Ford Sayre skiers representing Team New England at the ‘25 Junior National Championship (photo by Izzy Seay)
The National Championships for junior skiers in the United States took place in Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, at the 2002 (and now 2034) Olympic venue, between MARCH 8-15, 2025.
Six Ford Sayre skiers (and one alum) represent Team New England:
James Underwood (U20 Men), Woodstock Joey Sluka (U18 Men), Woodstock Annie Hanna (U18 Women), Lebanon Lea Perreard (U18 Women), Hanover Lucille Dent (U16 Girls), Hanover Ollie Hanna (U16 Girls), Lebanon Sarah Glueck (U20 Women, now skiing for Colby College), Hanover
The U18 New England coach was none other than our own JNT Assistant Coach: Izzy Seay!
The NE team, photo by George Forbes, @the_xcskiman
Monday: Individual Classic Distance Race
The competition kicked off on Monday with the individual start classic races: a 5km race for U16s in the morning, followed by a 7.5km event for the U18/U20 women and men. Under blazing sunshine and an unseasonably warm 60°F—unfamiliar conditions for the Northeast crew accustomed to racing in frigid temperatures—athletes took on the challenge of racing at altitude.
Ollie delivered a solid performance, crossing the line in 18th place, while Lucille finished 41st, both showing strong form on day one. In the women’s U18/U20 race, Annie dug deep on the big hills and secured a spot on the podium with an impressive 2nd-place overall finish—just shy of a National Championship title. Lea battled back from a fall on the hilly course to claim 15th place overall (12th in U18), just outside the top 10, while Sarah finished 35th (7th in U20), rounding out a strong team showing.
By the time the men took to the course, the snow had transformed into thick slush, making the downhills just as grueling as the climbs. James powered through to finish 26th overall (9th in U20), while Joey crossed the line in 47th (29th in U18), wrapping up a demanding opening day of racing.
Annie, Lea, Izzy
Sarah & Annie
Classic race top 10 podium. Annie in 2nd place.
Wednesday: Sprints
All boys and girls competed in the morning’s skate sprint qualifier, where the top 30 from each age group advanced to the heats. James and Joey narrowly missed the cut, both finishing 32nd in their respective categories.
The girls delivered an impressive showing in the qualifier. Ollie posted the 3rd fastest time among U16s, while Lucille secured 14th, well within the top 30. In the U18 division, Annie dominated with the fastest time of the morning, followed closely by Lea in 8th. Sarah also earned a spot in the heats, qualifying 15th for U20s.
The afternoon brought grueling conditions—hot weather, soft snow, multiple crashes, and race delays. In the quarterfinals, Lea placed 3rd in her heat despite a fall, while Lucille finished 5th. Annie and Ollie both advanced to the semifinals but suffered crashes in their respective heats, ultimately moving on to the B finals. Meanwhile, Sarah snagged a semi-final lucky loser spot, earning a place in the U20 A final, where she finished 5th overall. Annie closed out the day in 9th place, and Ollie finished 12th overall.
Heats: Top L to R: Annie, Lea Bottom L to R: Lucille, Ollie
James in sprint qualifier
Annie, Lucille and Lea in the sprint qualifier
Ollie and Lucille
Joey, Lucille and Sarah photos: @the_xcskiman
Boys, James, Joey
U18 start skate @the_xcskiman
Friday: mass start skate race
The mass start skate races took place on Friday under increasingly challenging snow conditions, as the course became more chopped up throughout the day.
In the morning races, Ollie finished 36th, followed by Lucille in 42nd. James delivered an impressive performance, securing 5th place overall and finishing as the top New England skier. In the U20 15k race, Sarah put in a strong effort to place 14th. Joey also had a standout race, cracking the top 20 with a 19th-place finish in the U18 10k event, where the deteriorating snow conditions made for an exceptionally tough race.
By the afternoon, race delays and shifting weather—from hot and sunny to cold and windy—added to the challenges. After multiple off-course crashes in the U18 men’s race, officials delayed the women’s race to salt the course in an attempt to firm up the snow. Despite the tough conditions, Lea powered through to finish 15th, while Annie wrapped up the day in 27th.
