Nordic News

WATERVILLE, ME. — The Central Maine Ski Club welcomed 400 skiers from all over New England and upstate New York to the Quarry Road Recreation Area in Waterville, ME for the 2014 Bill Koch League Festival. The festival featured a classic relay race on Saturday and a freestyle individual race on Sunday, in addition to un-timed events throughout the weekend. The Central Vermont region, which included skiers from the Ford Sayre Memorial Ski Council, sent 37 skiers to the festival.

Photos

We are lucky to have two great galleries of images from the weekend to enjoy.

Jim Walsh’s photos from the event that can be seen here: Ford Sayre BKL Festival 2014.

Scott Nichols’ photos from the festival can be seen here:  BKL Waterville, ME 2014

Day 1

Friday evening’s torrential rains and Saturday’s warming sunshine meant a tricky day of waxing conditions for all of the teams. The first- and second-grade classic relay was won by the Southern Vermont (SOVT) team of Sadie Bell, Katherine Normandeau and Caroline Tarmy. The Eastern Mass (EAMA) team of Kaden Song-Weiss and Nathan Douty finished second and Ford Sayre’s Sarah Glueck, Andrew Davis, and Erin Geisler grabbed the last podium spot.

Ann Rightmire and Elsa Bolinger from Ford Sayre won the girls third- and fourth-grade relay with the Northwest Vermont (NWVT) team of Phoebe Hussey, Esther Cuneo, and Ava Thurston finishing second. SOVT’s Sylvie Normandeau, and Liza Bell finished third. Ford Sayre’s Imogen Dietz and Katie Davis teamed up with Hartland’s Silvia Hale to take ninth place. SOVT took the top two spots in the boys race as the teams of Beau Guenther and Mathias Boudreau finished just ahead of Wyatt Teaford and Finegan Bailey. NWVT’s Zachary Wilkerson and Neil Guy finished third. Ford Sayre’s Evan Nichols and Spencer May finished in fourth place and Jack Lange and Mountain Top’s Brady Geisler came in 14th.

The fifth- and sixth-grade boys race featured one of the most exciting finishes of the day as SOVT’s Will Koch caught Northeast Vermont’s (NEVT) Jack Young and the two had a furious tactical duel around the course’s final hairpin turn. Koch, and his teammate Asa Chalmers, won the race and Young and Griffin Wright finished second. The race’s drama was not over though as Ford Sayre’s Nacio Levey powered down the backstretch passing three other skiers to secure the final podium spot with his two partners, Daniel Bandler and Peter Burnham.

The EAMA team got their best results of the day in the girls race as the teams of Madeline Kitch/Laura Appleby and Serena Jampel/Shea Brams finished first and second. The NWVT team of Camille Bolduc, Quincy Massey-Bierman, and Ali Priganc finished third. Teams from Ford Sayre won three of the next four spots with Lucy Glueck/Grace Dietz (fourth), Liz Rightmire/Hannah Chipman (fifth), and Carly Milliken/Eloise Silver-VanMeter (seventh). The team of Nicoya Mowbray-Parker and Heidi Kerns finished 22nd.

The Vermont regions had a very strong showing in the girls seventh- and eighth-grade relay with eight of their teams in the top ten. NWVT’s Olivia Cuneo and Marika Massey-Bierman won the race and SOVT’s Lillian Fisher/Mae Chalmers and NEVT’s Callie Young/Phoebe Sweet completed the podium. Ford Sayre skiers finished sixth, seventh, and eighth, with Johanna Bandler/Perrin Milliken, Kennedy Lange/Greta Bolinger, and Ingrid Miller/Casey Nichols skiing very strongly together. Ford Sayre’s Margot Davis and Shannon Walsh finished 21st.

The powerful duo of SOVT’s Ben Ogden and Adam Witowski topped the boys podium with NWVT’s Thomas Hussey/Sam Hodges and SOVT’s Neil Thorley/Eli Eppolito finishing second and third. Ford Sayre’s Andy Rightmire teamed up with Mountain Top’s Willy Wright to finish 12th and Ford Sayre’s Malcolm Silver-VanMeter and Jack Burnham finished 16th.

