Over two hundred skiers competed today in a sprint competition at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center on a beautiful 1.4km track. The temperature hovered in the single digits, and bright sunshine made for enjoyable environment for racers and spectators.

Ben Ogden of the Stratton Mountain School posted the fastest qualification of the day with a time of 2:58.25. Local skier, Daniel Streinz, who now competes for Northern Michigan University posted the second fastest time at 3:02.45 and Nicolas Beaulieu of Orford placed third in 3:05.14. Stratton’s Anna Lehmann set the pace for the women’s field with a time of 3:44.25. She was followed by Catherine Reed-Metayer of Skibec in 3:48.43 and Abigail Streinz of the Outdoor Sports Institute in 3:49.17.

The afternoon was filled with dynamic heat races for open, U18/U20 and U16 heats. It was Daniel Streinz who prevailed as the overall winner of the Men’s A Final, besting Tyler Smith of the University of New Hampshire and Ben Ogden in second and third respectively. Craftsbury’s, Callie Young, topped the women’s field in an exciting photo finish with University of New Hampshire’s Silje Wilson and Leah Brams of Dartmouth College.

Although the majority of the open field consisted of junior racers, separate U18/U20 heats were held for the next twelve skiers outside the top-30. Mainer, Marcus Wentworth, bested the junior field with an impressive final. He edged out Brian Beyerbach of HURT Nordic and Cal Schrupp of Gunstock Nordic. Madeline Kitch of CSU sprinted her way to victory just ahead of teammates, Olivia Cuneo and Emily Nottonson from the Green Mountain Valley School.

Four U16 skiers displayed strong early season form by making the open rounds. Felix-Olivier of Club Nordique posted the 13th fastest qualification time and skied to 17th overall in the open rounds. Stratton’s Will Koch qualified 21st and ended the day in 30th overall, after not starting his quarter. For the girls, Liliane Gagnon of Skibec qualified 19th overall and skied her way up to 17th in the rounds. Nina Seemann of Stratton posted the 15th qualifying time and finished the day in 21st.

Carl Kellogg of GMVS had a breakout performance and took the win in the U16 Final. Aidan Burt of Mansfield Nordic and Finn Sweet of Craftsbury placed second and third. Quincy Massey-Bierman of Craftsbury/Mansfield Nordic separated herself from the field in the girl’s final. Ali Priganc of Mansfield finished second just ahead of CSU’s Shea Brams.

Complete results are available on the Results Page.

Tomorrow the action continues with Mass Start Classic races. Start Lists are posted on the VTCM.

A huge thanks to the staff of the Fort Kent Outdoor Center and their volunteers for running a top notch event. Stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram for updated event pictures and find live timing on Bart Timing.