James 5th place overall!
Saturday: Mixed Classic Relay Race
A perennial favorite, the mixed gender relay took place on Saturday morning: classic style (4×3.33km, boy/girl/boy/girl). The Ford Sayre athletes put on a show!
New England teams:
U20 Team 1: James UNDERWOOD (8:04.9), Margo NIGHTINGALE, Micah BRUNER, Beth MCINTOSH 2nd place overall U20 Team 2: Anders LINSEISEN, Caroline TARMY, Abrahm GEISSINGER, Sarah GLUECK (10:32.8) 6th place overall
U18 Team 1: Beckett COTE, Mary HARRINGTON, Joseph SLUKA (9:41.4), Annie HANNA (11:29.8) 3rd place overall U18 Team 2: Fritz SANDERS, Ella RONCI, Matthew MCINTOSH, Lea PERREARD (11:22.2) 5th place overall
U16 Team 2: Eli MCENANEY, Astrid LONGSTRETH, Patrick HOLLAND, Ollie HANNA (12:00.1) 8th place overall U16 Team 3: Matthew NORTHCOTT, Lucille DENT(13:17.4), James LANGAN, Leila GRIFFITH 16th place overall
U20 competition: James skied the scramble leg for NE Team 1 and passed off to his teammate in 3rd place–third fastest time of the U20 men! The team was able to maintain their position and with a strong anchor, finished on the podium in 2nd place on the day! Sarah skied anchor for NE Team 2 and helped them to a 6th place overall finish out of 28 teams.
U18 competition: NE Team 1 featured Joey as the men’s closer (third leg) and Annie as anchor, while NE Team 2 had Lea anchoring and also included NH skier Ella Ronci of Plymouth.
After a strong performance by Ella, NE Team 2 entered the third relay leg in 6th place. Meanwhile, NE Team 1 had Joey heading out in 11th place, facing a sizable 14-second gap to the skier in 10th. Joey wasted no time, surging onto the course and closing the gap by the 2km mark. He maintained a strong pace on the course’s long, steady climb and powered up the final hill, overtaking three skiers. Navigating the tricky S-turn into the stadium—where the snow was soft and chewed up—he handed off to Annie in 8th place, having impressively erased a 46-second deficit. His time was the 4th fastest of the day for U18 men!
Lea was next on course, starting the final leg in 9th place with a 30-second gap to the 5th-place skier. The Ford Sayre girls had their work cut out for them over the 3.3km course in their push for a top-5 finish and All-American status. Both Annie and Lea wasted no time closing gaps and passing skiers. By the top of the final hill, Annie had surged NE Team 1 into 2nd place, while Lea wasn’t far behind in 6th.
Unfortunately, the soft snow on the descent tripped Annie up, causing her to fall and lose a pole. Quick action from a New England coach got her a replacement, and she recovered in time to secure a podium spot, bringing NE Team 1 across the line in 3rd place. Meanwhile, Lea unleashed a gutsy sprint to the finish, moving into 5th place and missing 4th by just 0.8 seconds.
Lea clocked the 3rd fastest U18 girls’ time of the day, with Ella Ronci 4th and Annie 5th. Both teams earned All-American status, finishing among the top five out of a field of 39 teams!
U16 competition: Ollie anchored NE Team 2, while Lucille skied the second leg for NE Team 3. At the handoff, Ollie set out in 14th place. Over the 3.3km course, she powered up the hills, passing six skiers and closing a 27 second gap to secure an impressive 8th-place finish for her team—finishing ahead of NE Team 1 in a field of 34 teams! NE Team 3 wrapped up the day in 24th place.
Relays top 5
Photos in order: James, coaches and teams U18s, NE Team 1, NE both teams, NE Team 2 hug, Annie, Joey, Sarah, Lea
Relay U20 team, with James 2nd from left
Relay race pics:
Sarah Glueck Nominated for the Dave Quinn Award
Each year at the Junior National Championships, an athlete is presented with the Dave Quinn Award. The award is given by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Committee based on results as well as sportsmanship in the memory of U.S. Ski Team racer Dave Quinn, who died in 1976 at the peak of his career. Each region nominates one of their athletes to be considered, and this year New England elected to nominate Sarah. Her nomination can be found here.
