This past weekend at Black Mountain in Rumford Maine, and day two of the Bates Carnival [Day One Recap] skiers arrived for the Chisholm Eastern Cup. The rain had stopped thanks to a biting cold wind that dropped temperatures below zero. As the parking lot filled, and the Racers, from as far away as Lake Placid, warmed up for a blue bird day of great racing, it was time to get skiing. Race headquarters was abustle the minute the doors opened, thanks to the tremendously helpful Chisholm volunteers, Bullitt Timing with the seed/start lists, and a smooth as silk bib delivery. As the course flags whipped, One hundred and sixty-six racers lined up for the start of the Womens 5k Freestyle.
The Middlebury Panthers had the podium at close to a full sweep, as Alexandra Lawson finished with a strong kick, well ahead of team mate Sophia Laukli, followed by as Margie Freed from the University of Vermont, who took third. The U 18 girls were led in by Nina Seemann from the Stratton Mountain School, followed by an amazing tied race for Amelia Tucker and Shea Brams both from Cambridge Sports Union. For the U16 girls CSU took first and second with Sofia Scirica and Evelyn Walton, followed by Hattie Barker from Mansfield Nordic Club in third.[RESULTS HERE]
For the Men, racing a 10k, it was the Catamounts turn to reign, save Peter Wolter of Middlebury, who finished a tight second place behind Ben Ogden, with Karl Schulz in third. The U18 Men were led by Will Koch, from the Stratton Mountain School, Finn Sweet from Craftsbury in second, and Brian Bushey from Green Mountain Valley School. For the U16 Men at a distance of 5k, Jack Lange from The Putney School, Trey Jones from GMVS , and Fin Bailey from Stratton, rounded out the podium for the boys. [RESULTS HERE]
The next day the tide had turned, the wind had stopped and it seemed as though there were even fewer clouds, temperatures picked up and it was as close to a perfect day as possible for the Classic Sprints. It was a slightly more challenging course clocking in at 1.6k.
(photo by John Bernard)
Will Koch, from the Stratton Mountain School, made it look easy, with Jack Christopher, of Craftsbury, along with his team mate Finn Sweet taking the podium. [RESULTS HERE]
Callie Young of Dartmouth took a commanding finish, followed by her team mate Chelsea Moore, then Abigail Streinz of Craftsbury. Evelyn Walton, a U16 from CSU finished only a few seconds after these leaders in an amazing performance.
We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend of racing, we want to especially thank the entire staff at Black Mountain, and the outstanding volunteers from the Chisholm Ski club without whom none of this would have been possible. Extra WARM special thanks to NENSA Sponsor SIDAS for sharing their products with our community and donating heated socks to the winners and heated gloves to their coaches.