Justin Beckwith

One hundred and fifty-eight citizen racers participated in two Zak Cup races this Sunday in Vermont and New Hampshire.  Cold temperatures and deep snowpack greeted New England skiers at both events — creating wintery smiles and enthusiasm for a successful season.  The weekend marked the real kickoff of Zak and Club Cup competition for 2018, with perennial athletes and clubs attending both races hungry to score points!

The Gunstock January Thaw, which was moved from Saturday to Sunday, due to predicted arctic temps drew 64 competitors for a freestyle competition.  Kathy Maddock, an M5 from Dublin XC, took the overall women’s victory in the 8km competition with a time of 30:07.  Alex Jospe (M1) of the Cambridge Sports Union and Lillian Bates (U18) of Dublin XC secured second and third place, an overall podium that highlights the diversity of racing in New England.  Samuel Evans-Brown (M1) of Concord Nordic, bested the men’s field covering the 12km course in 38:39.  Two U20 skiers rounded out the top-3, John Henry Paluszek of Gunstock Nordic and Andrew Doherty, showing their class amongst a strong field of 44 racers.

You can find race results and links to photos from the event, as well as an upcoming race report at http://www.gunstocknordic.com/

Stowe Nordic hosted their first Crosscut Classic race on Sunday with nearly a hundred racers toeing the line for what some folks described as, “old school racing.”  The challenging 10km course required agility and endurance as skiers wound their way through much of Stowe’s trail network with a single track.  Hannah Hardenbergh, a U23 skier from Harvard University, skied to victory in the women’s race with a time of 36:23.  Charlotte Cole, another Harvard U23, took second place finishing ahead of Elissa Bradley (M1) from Ford Sayre who placed third overall and was the top master’s woman on the day.  Koby Gordon (U23) of Dartmouth College topped the men’s field with a time of 30:06.  Gordon was followed by teammate, Paolo Takagi-Atilano (U23) and Mackinley Fitzpatrick of Harvard on the overall men’s podium.  M3, Eli Enman, of NWVE took the top placement for masters on the day with the sixth place overall finish.

You can read an entertaining race report by Damien Bolduc here.  Photos from the event.  Results are available at barttiming.com

You can also always find race results on the NENSA Results Page.

Make sure you stay up to date on the battles for top spots in Zak and Club scoring, both are updated on the NENSA Rankings Page.

Zak and Club cup racing resumes next Monday the 15th, with the Geschmossel Classic Race.

 

 

Despite the downright frigid temperatures hovering over New England skiers of all ages enjoyed excellent conditions over the holiday period.  This weekend our Zak Cup races resume with two events on Sunday the 7th, the Stowe Nordic Crosscut 10km and the Gunstock January Thaw 12km/8km (moved from Saturday due to predicted cold temps).  You can find out more about those races, including registration, by searching our Calendar of Events and learn more about the entire series by looking at the Zak Cup page.  Registration for all events are done through SkiReg.com

Read a fun article about “Why Master Skiers Need to Stay in the Game,” by Damian Bolduc of Northwest Vermont Endurance.

NENSA is excited to work with amazing venues throughout the region to put on this robust series of citizen races.  The Zak Cup was designed to promote masters skiing and highlight the top skiers in all age groups (Master 1 – Master 12) for their season long efforts.  Skiers (current NENSA members) who place in the top fifteen of their respective age groups earn points which accumulate throughout the season.  Scoring will be updated to our Rankings Page in a timely fashion so skiers can see how they stack up against their competition.  Detailed information about Zak Scoring can be found here.

NENSA also scores all Zak Cup races for Club Cup scoring.  Club Cup scoring was designed to promote participation and any skier who designates themselves with their active NENSA club at registration will score points for their club, regardless if they are NENSA members or not.  Club Cup scoring includes all age groups from U16 through Masters 12 with a premium for being in the top-10, with all skiers 11 and on earning one point.  Further clarification is available here.