James Underwood and Lea Perreard Recognized as Mike Gallagher Award Winners
In addition to Sarah being nominated for the Dave Quinn Award, James and Lea were recognized within Team NE as this years’ Mike Gallagher Award winners. The award formally recognizes the season’s Eastern Cup Champion based on consistent excellence within New England’s premier race series. Coach Izzy’s presentation of them can be found here.
A Few Thoughts from Coach Izzy
In 2018, I competed at Soldier Hollow as a U18 in my second Junior National Championships, so to be there this year as the U18 girls coach for Team NE was a very full circle opportunity that I really enjoyed. While my priority was to support the U18 girls, I was able to see most of the other races and cheer on all our Ford Sayre skiers. It was rewarding for me as a coach to see them all put together races that they should be extremely proud of, as I know firsthand doing this at the end of the season and in a hyped up environment such as JNs can be difficult, and have the opportunity to form bonds with other skiers from NE and the rest of the country. All this to say, the way they carried themselves on and off the snow made me proud to be there representing Ford Sayre!
Each year 24 boys and 24 girls are selected for their state team (representing NH, VT, NY, or MA), based on their excellent ski performance throughout the season. This year the Eastern High School Championship was hosted by the Chisholm Ski Club at Black Mountain of Maine (March 14-16).
The skiers raced for three days in a row and had a lot of fun in the melting spring snow (and increasing mud). A huge shoutout to all coaches and volunteers who shoveled snow to ensure trail cover!
Team VT – the overall winner
Team NH – runner up
Ford Sayre sent an impressive crew to this high school end-of-season event, competing as part of both the NH and VT teams.
Heidi Davis, 12th grade, Lyme NH, BKL graduate, and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Megan Faris, 11th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team Ingrid Groff, 9th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Annabelle Norris, 10th grade, Lebanon NH, BKL graduate and Lebanon Nordic Team Isaac Fellows, 10th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Rhys Jones, 9th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Tomas Masterson, 11th grade, Bradford VT, BKL graduate and JNT Safir Mehra, 11th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and JNT Isaac Novosad, 12th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Rohan Novosad, 10th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT Donovan Van Citters, 10th grade, Hanover NH, BKL graduate and Hanover Nordic Team/JNT
Ski friends
Back row: Rhys Jones, Isaac Novosad, Quinn Uva, Donovan Van Citters, Rohan Novosad, Isaac Fellows, Nick Cellini
Front row: Tomas Masterson, Safir Mehra, Priscilla Richardson, Maya Sluka, Isabel Cellini, Heidi Davis, Ingrid Groff, Megan Faris
(Photo by Abby)
Friday: Freestyle race
The boys went first in the Friday’s 5km freestyle races, in the setting sun and slushy snow. There were 3 Ford Sayre skiers in top 20: Quinn – 2nd second overall, followed by Isaac (13th) and Donovan (16th). Isaac F. finished shortly after (31st), followed by Rhys (59th), Tomas (61st), Safir(75th) and Rohan (90th).
The girls finished strong with Megan in 9th place, Priscilla in 22nd, Ingrid in 23rd and Izzy in 33rd. They were followed by Annabelle (56th), Heidi (58th) and Maya (73rd).
Saturday
The classic races took place on Saturday morning.The Ford Sayre boys raced hard, with Quinn, Donovan and Isaac finishing in top 20 (3rd, 10th and 13th, respectively). Tomas (47th), Rhys(56th), Isaac Fellows (57th), Safir (68th) and Rohan (80th) followed suit.
For the girls, Priscilla finished 10th, followed by Megan in 12th, and Izzy in 15th! Heidi and Ingrid crossed the finish line in 42nd and 48th, Annabelle in 70th and Maya in 92nd.
Isaac Novosad came in 2nd for the boys in the afternoon sprint, with Quinn and Donovan making top 20 (11th and 16th). Tomas was 31st, and Isaac F. 45th. Rhys, Safir, Rohan followed.