Day 2

The teams were back at Quarry Road early on Sunday for individual freestyle races. Ford Sayre’s Sarah Glueck (4:27.1) got the racing started with a win in the girls first- and second-grade races. Putney, VT’s Sadie Bell (4:40.9) finished second ahead of Waterbury, VT’s Julia Thurston (5:13.4). Cabot, VT’s Alan Moody (4:01.5) cruised to victory in the boys race ahead of Nathan Doughty (Sherborn, MA, 5:08.5) and Brady Morigeau (Jericho, VT, 5:12.5). Ford Sayre’s Andrew Davis rounded out the top ten finishers in 6:04.5.

In the girl’s third- and fourth-grade race, Liza Bell of Putney, VT won in 7:30.0 with Ava Thurston (Waterbury, VT, 7:43.0) and Ford Sayre’s Elsa Bolinger (7:51.2) taking second and third. Other local finishers included Ann Rightmire (Hanover, NH, 8th, 8:27.2), Katie Davis (Lyme, NH, 17th, 9:25.1), Imogen Dietz (Hanover, NH, 26th, 10:26.8), and Silvia Hale (Hartland, VT, 33rd, 12:11.3).

Cormac Leahy of Greensboro, VT set a blistering pace of 6:59.2 to win the boys race followed by Mathias Boudreau (Marlow, NH, 7:13.3) and Neil Guy (Lincoln, VT, 7:23.8). Lyme’s Evan Nichols finished fourth in 7:39.2 and Etna’s Joseph Davis finished eighth in 8:03.8. Other local competitors include Matt Walsh (Hanover, NH, 13th, 8:24.3), Jack Lange (Lyme, NH, 19th, 8:43.3), and Spencer May (Lyme, NH, 21st, 9:04.3).

Peru, VT’s Will Koch followed his victory in the classic relay with a decisive win in the boys fifth- and sixth-grade freestyle, winning the race in 9:58.7. Jack Young (Jay, VT, 10:45.8) and Asa Chalmers (Landgrove, VT, 10:56.1) finished second and third. Ford Sayre’s Daniel Bandler of Norwich, VT finished fifth in 11:06.7. Other local competitors included Peter Burnham (Norwich, VT, 32nd, 12.55.5) and Nacio Levey (Thetford, VT, 39th, 14:55.7).

Laura Appleby (9:56.4) edged out fellow Eastern Mass skier Madeline Kitch (9:59) to win the girls race with Hershey, ME’s Abbey Streinz coming in third. Ford Sayre’s Lucy Glueck (10:26.6) finished in fourth place. Ford Sayre’s Grace Dietz (Hanover, NH, 16th, 11:38.8), Hannah Chipman (Norwich, VT, 17th, 11:56.3), Carly Milliken (Norwich, VT, 18th, 11:58.6), and Eloise Silver-VanMeter (Thetford, VT, 23rd, 12:35.9) all finished strongly.

After a graduation ceremony for the eighth-graders, the seventh- and eighth-grade girls were up with Olivia Cuneo of Williston, VT finishing the four kilometer course in 10:44.1. Mae Chalmers (Landgrove, VT, 11:28.1) and Calley Young (Jay, VT, 11:43.7) finished second and third. Ford Sayre skiers took five of the places between 5th and 15th with Perrin Milliken (Norwich, VT, 5th, 12:06.7), Ingrid Miller (Norwich, VT, 8th, 12:20.0), Kennedy Lange (Lyme, NH, 13th, 12:32.2), Johanna Bandler (Norwich, VT, 12:38.8), and Greta Bolinger (Lyme, NH, 15th, 12:41.3). Other local racers were Casey Nichols (Lyme, NH, 23rd, 13:12.2), Margot Davis (Etna, NH, 29th, 14:02.6), and Shannon Walsh (Hanover, NH, 48th, 15:16.0).

In the final race of the day, Adam Witowski (Peru, VT, 9:42.2), and his classic partner, Ben Ogden (Landgrove, VT, 10:13.2) took the top two spots. Huntington, VT’s Greg Burt (10:15.7) just nudged out Sam Hodges (Cornwall, VT, 4th, 10:16.3) for the third sport. Mountain Top’s Willy Wright (10:47.1) was the top local finisher in 11th. Other local competitors included Andy Rightmire (Hanover, NH, 29th, 11:56.0), Jack Burnham (Norwich, VT, 36th, 12:32.5), and Malcolm Silver-VanMeter (Thetford, VT, 40th, 12:40.1).

