NENSA News

Drum roll please….the 2017 New England JN team qualifiers have been listed!!  We take the top 6 each for U16’s boys and U16 girls, and the top 15 each for U18/U20 men and women (min. 3 U20 and 6 U18’s), not including auto qualifiers. Go to our RANKINGS tab to see the list of qualifiers.  If you are on the list, and need to decline, please email [email protected] ASAP so we can name the next athlete on the list. Thank you, and CONGRATS to all!

It was another fabulous weekend of Eastern Cup racing this past Saturday and Sunday, and old man winter did not disappoint us!   Amazing conditions and awesome trails awaited us in both Craftsbury VT and in Holderness NH.  Thank you to all the organizers of this weekend – Dartmouth College & Ford Sayre and all their volunteers, along with the staff and volunteers at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center for a great day of racing on Saturday, and, to the Holderness Nordic ski club and their wonderful volunteers for the second great day of racing on Sunday.  Without this great community involvement, these races would not be possible – thank you all!

Saturday was the combined Eastern Cup and Dartmouth Carnival race day #1, with classic distance races held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont.  Podiums included, for the women, first place, Caitlin Paterson, Craftsbury Nordic; second place Elizabeth Guiney, Craftsbury Nordic; third place Elizabeth Gill, UNH.  For the men, first place, Fabian Stocek, Dartmouth; second place Eli Hoenig, Williams College; third place Peter Holmes, UNH.  For the U16 girls, first place was Anna Lehman, SMS; second place Charlotte Ogden, SMS; third place Abigail Streinz, OSI.   For the U16 boys, first place was Will Koch, SMS; second place, Griffin Wright; and third place Zander Martin.

Sunday’s Eastern Cup/Cheri Walsh freestyle races were held at the Holderness School in Holderness NH, where it snowed all day!  It was a winter wonderland with beautiful trails, but made for some long and tricky driving home post racing.  Podiums included ~ open women:  first Carly Winn; second Mary O’Connell, Craftsbury Nordic; third Rena Schwartz, GMVS.  For the men, first place was Daniel Streinz, Mountain Endurance; second place Welly Ramsey; third place Aidan Kirkham.  For the U16 girls podiums went to – first place Anna Lehmann, SMS; second place Olivia Cuneo, GMVS; third place Abigail Streinz, OSI.  For the U16 boys it was, first place Josh Valentine, Gunstock Nordic; second place Matthew Moreau, CSU juniors; third place Will Koch, SMS.

We held our annual New England JN Team informational meeting after all the races on Sunday.  Thanks to SWIX for making the trek down in the snow for uniform fittings, and to all the JN coaches and staff, and potential JN Team athletes and their parents for sticking around, if they could.  We will be naming the New England 2017 JN Team shortly – stay tuned!

Please go to our NENSA fb page for photos from this past weekend!

Go to VTCM #4 page to view the SEED LISTS for Saturday’s EC/Dartmouth Carnival/Silver Fox Trot races in Craftsbury, VT and Sunday’s EC/Cheri Walsh races at the Holderness School in NH.

Greetings potential JN Team athletes and parents ~

This Sunday is the last weekend of Eastern Cup racing for JN qualifying.  Immediately following the last men’s race at Holderness, NENSA will be having our NE JN Team informational meeting, for all potential JN Team athletes and their parents.  This meeting will be at 1:15pm in the gymnasium.  Please come to hear about the upcoming Junior National trip to Lake Placid starting March 4th, meet the JN coaches and staff, ask questions, try on the NE SWIX uniforms for sizing for ordering, and pay by check if you already know you will be making the team.  Here is the link on NENSA.net to our 2017 JN Packet/Payment info, including all waivers.

To find this link – go to the homepage TABS and click on > Programs > Competitor > JN Team > 2017 JN Packet/Payment.

We look forward to seeing you in both Craftsbury and Holderness this weekend, and best of luck to all our athletes on this final weekend of Eastern Cup/JNQ racing!

REMINDER – on-line registration closes at 5pm SHARP today on SkiReg.com.  There will be DOR registration both days this weekend – $50 each day, and you must be both a current and valid NENSA and USSA/FIS member to race – bring you membership numbers with you.  DOR open 9-10 am on Saturday at Craftsbury, and 8-9am on Sunday at Holderness.

Greetings Eastern Cup Racers ~

Do not delay ~ Registration closes at 5pm SHARP on Wednesday 2/8 for Eastern Cup weekend #4.  Go to SkiReg.com and register NOW!

Saturday is a combined Eastern Cup/Dartmouth Carnival/Silver Fox Trot classic distance race, to be held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, in VT.  Sunday is the Eastern Cup/Cheri Walsh Memorial freestyle distance race at the Holderness School, in Holderness NH.   Please go to VTCM EC#4 for all updates, race information and schedules.

After the last race on Sunday 2/12 – there will be a New England JN Team informational meeting at Holderness School, in their Gymnasium on Sunday at 1:15 pm – pick up and fill out the necessary paperwork, meet the JN Coaches, try on sizes for the Swix uniforms to order, etc. etc. Please come if you know you will be on the team, or, if you may be on the team – all are welcome!  This is a great opportunity to ask questions. JN Trip Leader: Amie Smith, [email protected]  Click here for the complete 2017 JN packet.

A fabulous weekend of racing was had at Rikert last Saturday and Sunday for our Eastern Cup #3 ~ THANK YOU to the Rikert Nordic Center staff, organizers and multitude of wonderful volunteers, from so many different clubs around NE, who all came together to put on great races!

