By Dan Baumert
The 2024 Great Caribou Bog Freestyle and BKL Youth Race was held on Saturday February 10th, 2024 in Orono, Maine hosted by the Penobscot Valley Ski Club. The race was held on trails managed and maintained by the Orono Land Trust. The Caribou Bog Outdoor Center served as the race headquarters. Despite the warm temperatures and lack of snow a quality race course was provided by altering the race course and shoveling areas that had thin cover. The groomers did a great job a setting up a fast course early in the morning of the race.
A field of 30 skiers completed the freestyle race, while 3 enthusiastic youth skiers completed the BKL Youth race. The freestyle course featured two laps out and back on the Kirkland trail to maximize trails with good cover. The revised course actually ended up being a relatively flat fast 13.5K distance. The BKL Youth race featured a 0.5K, 1.5K, and 3.5K distances depending on age. A great team of volunteers insured all aspects of the race went smoothly insuring a good racing experience for all participants.
An awards ceremony and raffle was held in the Outdoor Center following the race. Outdoor Center hats and glasses were awarded to the first three overall winners in the freestyle race. The first and second freestyle class places and BKL Youth winners received awards based on photos of the race course. Following are the overall top three male and female finishers in the freestyle race and BKL Youth race winners.
Freestyle race results are located at; https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=342376
Freestyle Overall Race Winners
Female
- Susan Elias 56:42.5
- Maisie Merz 58:04.0
- Tamera Levitsky 58:22.5
Male
- Miguel Sanclemente 47:33.4
- Miles Kirby 48:32.6
- Steve Moreau 48:38.5
BKL Youth Race
Emma Markuson 1st girl grades 1&2, 1.5K 20:32
Porter Freeman, 1st boy grades 3&4, 1.5K 13:45
Halsey Freeman 1st girl grades 5&6, 3.5K 33:00
