NENSA News
Perfect Conditions for Eastern High School Championships Weekend
Eastern High School Championships were held this weekend at The Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Chittenden, Vermont. The NENSA Eastern High School Championships are the premier event for high school and prep school racers in New England and New York, with each state bringing up to 24 boys and 24 girls to fill a team with the top 20 skiers scoring points. The goal of the EHSC is to provide the highest quality competition for high school-aged athletes, and that is exactly what happened this weekend with the perfect grooming, challenging but fun race courses, and high caliber race organizers at Mountain Top.
The first race of the weekend was the 5k individual skate held on Friday. The beautiful afternoon sun shone brightly as racers skied the 2.5 km loop twice. The top 3 girls all from Vermont were Alexandra Lawson in 3rd with a time of 14:45, Kirsten Miller in 2nd in 14:39 and Rena Schwartz won overall in 14:35. The boys started at 4 p.m. and Walker Bean from Vermont took 3rd place in 12:31, New Yorker Scott Schultz was 2nd in 12:27 and Vermonter Elliot Ketchel won with a time of 12:24.
Saturday morning was the 7.5 k classic mass start. The girls went off at 10 a.m. and followed the course which first snaked around the field, and then into the woods doing two laps of the 3.75k course. This fun and hilly course spread out the field on the first lap, and at the finish it was Vermonter Rena Schwartz again for the win in 22:31. Her fellow teammate Alexandra Lawson came in 2nd with a time of 22:46, and Mary Kretchmer from New Hampshire took 3rd place in 23:03.
The boys race at 11 a.m. went out with the excitement that always surrounds a mass start. From the gun, Massachusetts skier James Kitch took the lead and kept it on the first lap through the field, finishing 1st in 19:12, 9 seconds in front of 2nd place skier from Vermont Elliot Ketchel who finished with a time of 19:19. Greg Burt also from Vermont took 3rd place with a time of 19:25.
After a midday break, the sprints started on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. This event starts in waves of 5, one skier from each state. There was a double pole start at the bottom of the field, and then the 1.2k course went through the stadium, up into the woods, and then back down into the finish. This sprint was fast and fun to watch, with many skiers coming in neck and neck. Kirsten Miller from Vermont took 3rd in 2:52, Mary Kretchmer from New Hampshire was 2nd in 2:51, and winning the sprint was Alexandra Lawson from Vermont with a time of 2:48.
The boys started their sprints at 3:00 p.m. with warm temperatures, but the course remained solid despite the bright sun. Calvin Bates from New Hampshire came in 3rd place with a time of 2:21, Vermonter Greg Burt was 2nd with a time of 2:20, and Scott Schultz from New York won with a time of 2:18.
The Mountain Top Inn & Resort hosted the banquet and awards that evening in their large event hall. There was a full spread of baked ziti, meat lasagna, and chicken parmesan, salads, cookies and brownies. Awards began around 7:15, and the top 10 girls and boys were awarded for the skate, classic and the sprint races. Then the top 3 individuals from all three race scores were awarded, Mary Kretchmer from New Hampshire was in 3rd and then Vermont teammates Rena Schwartz and Alexandra Lawson tying for first! For the boys, James Kitch from Massachusetts was 3rd, Scott Schultz from New York was 2nd, and Elliot Ketchel from Vermont was 1st overall.
The new award for the overall state with the most points was introduced, the Graham Taylor Cup. Graham is one of the founders of the meet and has been the Massachusetts Team Leader for 34 years. It was very fitting that the award be named in his honor. CSU head coach Rob Bradlee spoke about Graham and his life as a coach and skier, and all the things he did for the love of skiing. The state scores were read after the 3 events, and everyone went to bed, excited for the team relays.
It was another beautiful day on Sunday for the team relays, starting with the girls 2 k classic leg, and tagging off to the boy’s classic leg, then onto the girls skate leg. It was a battle from the start between the Massachusetts and Vermont top teams. The last tag off to the top MA and VT teams happened almost at the same time. James Kitch on the MA team took the win for his team just 3 seconds over the Vermont team. During the awards ceremony, the top 5 relay teams were announced, with 5th-2nd places going to relay teams from Vermont! Team scores were announced and NY came in 5th place, Maine in 4th, MA in 3rd, NH was 2nd and VT won overall, earning them the Graham Taylor Cup this year!
Congratulations to all skiers on a great event with high caliber racing, and where friendships are always made across state lines. Thank you to Mountain Top for a superb Championship weekend!
Day 1 at Eastern High School Championships
The weather could not have been any better this afternoon at the start of the 5 km individual skate race at Eastern High School Championships. It was a blue sky day, and the sun shone brightly on the new snow that made up the 2.5 km loop which skiers skied twice. This year the championship weekend is being held at The Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Chittenden, Vermont over the next three days. These championships are the premier event for high school and prep school racers in New England and New York.