There are two unique Club events within the Zak Cup Series, the 1 Day Club Championships (1DCC) held in Jackson, New Hampshire (15th year) and a relatively new race, the New England Club Relay Championships (2nd year) which is held at Craftsbury, Vermont.  The 1DCC is an individual race that was designed designed to award age-adjusted skiing excellence across age categories.  The sum of the top 4 men and top 3 women placements in separate age categories determine the 1DCC winning club.  Skiers in this event are also scored to Zak and Club Cup points individually.  The New England Club Relay allows clubs six different options to compose a relay team by combining a broad range of ages into single sex, or mixed teams.  Each team will accumulate World Cup points for their club which are combined to crown the top club of the day.  This race will also be scored for Club Cup points for those teams that are designated as current NENSA clubs at registration.  More information about the scoring of both of these events is found here.

If you are interested in being a part of all this Zak Cup excitement please make sure your NENSA memberships are current before registering for any races.  If you want your club to be represented please make sure your club is active for the 2018 season.  When registering on SkiReg for races, make sure your NENSA number is entered and select your club from the dropdown menu.  With those two steps you are well on your way to a great season of scored racing!

Please direct any membership questions to george@nensa.net and any scoring questions to justin@nensa.net.

We look forward to seeing you out on the track!!

Competitors for the Eastern Cup mass start classic events were greeted with railroad-track-like conditions on Fort Kent’s serpentine 5km course.  Temperatures were in the low single digits and the firm tracks rewarded those who had ample kick.

The U16 boy’s opened the day racing with a field of 27 competitors.  Finn Sweet of Craftsbury rose to the challenge and skied to a commanding 22 second victory (15:25) over Felix-Olivier Moreau of Club Nordique MSA who covered the course in 15:47.  Aidan Burt of Mansfield Nordic held off a hard charging Brian Bushey of GMVS to take the last step on the podium with a time of 15:53.

The U16 girl’s field was one larger than the boys with 28 competitors.  Quincy Massey-Beirman of Craftsbury/Mansfield skied a stellar performance to take her first Eastern Cup win with a time of 17:51.  Nina Seeman of Stratton was hot on her heels with a time of 17:55.  Liliane Gagnon of Skibec Nordique showed the depth of the Canadian contingent taking the third place position with a time of 18:08.

The open women’s field skied a separate 5km mass start with 65 athletes toeing the line.  Leah Brams spent the entire race with the lead pack and pulled away in the later kilometers for a fifteen second victory in 16:59.  Rena Schwartz of GMVS continues to be a threat in any distance race placing second with a time of 17:14.  Catherine Reed-Metayer, again of Skibec Nordique, skied to third place in 17:20.

Stratton’s Ben Ogden was out for revenge after finishing third in Saturday’s heats.  He strided to an impressive victory in the men’s 1okm.  After skiing a tactical race with the lead pack he surged ahead and saluted the crowd with a “bow and arrow” gesture with his poles as he crossed the finish with a time of 29:20.  Felix Longpre of Club Nordique MSA showed impressive classic form and moved up from his 11th place finish in the sprint to nab second place in 29:25.  Peter Holmes of the University of New Hampshire climbed onto the last step of the podium with a time of 29:29.

The open stadium of the Fort Kent Outdoor Center and mid winter conditions set up a beautiful arena for each of the mass starts.  The courses were meticulously groomed, offering fair racing for all on challenging terrain.  Spectators and athletes alike forgot about the significant distance they had traveled because the experience provided by the venue and its staff was bar none.

New England U18/U20 rankings for will be updated in PDF form to the Rankings Page tomorrow as we are updating our database to provide improved functionality to the site.

Over two hundred skiers competed today in a sprint competition at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center on a beautiful 1.4km track.  The temperature hovered in the single digits, and bright sunshine made for enjoyable environment for racers and spectators.

Ben Ogden of the Stratton Mountain School posted the fastest qualification of the day with a time of 2:58.25.  Local skier, Daniel Streinz, who now competes for Northern Michigan University posted the second fastest time at 3:02.45 and Nicolas Beaulieu of Orford placed third in 3:05.14.  Stratton’s Anna Lehmann set the pace for the women’s field with a time of 3:44.25.  She was followed by Catherine Reed-Metayer of Skibec in 3:48.43 and Abigail Streinz of the Outdoor Sports Institute in 3:49.17.