The weekend recap ~ Saturday’s classic sprint race podiums:  For the Men ~ 1st Daniel Streinz, Mountain Endurance; 2nd Antoine Briand, CNEPH/SKIBEC; and 3rd Joey Foster, Team Hardwood.  For the Women ~ 1st Sophie Carrier-Laforte, CNEPH; 2nd Heather Mooney, Craftsbury Nordic; 3rd Carly Wynn. For the U16 boys ~ 1^st Joshua Valentine, Gunstock Nordic; 2nd Olivier Leveille, Orford; 3rd Will Koch, SMS. For the U16 girls ~ 1st Laura Appleby, CSU; 2nd Charlotte Ogden, SMS; and 3rd Olivia Cuneo, GMVS.

For Sunday’s freestyle distance races:  U16 boys 5k:  1^st place went to Joshua Valentine, Gunstock Nordic; 2^nd place to Matthew Moreau, CSU juniors; 3^rd place Will Koch, SMS.  For the U16 girls 5k:  1^st place was Abigail Streinz, OSI; 2^nd place, Laura Appleby, CSU juniors; 3^rd place Lillian Bates, Dublin XC.  For the 10k women’s race:  1^st place went to Carly Winn; 2^nd place went to Sophie Carrier-Laforte, CNEPH; and 3^rd place went to Heather Mooney, Craftsbury Nordic.  For the men’s 15k, it was a Canadian sweep:  1^st place was Joey Foster, Team Hardwood; 2^nd place to Zacha Cristofanilli, CNEPH; and 3ed to Nicholas Beaulieu, Orford.

Press release from Craftsbury Outdoor Center January 29, 2017:

We had over 500 skiers toe the line for the 36th annual Craftsbury Marathon, presented by Fairpoint Communications. True to the spirit of the event, we had competitors who were putting on a bib for the first time to 4-time Olympians: the Marathon is a celebration of skiing in New England, a celebration of winter!
Racers completed 1, 2 or 4 laps of the challenging 12.5k course, with prizes for overall and age/gender groups.

In the BKL 1 Lap, Orion Cenkl and Miley Bletzer led the group home. 2 lap BKLers were paced by Charlie Purcell of GMVS and Ava Thurston and Quincy Massey-Bierman had a battle as they tied after 25k! Vermont High Schoolers completed 1 lap, with U32’s Stephen Looke taking the win on the boys’ side, and his teammate Emma Curchin winning for the Raiders on the girls’ side.

1 Lap men were all bested by Leo Paul Grandbois, of Biathlon Estrie. Notable too was the finish of Dan Cnossen, 2014 Paralympian. The sit-skier was second to Grandbois, on a course that features way more climbing and descending than any over course Cnossen would face in international competition. The 1 lap women’s event was won by GRP skier Kaitlynn Miller.

Recently crowned 30k classic National Champ Ben Lustgarten took the men’s 25k event handily, while Canadian Sheila Kealey took the win for the women.

4-time Olympian and New Hampshire native Kris Freeman took the win by 6 minutes over his Ski and Snowboard Club of Vail teammate, Tad Elliott. It’s Freeman’s 3rd win at the marathon, and the granite stater accomplished this victory double-poling, on skate skis. Mansfield’s Nordic’s Emily Stitt’s women’s 50k win made up in dominance whatever it may have lacked in finish drama. The former Middlebury College skier lead the women home in 3:08.

Thanks to everyone who joined us, and thanks to our generous sponsors:
Fairpoint Communications
Concept2
Outdoor Gear Exchange
Boulder Nordic Sport
Cross-Country Skier

Click here for RESULTS

FIND PICTURES HERE ON FACEBOOK

Seed lists are now posted on the VTCM EC#3 page for both the Saturday sprint qualifiers, and the Sunday distance races.

Over 150 women gathered at the Bethel Village Trails in Bethel, Maine for clinics for all abilities, lunch, an inspirational speaker, a wax clinic, raffle, and a chance to connect to the community of fabulous women in New England this past Sunday. This was the 16^th Annual New England Women’s XC Ski day, which is held at a different venue in New England each year. This day is organized by NENSA and made possible by L.L. Bean and Swix.

The day is also made possible by 20 volunteer instructors, many of whom are former high-level racers, and some who are former Olympians. These women volunteer to teach clinics from beginner to racer, and have come back to Women’s XC Ski Day year after year as instructors. There were also 12 additional volunteers from the Bethel area, who came to help with registration, and lead tours around the trails for those interested.

During lunch, Kristina Sabasteanski, 2 time Olympian in Biathlon, and Director of the Veterans Adaptive Sports and Training, spoke about her trials and tribulations on her path to the Olympics. Her personal story of ups and downs was inspirational, as was as hearing about her important work with VAST. Another highlight at lunch was a few videos from the women of the USST, sending a shout out to all those who were at Women’s XC Ski Day!

This year the benefit organization, Sexual Assault Prevention and Responses Services, received a portion of participants entry fee. They also keep the entire proceeds from the raffle of the one-night stay for two donated by The Bethel Inn Resort raffled off as the grande prize.

Many thanks to our wonderful instructors, The Bethel Inn Resort as the host hotel, The Bethel Village Trails and their staff, L.L.Bean for donating the instructor jackets, Swix for the official Women’s Day hats, all our ski vendors, and of course the volunteers! Thank you to Midge Eliassen for the beautiful photos of the day.