The girls started first at 3:00 p.m. today, with Vermont dominating the field taking the top 5 places. In 5th place, was Ingrid Miller in 15:11, 4th place was Callie Young in 14:51, in 3rd place was Alexandra Lawson with a time of 14:45, Kirsten Miller was 2nd in 14:39 and Rena Schwartz won overall in 14:35.
The boys started at 4 p.m. today and had fast times with Massachusetts skier James Kitch in 5th place with a time of 12:43.3, Caleb Strienz in 4th from Maine just ahead in 12:43.1, Walker Bean from Vermont in 3rd place in 12:31, New Yorker Scott Schultz taking 2nd in 12:27 and Elliot Ketchel taking the win from Vermont in a time of 12:24.
The weekend continues tomorrow with a 10 a.m. classic mass start 7.5 km race skied twice on a 3.75 km loop. The boys will begin at 11 a.m and in the afternoon there will be skate sprints starting at 2:00 p.m. for the girls with the boys starting at 3:00 p.m.
New Graham Taylor Award for Overall State Winner at Eastern High School Championships
A new Eastern High School Championships award has been named after Graham Taylor, one of the founders of The Eastern High School Cross Country Ski Championship meet. The award will be given to the overall state winner this weekend at the Eastern High School Championships at Mountain Top Inn and Resort in Chittenden, VT. Graham has been involved in this major meet since its inception, and it is fitting that this award be named in his honor.
Originally, state teams were comprised of 28 skiers, 14 females and 14 males, with two events, an individual event and a relay. In 1990, the teams leaders decided the meet should be rotated and hosted by the five states. Massachusetts hosted the first one in 1991 at Mountain Top, Chitttenden, and again in 1997 at Craftsbury Center, with Taylor serving as Race Director at both. The state rotation continued through the 1990’s until NENSA got firmly established in 2001.
“I have been working with Graham for the past 10 years and he has been an amazing Team Leader for 33 years. Massachusetts is so lucky to have Graham not only leading our team but also being the driving force behind EHSC.” says Executive Director Amie Smith.
Over the years, the event has evolved into state teams of 48, four events spanning three days, with three individual events and a relay. Scoring includes the top 20 females and top 20 males and top 10 relay teams per state constituting the scoring for each state team with the focus on depth, using a scoring formula developed by Taylor. NENSA is very proud to present this award named after a living legend in nordic skiing.
Junior National Team Relay Races Recap and New England is the Alaska Cup Winner!
New England ended the 2017 USSA Junior Nationals in Lake Placid on a high! The relays were delayed to a noon start, due to the bitter bitter cold temps and gusty winds that enveloped our region this past weekend. But the brutal cold conditions did not detour our team, and by the end of the day, medals were earned in each of our 6 age group divisions, and New England was on the podium for 4 out of 6 of those races. They all raced strong and gutsy races that were oh so fun to watch ~ way to go Team NE!
And by evening, at the banquet and closing awards, Team New England, once again, won the Alaska Cup! The final point tally for the week was: 1st place, New England, with 1352 points; 2nd place, Intermountain, with 1054 points; 3rd place, Alaska, with 984 points; 4th place Midwest with 784 points; 5th place Rocky Mountain with 580 points; 6th place Pacific NW with 474 points; 7th place Far West with 365 points; 8th place Mid-Atlantic with 351 points; 9th place Great Lakes with 181 points; and 10th place High Plains with 89 points.
Some fun facts on the Alaska CUP: This is our fourth year in a row for winning the AK Cup, and NE has won it 11 out of the past 14 years. But the Alaska still holds the most wins overall, since the cup started in 1986 – 16 overall wins to our 13 from NE. Intermountain has won twice and the Midwest once, in years past. The cup was a gift to Junior Nationals in 1986 by the Alaska team, thus why it is called the Alaska Cup. Next year, I think our toughest competition will be from Intermountain, who had great results this year, and will be hosting Junior Nationals in 2018 in Soldier Hollow. But as always, team New England will be up for the challenge.
Relay Results:
Our U20 men won GOLD ~ the relay team of Kamran Husain, Koby Gordon & Daniel Streinz.
Our U20 women won SILVER ~ the relay team of Alexandra Lawson, Mary Kretchmer & Mackenzie Rizzo.
Our U18 men won SILVER ~ with the relay team of Elliot Ketchel, Adam Glueck and Ben Ogden.
Our U16 girls won SILVER ~ with the relay team of Charlotte Ogden, Anna Lehmann and Abigail Streinz.
Our U18 women were in the medals for 5th place, with the relay team of Rena Schwartz, Kirsten Miller and Callie Young.
Our U16 boys were also in the medals for 4th place, with the relay team of Will Koch, Matthew Moreau, and Josh Valentine.
I want to give a HUGE shout out to our VOLUNTEER JN staff – the coaches and wax techs – who make this trip possible: Head Coach, Matt Boobar, age group coaches – Adam Terko, Kat Howe, Pat Casey, Rob Bradlee, Audrey Mangan and Alex Jospe, and our wax techs – Ollie Burruss, Jeremy Hecker, Justin Fereshetain, Jake Barton and Jeremey Nellis. THANK YOU to all of you!