Each year, NENSA recognizes our Eastern Cup Series Champions with the Mike Gallagher award. The award recognizes consistent excellence in the East’s premier race series, with skiers scored on 7 of 8 EC races. The award is named in honor of the late, great Mike Gallagher, who at various points in his life in nordic skiing served as a three-time US Olympian, US Ski Team and US Olympic Coach, a High School Coach, and always, a Vermonter and Champion of New England skiing. A full celebration of Mike’s life can be found on FasterSkier HERE.
Relay Day at Junior Nationals always occurs on the last day of a full week of racing. By design, it’s meant to focus the individual efforts of an entire winter by placing them in the context of a Team. Drive to the heart of our sport: a wintertime, cold, individual pursuit, made wonderful by the warmth of pursuing it together.
For Team New England this year, Relay Day represented another opportunity. After a sometimes frustrating week of near-misses on All-American finishes (top 10), there was a tangible way for skiers who had already accomplished much in the week of racing to boost their teammates to their goals. A strong relay leg, a last burst of speed against a tired field, by any one skier could be the difference.
As it would turn out on the day, those race-defining, team-boosting efforts would begin and end with two skiers who had led their peers in the Eastern Cup all season: James Underwood and Lea Perreard, both out of Ford Sayre Ski Club in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire-Vermont.
James Underwood, skiing as the lead leg of the New England I U20 Relay team, had come into the day already having earned 2-All American placings throughout the week, both in the distance races. In the 3 k event though, he was paired up against a hard-charging first leg full of champions from the Sprint. As the snow began to fall, the U20 relay went out, and through each turn of pace on each hill at Soldier Hollow, Utah, Underwood held on. A final push put Team New England, into 3rd place as the field opened up and he handed off to Margo Nightingale (Colby). Nightingale, then Michah Bruner (SMS) and finally, Beth McIntosh (GMVS) would continue the momentum James had set. The team skied to a 2nd place, all earning a All-American honors.
A little later in the U18 race, conditions had deteriorated under a wet, warm, spring snowstorm. As the race played out, klister-catching falls, and slush skiing left the field mixed and scrambled. As skiers entered the final leg, New England had not just one, but two, teams in the mix to finish in 5th place. One would ride to a 3rd place finish. In the melee behind though, a battle of some 4 teams for one final 5th place podium spot ensued with another New England team. Tasked with gaining that one spot for New England was Lea Perreard. As the group wound through 3 k, it became clear that she had sensed it was time for one last push. As she wound around the last hill at Soldier Hollow, Lea had not only kept in the field, but seperated herself from it. She would cross the finish line with 5th place secured, having turned in the 2nd fastest Girls relay leg of anyone in the field. In doing so, she earned All-American honors alongside her teammates, Matthew McIntosh (GMVS), Ella Ronci (Holderness Nordic Club), and Fritz Sanders (Berkshire Trails).
There is a secret wish that lies at the heart of the Eastern Cup that the intangible journey of a season and the learning that comes with it will translate to something literal at Junior Nationals. It’s neat and tidy. Reinforces the best aspects of skiing as a sport.
Both James and Lea’s performances spoke to their special dynamism as skier’s throughout the 2024-25 Eastern Cup season. In a field of talented skiers, their efforts on the Eastern Cup circuit stood out for their consistency, both not only competing in every Eastern Cup race, but also competing at Senior Nationals too, and for their performances across the disciplines and distances which make up nordic skiing. Their own accomplishments helped power a banner year for their club at Ford Sayre, and helped extend a special sense of camaraderie around the competitive fields of the Eastern Cup this winter.
It has also been reported from inside sources that James and Lea earning many podiums throughout the Eastern Cup season and being awarded a variety of Jasper Hill Cheeses has led to the Ford Sayre Junior Team having a refined palette for quality cheeses. This makes the Eastern Cup Series Director (Ben Theyerl) and their Ford Sayre Coach Isabel Seay, both natives of [America’s Dairyland] Wisconsin, extremely proud. Isabel Seay wrote the following in recognition of James and Lea, who were recognized with the Mike Gallagher Award at a New England Team Dinner at Junior Nationals back in March:
By: Isabel Seay
I met both James and Lea this past June when I took the assistant coach position with Ford Sayre. Since then, I have more than enjoyed getting to play a small role in their development as athletes and individuals, and I am incredibly proud to say a few things about each of them as this year’s Mike Gallagher Award winners.
While both James and Lea are accomplished skiers with a long list of impressive race results, given that they are receiving this award, what has stood out to me more is the leadership roles that they have both stepped into on our team.
I’ll start with James–he is the epitome of someone who leads by example. This fall, he came to me and our head Coach Hilary [McNamee] to discuss whether he should continue to practice and compete with his high school team in addition to Ford Sayre this winter. While we didn’t give him an answer either way, I speak for both of us when I say that we were proud that he chose to continue to do both. James’s presence on his high school team is a big reason why athletes including but not limited to Joey Sluka (Ford Sayre) have made massive improvements to be where they are at today. The level of professionalism that he holds himself to and his calm sense of confidence is a grounding presence on our team. Because of this, we will be sure to miss when he is at Colby next year.
While James leads by example, Lea has taken it upon herself to willingly provide advice and mentorship to some of the younger athletes on our team. When I briefly met her at a race last winter, she was a bundle of nerves and for a lack of a better term a little bit of a wreck pre-race. This year, I have observed Lea not only work through improving her own attitude towards racing but also empathetically offer her perspective to her peers. And the result of these interactions speak for themselves, with our U16 girls having a stellar season.
Beyond their obvious displays of talent, hard work, and leadership, James and Lea exude a love for the sport, so congratulations to both of you – Hilary, your teammates, and I cannot wait to see where skiing will continue to take you and the positive impact you will have on those that have the privilege to know you.
