Even in the face of challenging and changeable conditions, the athletes at Eastern U16 Championships this past weekend in Jackson, NH showed determination, strength, camaraderie, team spirit, and support. Eastern U16 Championship is the premier event for U16 cross country ski racers in New England and New York. The goal of the Eastern U16 Championships is to provide the highest quality competition for U16 athletes to learn and develop as skiers and people. Eastern U16 Champs (U16s) began modestly in 1992 and has grown into one of the highlights of the season for junior athletes. This past weekend one moment in particular stood out as a moment that exemplified what U16s is all about. As the last relay racer finisher in the final race of the weekend entered the stadium, the athletes who had already finished lined up along the finishing strait to cheer him in and a group of competitors from another state ran along the fence yelling encouragement all the way to line.

This past weekend’s even hosted by JacksonXC was a slightly shortened version of the typical event and featured a 5k wave freestyle race Saturday followed by a 1.2k freestyle sprint and a mixed gender classic relay Saturday. Below are the top-10 results for the individual races and the top-5 for the relay as well as the top-3 overall individual standings. While we are highlighting these finishes, we want to take a moment to acknowledge every athlete who stepped onto the start line this weekend and tried their hardest out there on the race course.

Girls 5k Freestyle
1. Ava Schneider, VT
2. Nyla Scott, ME
3. Reese Furneaux, ME
4. Addi Englund, NH
5. Hannah Petersen, MA
6. Frances Tucker, MA
7. Rowan Tanguay, ME
8. Sarah Glueck, NH
9. Ruth Krebs, VT
10. Vienna Mahar, MA

Boys 5k Freestyle
1. James Underwood, VT
2. David Northcott, NH
3. Abrahm Geissinger, ME
4. Oliver Swabey, MA
5. Oliver Wilson, NH
6. Charlie Kehler, VT
7. Alexander Scopinich-Burgel, MA
8. Henri McCourt, ME
9. Sam Currie, MA
10. Baxter Harrington, VT

Girls Sprint
1. Nyla Scott, ME
2. Frances Tucker, MA
3. Sarah Glueck, NH
4. Ava Schneider, VT
5. Sara McGill, VT
6. Ruth Krebs, VT
7. Ella Ronci, NH
8. Sadie Bell, VT
9. Reese Furneaux, ME
10. Sylvia Harvey, ME

Boys Sprint
1. Niko Cuneo, VT
2. Oliver Wilson, NH
3. Alexander Scopinich-Burgel, MA
4. Quinn Uva, VT
5. Oliver Swabey, MA
6. Charlie Kehler, VT
7. James Underwood, VT
8. Teo Steverlynck-Horne, ME
9. Andrew Krieger, MA
10. Matthew Clarner, NH

Girls Overall
1. Nyla Scott, ME
2. Ava Schneider, VT
3. Frances Tucker, MA

Boys Overall
1. James Underwood, VT
2. Oliver Wilson, NH
3. Alexander Scopinich-Burgel, MA

Mixed Classic Relay
1. NH 1: Sarah Glueck, Oliver Wilson, Addi Englund & David Northcott,
2. VT 1: Ava Schneider, Charlie Kehler, Ruth Krebs & James Underwood
3. ME 1: Nyla Scott, Abrahm Geissinger, Reese Furneaux, & Henri McCourt
4. VT 2: Sadie Bell, Quinn Uva, Sara McGill & Niko Cuneo
5. MA 1: Frances Tucker, Alexander Scopinich-Burgel, Sarah Kirincich & Sam Currie

Congratulations to Team New Hampshire on the overall win in a tight competition! The points spread between teams was one of the closest in years.

Full Results (including team scores) | Event Photos

Additional event photos courtesy of Tom Bartol:

We want to take a moment to thank JacksonXC for preparing amazing courses this weekend and for hosting a fun event. We also want to thank our NENSA sponsors for their ongoing support of our Championship events, Eastern Amateur Educational Foundation (EASEF) for supporting athletes all across the East in attending U16 Champs, and Bullitt Timing for stellar data management and event timing. And last but not least, thank you to all the athlete and coaches for bringing your energy, enthusiasm, and love of skiing to this event!