Priscilla finished 8th overall, and Ingrid 16th! Megan raced to top 25th, closely followed by Izzy in 31th, and Anabelle, Heidi and Maya.
Sunday
The skiers’ favorite competition, the mixed relay, took place Sunday morning, with all Ford Sayre skiers contributing to their teams’ overall performance. Izzy’s team claimed the gold and Quinn and Priscilla’s the silver, putting two VT teams at the top!
Teams and ranks are listed below:
1st – 38 VT – 2 Matias Citarella, Isabel Cellini, Lorenzo Atocha, Emily Linton 2nd – 37 VT – 1 Quinn Uva, Priscilla Richardson, Samuel Brondyke, Seven Bowen 6th – 26 NH – 2 Donovan Van Citters, Skyah Mclaughlin, Isaac Novosad, Maria Tilley, 10th – 27 NH – 3 Sullivan Sturtz, Holland Calcutt, Eric Fulton, MeganFaris 15 – 28 NH – 4 Ben Clough, Anika LaRoche, IsaacFellows, Skyla Mace 19 – 29 NH – 5 Nicholas Ring, Georgia Eckhardt, Wyatt Lawton, IngridGroff 22 – 30 NH – 6 Dean Ayotte, Leah Ines, RhysJones, Madeline Ronci 26- 31 NH – 7 Tomas Masterson, Heron Hannon, Ian Lofblad, Elena LaRoche 27 32 NH – 8 Safir Mehra, Corva Hannon, Christie Sebastian, Ava Valle 34 47 VT – 11Matthew Berg, Lindsey Ferris, Luke Buehler, Maya Sluka 43 34 NH – 10 Tate Hayman, HeidiDavis, Braydon Patch, AnnabelleNorris 44 35 NH – 11 Andrew Clarner, Lena Fish, RohanNovosad, Mabel Casey
In the individual rankings overall, combining scores for all races, 3 skiers made top 10: Quinn Uva was 3rd, Isaac Novosad 7th, and Priscilla Richardson came in 9th!Megan Faris was 12th and Donovan Van Citters was 15th!
Four of the Ford Sayre skiers (Heidi, Izzy, Isaac, and Quinn) are seniors, so these were their last ski races as high schoolers!
Quinn Uva will race in college for St. Michael’s, so teammates will see him at future Eastern Cups in the next season(s).
Quinn
Isaac Novosad
Safir
Isaac Fellows
Maya
Tomas
Donovan (From Aricca)
Heidi (From Aricca)
Ingrid (From Aricca)
Megan (From Aricca)
Quinn, Izzy, Priscilla and Maya racing for the VT team
Relay team: Isaac Novosad, Maria Tilley, Donovan Van Citters, Skyah Mclaughlin
Maya
Quinn
Izzy
Team VT
Rohan, Rhys, Isaac
Safir, Isaac, Tomas, Rohan, Rhys (photo courtesy of Abby)
Maya
Team fun
Photos from Gary Christie (have permission to use):
Ingrid (photo by Gary Christie)
Heidi (photo by Gary Christie)
Rhys (photo by Gary Christie)
Safir (photo by Gary Christie)
Isaac Fellows (photo by Gary Christie)
Tomas (photo by Gary Christie)
Donovan (photo by Gary Christie)
Heidi – with mismatched poles, thanks to a basket malfunction (and quick on-course loan from an attentive coach!) (photo by Gary Christie)
Team New Hampshire won the New England U16 Championships! This is only the 3rd time that New Hampshire has won the cup in the last 25 years… and possibly in the 33 year history of the event.
The 2025 U16 Championships were hosted by Prospect Mountain in Woodford, VT. Each New England state and New York qualified up to 24 of their fastest boys and girls in the U16 category (ages 14-15). This year, teams from Midwest and Ontario joined in.
Athletes traveled, roomed and dined with teammates from their territory. They raced four events in three days: 5k Skate, 5k Classic, Skate Sprint, and a Mixed 3km relay! With the exception of the relay, the races began with a wave start, with one athlete from each territory.
