Nordic News

The Ford Sayre Memorial Ski Council thanks the Byrne Foundation for their generous contribution toward the ski jump renovation. The Roger Burt Memorial Jumps are at Oak Hill in Hanover just above Storrs Pond.

First year jumper Asher Brown demonstrating how you can get on to your skis on a K32 hill

Renovated K32 trestle

Hanover High School team gives thanks to the Byrne Foundation

  
January 27, 2013, Chittenden, Vt. — The Mountain Top Inn and Resort and Mountain Top Nordic Ski Club hosted the 8th Annual Mountain Top Paintball Biathlon on Jan. 27 with races in five divisions. The race attracted over 285 participants and many Upper Valley skiers braved the cold to compete. The racers did laps around the course and stopped to shoot paintball guns at targets with ten seconds removed from the skier’s final time for each hit.

Hanover’s Ann Rightmire won the girls first- and second-grade race with a perfect score of five shots in 3:58.4. Sarah Glueck of Hanover finished third after making three shots in 5:19.1. Imogen Dietz (11th, 2, 7:19.8) and Meg Frost (13th, 0, 7:39.2) were also in the top fifteen. Bailey Finegan of Peru, VT shot perfectly to win the boys race in 4:03.3. Christian Blix of Hanover (7th, 2, 5:39.5), Simon Phipps of Norwich (9th, 2, 5:46.6), and James Underwood of Woodstock (13th, 1, 6:18.2) were also top finishers.

The third- and fourth-grade race was a 2km race and Evan Nichols of Lyme took first place in the boys race with five hits and blistering time of 6:39.3. Ava Thurston of Waterbury, VT won the girls race with five hits in 7:56.4. Lyme’s Elsa Bolinger (4th, 5, 8:47.3), Thetford’s Eloise Silver-VanMeter (5th, 3, 9:20.5), Hartland’s Nicoya Mowbray-Parket (6th, 3, 9:29.5), and Lyme’s Katie Davis (15th, 1, 10:33.1) finished in the top fifteen.

The fifth- and sixth-grade race included three stops at the range and a 3 km ski. Casey Nichols of Lyme won the girls race with 11 hits in a time of 9:18.0. Norwich’s Ingrid Miller (3rd, 1, 10:23.8), Hanover’s Lucy Glueck (4th, 3, 10:25.9), Lyme’s Greta Bolinger (5th, 2, 10:56.8), Hanover’s Grace Dietz (6th, 12, 11:52.3), Norwich’s Hannah Chipman (10th, 6, 13:11.7) and Hanover’s Shannon Walsh (15th, 0, 14:21.4) were all near the top of the leaderboard. The boys race had a massive field with 37 entrants and last year’s runner-up, Will Koch of Peru, VT won the race with 10 hits in 8:12.1. Hanover’s Andy Rightmire (12th, 2, 10:42.1), Norwich’s Patrick Osborn (13th, 10, 10:48.0) and Nolan Gantrish of Hanover (14th, 6, 10:48.4) were in the top fifteen.

Norwich’s Kirsten Miller won the girls seventh- and eighth-grade race with four hits over the 3.75 km course in 10.01.0. Alexandra Schaffer of Norwich (5th, 4, 11:49.1) and Hanover’s Tess Snyder (12th, 4, 14:25.0) were also top finishers. Putney, VT’s Russell Boswell won the boys race with seven hits in 8:25.5 edging out Erik Lindahl of Thetford Center who finished second with nine hits in 8:30.5. Adam Glueck of Hanover finished 12th with five hits in 10:12.0.

This year marked the addition of a high school race and Isaac Wright of Rutland won the 5.25 km event with 11 hits in 10:09.7. Hanover’s Colin Pogue also had a good day at the range and finished a strong third with 11 hits in 11:42.1. Brooke Mooney of Peru, VT won the girls race in 12:20.3 with 12 hits.

Local youth skiers are now training hard for the upcoming TD Bank Bill Koch Festival which will be held February 9-10 at the Weston Ski Track in Weston, MA.

Click here for more photos of the event.

January 20, 2013, Jericho, VT. The Mount Mansfield Nordic Club welcomed almost 100 Bill Koch League skiers to the Ethan Allen Biathlon Range for a duathlon race last Sunday and many Ford Sayre skiers made the trek north to participate. The race had a very exciting format combining both styles of nordic skiing; skiers started off doing laps with a classic stride and then switched skis in the middle of the race to freestyle to the finish. The warm conditions for this year’s race were a challenge as racers had to use a lot of strength to double-pole during the classic laps and then quickly switch techniques to the faster skating style.

The races consisted of laps around a relatively short course, which meant that teammates and families could see all of the action and cheer their racers on. Members of the VT Army National Guard groomed the trails and there were excellent facilities for warming up and enjoying a snack throughout the day.

Ford Sayre racers adapted really well to the unique challenges of the duathlon format. Simon Phipps had a great race around 1.2 km first- and second-grade loop. Eloise Silver-VanMeter was very fast around the 2 km third- and fourth-grade course. The fifth- and sixth-grade race was 3 km and Daniel Bandler, Ingrid Miller, and Patrick Osborn all skied very well. The seventh- and eighth-graders expected a six-lap race, but most were directed out for a seventh lap as the churned around the course. Jack Burnham, Emily Foster, Brook Leigh, Sophie Miles, Kirsten Miller, Ann Osborn, Malcolm Silver-VanMeter, Sara Spencer, and Ty Stotland comprised a very deep squad of 7-8 racers.

The whole team is looking forward to this weekends exciting Mountain Top Paintball Biathlon, which is always a highlight on the event calendar.

January 20, 2013, Jericho, Vt. – The Mount Mansfield Nordic Club welcomed almost 100 Bill Koch League skiers to the Ethan Allen Biathlon Range for a duathlon race last Sunday and many Ford Sayre skiers made the trek north to participate. The race had a very exciting format combining both styles of nordic skiing; skiers started off doing laps with a classic stride and then switched skis in the middle of the race to freestyle to the finish. The warm conditions for this year’s race were a challenge as racers had to use a lot of strength to double-pole during the classic laps and then quickly switch techniques to the faster skating style.

The races consisted of laps around a relatively short course, which meant that teammates and families could see all of the action and cheer their racers on. Members of the VT Army National Guard groomed the trails and there were excellent facilities for warming up and enjoying a snack throughout the day.

Ford Sayre racers adapted really well to the unique challenges of the duathlon format. Simon Phipps had a great race around 1.2 km first- and second-grade loop. Eloise Silver-VanMeter was very fast around the 2 km third- and fourth-grade course. The fifth- and sixth-grade race was 3 km and Daniel Bandler, Ingrid Miller, and Patrick Osborn all skied very well. The seventh- and eighth-graders expected a six-lap race, but most were directed out for a seventh lap as the churned around the course. Jack Burnham, Emily Foster, Brook Leigh, Sophie Miles, Kirsten Miller, Ann Osborn, Malcolm Silver-VanMeter, Sara Spencer, and Ty Stotland comprised a very deep squad of 7-8 racers.

The whole team is looking forward to this weekends exciting Mountain Top Paintball Biathlon, which is always a highlight on the event calendar.

Warm weather and sticky klister wax were the rule of the day at the Frost Mountain Nordic Ski Club BKL Race at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt. Several Ford Sayre families participated with Jack Lange and Ann Rightmire in the 3-4 grade race; Andy Rightmire and Nolan Gantrish in the 5-6 grade boy’s race; and Hannah Chipman, Kennedy Lange, Grace Dietz and Liz Rightmire competing in the 5-6 grade girl’s race.