Fred Bailey

Recap provided by Amie Smith

On Sunday January 29, Prospect Mountain hosted the Freestyle Sprints, part of the NENSA Popular/Community Race Series.  It was done in the Royal Court format, meaning that it was not a “one and done” Sprint qualifier with only the top 30 advancing to the heats.  In the Royal Court format, everyone advances to the heats, allowing for each athlete to experience what it is like to do a full Sprint race to the finals.  This makes for both a really fun event, and for a great athletic experience.  The heats of 6 athletes each are run based on your finish order from the qualifier, then the top 2 advance to the next top heat, and the bottom two advance to the lower bracket heat, and the two in middle stay where they are – but everyone races again (and again!).

We would like to thank the athletes from Stratton Mountain School, Green Mountain Valley School, Dublin XC and Colby College, as well as the 5 Masters who all braved 4 rounds of racing this very challenging 1.2k sprint course.  We had racers from high school through 70+(!)

Congrats to our top three male winners on the podium ~ Tabor Greenberg (GMVS), Aiden Jacobus (GMVS) and Micha Bruner (SMS).  And to the top three female winners ~ Miley Bletzer (SMS), Sage Freeman (Colby College) and Elise Creagan (SMS).  

The top Masters were Sam Calmes Quintal, Putney Ski Club (30-39), Sam Veggeberg (20-29), Andrew Nesbitt (30-39), Vinny Vienneau (70-79) and Sheila Lanman (50-59).

All age group winners took home Vermont Maple Syrup from Mance’s Tree Farm in Shaftsbury.  Full results at bullitttiming.com

Prospect Mountain Association (PMA) is a non-profit organization that runs Prospect Mountain Nordic, a cross country ski center located in Woodford, Vermont.  Prospect Mountain provides cross country skiing for all ages and skill levels. Open daily 9-5 (or sundown) in season as conditions allow.  The Prospect Mountain Ski Club provides fun opportunities for learning to ski and racing for BKL youth, Juniors and Masters.  More information on this gem of a cross country ski center can be found at https://prospectmountain.com/about/

Under bluebird skies and across fresh tracks, the first event of the 2023 New England Marathon series took place on Saturday in Jackson, NH.  Nearly 150 novice and Olympic skiers alike, BKL to high school, collegiate, and very experienced masters, snaked across a village meadow, up the Yodel trail, onto the Eagle fields and around Jackson XC’s homologated trails for this year’s edition of the Freeman Frost White Mountain Classic.  The newly fallen snow was picturesque, and also allowed for the traditional start for this race in the heart of Jackson village.

This year the post-event banquet returned for the first time since the pandemic began, much to the joy of all the participants!  A warm lunch was prepared and served by students and staff of the Jackson Grammar School at the Whitney Community Center.  Overall and age-group winners were recognized and awarded puzzles from White Mountain Puzzles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This running of the White Mountain Classic marked year two of the Northeast State Championships, where each state vies for bragging rights.  How does this work?  Each age group is scored, with 1 point going to 1st, 2 points to 2nd, and so on.  The best 7 finishers from each state across the age groups of both genders comprise the final score, with no limit on total team size.  Age groups are: U23, SR, M1-M12.  This year Vermont took seven first places to make a perfect score of seven, with Massachusetts a close second with nine points.

Northeast State Championship scores

Results

Rankings

NENSA Photos

Overall Winners:

Mark Young – Colby

Alison Crocker – Ford Sayre

 

Masters Age Group Winners – Women:

U20 – Eva Calcutt – Dublin XC

SR – Annavitte Rand – SDXC

M1 – Katie Halloran

M2 – Jess Marion – Dirigo

M3 – Liz Hollenbach – NWVE

M4 – Jessica Bolduc – NWVE

M5 – Sarah Pribram – NWVE

M6 – Sarah Dolcino – Black Water Nordic Ski Club

M7 – Donna Smyth – Cambridge Sports Union

M8 – Mary Heller Osgood – Putney Ski Club

M10 – Trina Hosmer – Stowe Nordic Club

M12 – Sara Mae Berman – Cambridge Sports Union

Age Group Winners – Men:

U18 – Simon Phipps – Ford Sayre

U23 – Clem Taylor-Roth – Juneau, AK

SR – Morgan Perlman – SDXC

M1 – Chris Burnham – NWVE

M2 – Ari Ofsevit – Cambridge Sports Union

M3 – Chase Rosenberg – Mansfield Nordic Club

M4 – Eric Darling – NWVE

M5 – Rob Riley – Gunstock Nordic Association

M6 – David Herr

M7 – Kirk Siegel – Bethel Outing Club

M8 – Rob Burnham – Eastern Mass Nordic, inc (EMXC)

M9 – Gordon Scannell – Schussverein-Drifter XC (SDXC)

M10 – Everett Ingalls – Portland Nordic

M11 – Bob Gray – Putney Ski Club

M12 – Larry Berman – Cambridge Sports Union

Updated Club Cup Rankings are published and the cumulative scores for the 22km and 14km races show these leaders on the day and very tight competition between perennial leader CSU and local favorite SDXC for the 2nd highest team score:

1. NWVE – 642 points
2. Cambridge Sports Union – 528 points
3. Schussverein-Drifter XC – 518 points

Congratulations to all racers – especially several who joined us for their first race – we hope you’ll be back next year!

 

 

 

 

 

Does all the recent snow fall have you itching to get on skis? Perhaps even eager to jump in a low key race?  Some of our regional partners are hosting events that might check all of your boxes.  JacksonXC celebrates the new year with the Jackson Jaunt – a choose your own pace and start time affair.  Most years this event requires your classic boards to take a cruise through the scenic and undulating Wave trail and Eagle Mountain trails.  The following Saturday the Haydock family host the 39th annual run of the Bogburn.  This is a special event harkening to the early days of skiing in New England, where skiers traverse the woods of central Vermont on old school classic trails.  The Gunstock Nordic Association hosts their annual race the next day.  The smooth flowing terrain of their trails is an excellent way to get ease back into freestyle skiing.  Not to mention they put on a killer lunch menu!

Jackson Jaunt (classic) – January 1st – REGISTRATION

The Bogburn (classic) – January 7th – REGISTRATION

Gunstock Zak Cup (freestyle) – January 8th – REGISTRATION

We know the weather can be a little iffy later this time of year.  Please keep an eye on their event pages for any updates.  These are the kind of events where memories are made.  They allow us intimate experience with nature followed by social time with our community – undoubtedly this includes some good stories to share.  So come out and kick off the New Year at some excellent Popular races, which include some cool prizes and raffle items.

Happy Holidays!