Overheard on Saturday: “Isn’t it cool to be here with kids from other places? Normally we compete with them, but now we’re together on the same team!
17 Ford Sayre Skiers (recent BKL graduates or current JNT members) represented Team New Hampshire:
Caroline Chor, 8th grade, Hanover Anna Davis, 8th grade, Lyme Lila Marchetti, 8th grade, Norwich (1st in the 5k Skate and the Skate Sprint, 6th in the Classic Distance, 2nd in the relay and 2nd individual overall!) Lilian Van Citters, 8th grade, Hanover Jasper Breton, 9th grade, Lyme Hannah Eck, 9th grade, Hanover Ingrid Groff, 9th grade, Hanover (9th in the Skate Sprint) Rhys Jones, 9th grade, Hanover Olin Walker, 9th grade, Lebanon (2nd in the Relay) Nelson Barabas, 10th grade, Hanover Mallory Eshbaugh, 10th grade, Lebanon Isaac Fellows, 10th grade, Hanover (3rd in the 5k Skate and 2nd in the relay) Grace Healey, 10th grade, Hanover Annabelle Norris, 10th grade, Lebanon Grace Weinstein, 10th grade, Hanover Hannah Eck, 10th grade, Lyme
Lila in particular, had a phenomenal weekend given that this was her first U16 championship. She placed 1st in the 5k Skate and the Skate Sprint, 6th in the Classic Distance, 2nd in the relay and 2nd individual overall!
Pictured: Ford Sayre skiers from NH, holding the New England cup. Front row: Lily Van Citters, Anna Davis, Ingrid Groff, Lila Marchetti, Caroline Chor, Grace Weinstein. Back row: Isaac Fellows, Rhys Jones, Olin Walker, Mallory Eshbaugh, Also pictured: our very own Coach Hilary McNamee, Co-Lead for Team NH
On Team Vermont, these siblings of Ford Sayre skiers also did their state proud: Mary (Kasia) Sluka- 12th in the classic, 18th individual overall out of 112 Nick Cellini – 5th in the freestyle, 17th individual overall out of 119 Kasia and Nick also placed 6th in the mixed relay, together with fellow VT teammates.
Event recap:
Prospect Mountain still had impressive natural snow for March – and impressively gusty winds! Staff & volunteers came out in force – with NENSA – to welcome skiers, coaches, wax crews and fans.
The first race of the meet was a 5K skate race on Friday afternoon. Six Ford Sayre skiers finished in the top 20: Olin (4th), Isaac (11th), Rhys (18th) for the boys; Lila (1st), Mary (18th) and Caroline (19th) among the girls. Jasper and Nelson crossed the finish line 58th and 86th. Hannah finished at 26th.
Ingrid, Annabelle, Mallory, and Lily came in 40th, 43rd, 46th and 49th place, followed by Grace Healey in 51st and Anna (72nd) and Grace Weinstein (82nd).
Saturday morning saw temperatures dip after a snow squall that filled the classic tracks with powder. The snowy tracks were a problem for skiers in the first few waves of the classic 5km race, resulting in slower than expected times for them. Rhys finished 23rd, Nicholas 36th, Isaac 46th, Olin 51st, Jasper 55th and Nelson 97th. In the girls’ race, Lila suffered a pole malfunction and lost it somewhere on the course but amazingly still managed to cross the line in 6th place.. She was followed by Caroline, Annabelle and Ingrid in 23rd, 25th and 28th place; Lily and Mallory in 30th and 35th; followed by Grace Healey (44th), Hannah (55th), Anna (69th) and Grace Weinstein (71th).
After the morning race, athletes refueled for the afternoon with hot meals and baked treats served up by parent volunteers.
The skate sprint took place Saturday afternoon: a fast and challenging course on Prospect Mountain’s former alpine hill. One athlete reflected after her race: “I had more in me than I’d realized.”
Lila took 1st place for the second time this weekend and Ingrid arrived in10th, Caroline in 16th. Lily placed 27th, Annabelle 31st, Mallory 38th; followed by Grace Healey (47th), Anna (53rd), Hannah (61st), and Grace Weinstein (64th).