JNT skier Sam Gurwitt races in the men’s 14.1km classic event on Sunday

February 15-16, 2014 — The final NENSA Eastern Cup races of the season took place this weekend. Ford Sayre Junior Nordic skiers raced in the freestyle/skate event at the Waterville Valley Nordic Center, in Waterville Valley, NH on Saturday and the classic race on Sunday at Holderness School in Plymouth, NH.

On Saturday, Ford Sayre skiers Adam Glueck won the J2 5k boy’s freestyle race in 14:25 and Erik Lindahl finished 11th with a time of 15:16. Norwich skier Kirsten Miller finished 2nd (16:30) and Ford Sayre skier Sara Spencer placed 20th with a time of 20:36 in the J2 5k girls race. In the Men’s 10k freestyle race, Ford Sayre skiers Tucker Cadow (48th, 30:19), Colin Pogue (65th, 31:56), Sam Gurwitt (67, 32:19) and Chris Powell (70th, 33:48) raced well in a field of 86 skiers.

On Sunday, in the J2 4.7k girl’s classic race Norwich skier Kirsten Miller finished 6th in 17:11 and Ford Sayre skier Sara Spencer placed 17th, 19:52 and Ford Sayre skier Ann Osborn finished 20th, 20:22. In the J2 4.7k boy’s classic race. Ford Sayre skier Adam Glueck finished 2nd, 14:16 and Erik Lindahl placed 6th, 14:51. In the men’s 14.1k classic race Ford Sayre skiers Tucker Cadow (56th, 47:51), Colin Pogue (58th, 48:18), Chris Powell (70th, 51:05) and Sam Gurwitt (75, 52:04) raced.

The 2014 USSA Junior National Cross Country Championship take place March 1-9th at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. Ford Sayre skier Adam Glueck (U16 boys), Norwich skier Kirsten Miller (U16 girls) and Dartmouth skier/Ford Sayre alum Sam Merrens (U20 men) qualified for the New England team.

To see more images go to: http://losborn.smugmug.com/share/FordSayre

JNT skier Sara Spencer races in the U16 girl’s 4.7 km classic event on Sunday.

NH High School (NHIAA) Ski Jumping Championships

Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014 at 11:00am (new time due to heavy snow)

Roger Burt Memorial Jump, Oak Hill, Hanover, NH

Watch top Male and Female High School competitors from around the state soar over 100 feet under the lights as they vie for the coveted state title.

BBQ, Music, Campfire, Marshmallows, Athletic Courage!

DIRECTIONS

• From downtown Hanover take Lyme Road (Route 10 North to the first rotary just before the COOP Foodstore).
• Take the first right off the rotary onto Reservoir Road.
• Reservoir road comes to a “T” after roughly 0.7 miles.
• Take a left down to the Storrs Pond/Oak Hill ski complex.
• Park there. The jumps are up the hill to the left (hidden by a few trees). From the parking lot you’ll see the lights from the ski jumping complex shining through the trees.

Aiden reviews the video of his jump with Coach Michael Holland at the Oak Hill Jumping meet Feb. 2014

Ford Sayre had another fun jumping meet at Oak Hill on Feb. 1, 2014. At the meet, the athletes had a chance to try a new video system. Videos are taken of the jump, and they are immediately available on an iPad, as shown to the right.

This new service is being provided by Insight Replay, a new venture by Ford Sayre parent and entrepreneur Graham Clarke.  With this service, high quality cameras and a wifi network are provided at the competition site.  A user-friendly interface makes it easy to upload and match videos with athletes, so valuable feedback is available immediately at the venue.  More details here.

It isn’t too late to sign up for Ski Jumping. Online registration has been extended through the end of February, and the registration fee has been reduced.

The program takes place at Oak Hill on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 7:30 pm.

Check out the Jumping page for more info or contact Program Head Heidi Nichols at HeidiNichols13@gmail.com