The afternoon was filled with dynamic heat races for open, U18/U20 and U16 heats.  It was Daniel Streinz who prevailed as the overall winner of the Men’s A Final, besting Tyler Smith of the University of New Hampshire and Ben Ogden in second and third respectively.  Craftsbury’s, Callie Young, topped the women’s field in an exciting photo finish with University of New Hampshire’s Silje Wilson and Leah Brams of Dartmouth College.

Although the majority of the open field consisted of junior racers, separate U18/U20 heats were held for the next twelve skiers outside the top-30.  Mainer, Marcus Wentworth, bested the junior field with an impressive final.  He edged out Brian Beyerbach of HURT Nordic and Cal Schrupp of Gunstock Nordic.  Madeline Kitch of CSU sprinted her way to victory just ahead of teammates, Olivia Cuneo and Emily Nottonson from the Green Mountain Valley School.

Four U16 skiers displayed strong early season form by making the open rounds.  Felix-Olivier of Club Nordique posted the 13th fastest qualification time and skied to 17th overall in the open rounds.  Stratton’s Will Koch qualified 21st and ended the day in 30th overall, after not starting his quarter.  For the girls, Liliane Gagnon of Skibec qualified 19th overall and skied her way up to 17th in the rounds.  Nina Seemann of Stratton posted the 15th qualifying time and finished the day in 21st.

Carl Kellogg of GMVS had a breakout performance and took the win in the U16 Final.  Aidan Burt of Mansfield Nordic and Finn Sweet of Craftsbury placed second and third.  Quincy Massey-Bierman of Craftsbury/Mansfield Nordic separated herself from the field in the girl’s final.  Ali Priganc of Mansfield finished second just ahead of CSU’s Shea Brams.

Complete results are available on the Results Page.

Tomorrow the action continues with Mass Start Classic races.  Start Lists are posted on the VTCM.

A huge thanks to the staff of the Fort Kent Outdoor Center and their volunteers for running a top notch event.  Stay tuned to Facebook and Instagram for updated event pictures and find live timing on Bart Timing.

 

The Central Maine Ski Club hosted 86 racers for the Quarry Road Opener on Sunday, December 10th.  Although the organizers promote the race as a “low key” event, they put forth great effort with snowmaking and grooming to make this early season race a reality.  Racers of all ages flocked to Quarry Road to begin the 2018 ski season — from 8 year old CMSC skier Lex Cote, to Everett Ingalls of Portland, who scored the first Zak Cup points of the season as an M9.

Nate Livingood of the Great Glen Bill Koch Club was the fastest boy in the 2.4km freestyle race.  He was followed by Caden and Beckett Cote in second and third place respectively.  Emma Charles was the fastest girl in the 2.4km distance with a time that was competitive with the top boys.  Naomi Mcgadney and Keya Amundsen placed second and third.  Seventeen racers, ages 8 to 13, enjoyed this festive environment.

Elliot Ketchel, a freshman from Bowdoin College, took top honors in the 4.8km male freestyle race with a time of 12:34.  He was closely followed by teammate, Christian Gostout, at 12:39 and Colby College skier, Foss Kerker in 12:40.  Kirsten Miller, another freshman standout, this time from Colby, took the victory in the female race with a time of 14:37.  Her teammate, Claire Waichler, crossed the line just four seconds off the pace and Bowdoin skier, Gabrielle Vandendries, rounded out a competitive top three that were separated by only eleven seconds.

Four masters skiers jump started their season at Quarry Road, which was the first race of the NENSA Zak and Club Cup Series.  Marek Skacel, an M4 from Veazie, Maine posted the fastest male time on the day.  He was closely followed by M1, Alison Chase, the only woman in masters field on the day.  Everett Ingalls (M9) and Daniel Baumert (M7), finished second and third for male skiers.  Everett Ingalls deserves special recognition as the first master skier in New England to score Zak Cup points for 2018.

Special thanks to Central Maine Ski Club for hosting this event and kicking off an exciting season of cross country ski racing.  Zak and Club Cup Scoring are live at www.nensa.net.  Look for a “Zak and Club Cup Scoring Primer” post in the next few days!  This weekend attention focuses on the Eastern Cup Opener in Fort Kent and the next Zak Cup race will be held January 6th at Gunstock Nordic (January Thaw).

Keep posted here and at NENSA facebook and instagram.

Photos from the event.

Official results.

Zak and Club Cup Scoring.