The skiers could finally relax on Saturday evening when they enjoyed a taco dinner with their team, followed by the awards. In the individual awards, given for the overall performance in the 3 races, Lila was 2nd! (podium photo in the Nensa recap here).
The skiers’ favorite race – the fun mixed relay – concluded the championship on Sunday morning. This event brought together 2 boys and 2 girls per team, with a mix of skate and classic techniques. Spectators enjoyed the high-energy mass start and an exciting handoff between each leg of the competition.
Here’s how the relay teams fared:
*FS names in bold
2nd – NH1 Olin Walker, Lila Marchetti, Isaac Fellows, Skyah Mclaughlin 7th – NH2 Rhys Jones, Elena LaRoche, Bridger Ekstrom, Madeline Ronci 11th – NH3 Ezra Boisseau, Mallory Eshbaugh, Andrew Clarner, Ingrid Groff 13th –NH6 Jasper Breton, Corva Hannon, Abe Hankens, Caroline Chor 16th – NH4 Sawyer Kress, Annabelle Norris, Ren Huston, Hannah Casey 26th – NH7 Sam Polson, LilianVan Citters, Ben Lewis, Grace Healey 38th – NH11 Nelson Barabas, Pearl Marvel, William Tindall, Anna Davis 39th – NH10 Kelby Frenkiewich, Grace Weinstein, Luke Hennessey, Molly Flynn
i
Olin, Rhys and Issac
Caroline, Anna, Lila, and Lily – the only 8th-graders on Team NH!
Nelson (in bib 481) at the start of the mixed relay
Issac in Bib 11
Lily Van Citters
Caroline Chor
Jasper Breton
Ingrid Groff, who also participated in the Eastern High School Championship the following weekend
Grace Healey
Lila in bib 211
Mallory
Annabelle
Hannah
Isaac tagging Skyah Mclaughlin from Dublin, in the relays
Lila, Anna, Hannah, Lily, and Caroline about to get on the bus
Lily & Caroline cheering on the boys (photo: Aricca VanCitters)
Hannah, with JNT athlete and U16 alum Heidi Davis and her sister Anna
Relays podium. Isaac, Olin and Lila and Skyah on the left.
Five Ford Sayre athletes traveled to Park City UT from February 24 – March 2, 2025 to represent the Eastern Division in the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Junior National Championships.
Caroline Chor, Hanover NH
Dylan Cote, Lyme NH
Ava Joyal, Brattleboro VT
Wesley Leonard, Hinsdale NH
Celia Osborne, Sunapee NH (did not compete due to injury)
The ski jumping competition was held at Utah Olympic Park, and the nordic skiing race was held at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. Ford Sayre athletes overcame warm weather challenges to win exciting victories and gain valuable experience.
From L-R: Wesley, Ava, Dylan and Caroline competing at Park City
The Ford Sayre group consisted of Junior National first-timers and returning athletes, all taking home personal bests and a few podium spots. Caroline Chor took home first place in the U16 female individual ski jumping as well as first in the individual Nordic combined race. Caroline teamed up with Islay Sheil of the Salisbury Winter Sports Association to win first place in the team ski jumping event, and with Paisley Rancourt of the Andover Outing Club to earn second place in the team Nordic combined relays. Ava Joyal secured fourth place in the team ski jumping event, paired with Piper Mouttet of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. In the co-ed Elimination Jumping Competition, Caroline finished among the final four.
Congratulations to all!
Caroline with East teammates Islay (top right) and Paisley (bottom right)Continue reading →
We are thrilled to announce that our very own Annie Hanna has qualified to represent the USA at the 2025 U18 Scando Trip in Gjøvik, Norway, from February 15–23!
This is an incredible achievement, and we couldn’t be prouder of Annie’s hard work, determination, and passion for Nordic skiing. She’ll be competing alongside the top young athletes from around the world, showcasing her skills on an international stage.
Please join us in congratulating Annie on this well-deserved honor and wishing her the best of luck as she represents Ford Sayre and Team USA!
