffin Wright, Craftsbury Nordic; and 13th place Tim Cobb, Mansfield Nordic.

For the U16 girls NE had 4 girls in the top 20: 5th place Anna Lehmann, SMS; 7th place Abigail Streinz, OSI; 16th place Lilly Bates, Dublin XC; and 17th place Laura Appleby, CSU.

For the U18 men NE had 7 in the top 20: Third place Ben Ogden, SMS; 8th place Adam Glueck, Ford Sayre; 12th place Elliot Ketchel, GMVS; 15th place Walker Bean, GMVS; 16th place James Kitch, CSU; 19th place Conor Munns, SMS; and 20th place Isaac Freitas-Eagen, Brattleboro Union HS.

For the U18 women NE had 3 in the top 20: 7th place Kirsten Miller; 9th place Rena Schwartz, GMVS; and 15th place Callie Young, Craftsbury Nordic.

For the U20 men NE had 4 in the top 20: 5th place Daniel Streinz, Mountain Endurance; 12th place Kamran Husain, SMS; 13th place William Haig, SMS; 16th place Koby Gordon, Dartmouth College.

For the U20 women NE had 6 in the top 20: First place Julia Kern, SMS Elite; 3rd place Mackenzie Rizio, UVM; 13th place Alexandra Lawson, Craftsbury Nordic; 15th place Mary Kretchmer, Gunstock; 17th place Skylar Tupper, Colby College; and 19th place Avrey Ellis, Craftsbury Nordic.

Today is an official training day for our athletes, and our awesome New England wax crew is busy testing skis and waxes for the classic sprint races tomorrow, Wednesday March 8th. The organizers are doing a great job of running these races, and the condition of the course(s) is fantastic. Stay tuned for more news from Lake Placid soon!