For New England high school skiers, U16 Eastern Championships and Eastern High School Championships are some of the most exciting events of the year. U16 Eastern Championships (U16s) began modestly in 1992 and has grown into one of the highlights of the season for junior athletes. U16s this year will be held at Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Chittenden, VT on March 6-8.
Eastern High School Championships (EHSC) is the premier event for high school and prep school racers in New England and New York. Athletes qualify for both championships through state qualifying races. Each New England state and New York can bring their fastest 24 boys and girls. EHSC this year will be hosted by Gore Mountain in North Creek, NY on March 13 – 15 and will feature the return of the popular Cross Country Cross (XCX) race in place of the traditional sprint race.
In recent years we have been lucky to have guest teams from both Midwest and Great Lakes Division join us at U16s. We are very excited this year to have them joining us again at U16s and making their debut at EHSC!
Qualifying events got underway over the past few weeks with Vermont and Massachussetts holding their qualifiers, and New Hampshire holding the first of its two Coaches Series races that serve as qualifiers. New Hampshire will hold the second event of the Coaches Series on February 22 at White Mountains Regional High School, and Maine will hold its qualifying race on February 29 at Quarry Road Trails.
Vermont’s qualifier was held at Rikert Nordic Center on February 2. The crew at Rikert did a great job, and skiers were treated to good conditions, favorable temperatures, and light flurries. Massachusetts held it’s qualifying race at the Weston Ski Track, taking advantage of snowmaking capabilities that often make the Ski Track the only reliably groomed trails in the area. New Hampshire’s first Coaches Series race was moved at the last minute to Plymouth High School, where skiers were treated to a fun and fast 5k course winding through the woods behind the school.
Reports from all events were extremely positive, and NENSA is looking forward to hosting strong teams from all around the region at the Championship events in March!
For more information on the Championships please visit the links below
NENSA U16 Eastern Championships
NENSA Eastern High School Championships
Results from the Vermont, and Massachusetts qualifiers can be found below, along with results from the first New Hampshire Coaches Series Race.
Massachusetts Qualifier Results