Author Archive | Adam Terko

What a whirlwind week at Junior Nationals. Things went very well for MNC and Team New England! I have been impressed by MNC skiers all year, and this race week proved no different. That’s not just accounting for on-track performances and race efforts…this is a group that supports and cares for one another in big ways.

The highlights on paper are numerous…and certainly something to celebrate:

• Ava swept all of the races, the first athlete to do so since Jessie Diggins in 2011
• Ava and Hattie shared the podium in the 5km skate race, with 1st and 3rd
• Anders finished 5th in the classic sprint, for another MNC All-American
• MNC alum Julia Oliver was All-American in the classic sprint as well
• Julia Thurston scored a 10th in the classic mass start, making it FOUR individual All-American skiers from MNC!
• Ava and Hattie teamed up with SMS skiers Fin and Jack to WIN the mixed relay for New England

And overall, the team scoring says a lot…MNC was the 3rd best women’s team in the nation, and 6th overall. Following the sweep of all four Eastern Cup weekends, MNC was also the top team from New England in the club rankings.

BUT there is far more than just ski racing to be proud of with this group. JNs is a busy week with a lot of ownership placed on athletes. It is interesting to see what kind of traits this brings out each year, and I came home from this trip so humbled by our collection of skiers and teammates.

Not every race was amazing for every MNC skier, and that’s ok.

Some of our skiers grew about 3 years older in the course of a week, it seemed. From struggling through pre- and post-race anxiety, to handling target events that didn’t go as planned, there seemed to be a friend and teammate waiting in the wings to jump in for support. Coaches and wax techs are present, but the business of this week for all the adults involved lends itself to self-discovery for all the athletes involved. I can’t say enough positive things about how MNC athletes and alums took time to look after one another through the good AND tough moments. Nothing could make me more proud as a coach, even amidst a week full of banner performances and medals.

MNC has come a long way, but we are always striving to reach new heights!

All results

Junior Nationals continued yesterday with a classic sprint, and New England extended their lead in the Alaska Cup (the award for top region) by a big margin with some great performances. MNC played a role with some more standout performances, showing the depth of our program and our competitive abilities in any distance and technique!

The first big highlight for MNC was Anders skiing to a 3rd place in the U16 men’s qualifier, and following it up with some dominant heat performances to work his way up to the A-final with Quarry Road skier and NE teammate Ellis Slover. After a tough start which saw Anders and Ellis at the back of the pack near the top of the course, they both skied aggressive and powerfully back into the stadium to climb to 3rd (Ellis) and 5th (Anders) to mark an amazing race!

L-R Tabor (7th), Ellis (3rd), Anders (5th)…strong U16 boys gang!

Ava topped the women’s qualifier, and skied away from all of her heats to take her 2nd national title in as many races. Also qualifying for the heats were Hattie and Virginia, who scored top-30 finishes thanks to some battles in the quarterfinals.

The course featured two challenging climbs, icy tracks (perfect for New England) and some rolling mountain bike-style bumps on the descent back into the stadium.

Special shoutout to MNC alum Julia Oliver who had an All-American (top 10) performance in the U20 classic sprint! But the day featured many more racers and age classes.

In the U16 girls race, Julia Thurston pumped some motivating music, focused on getting herself in the best headspace for racing, and totally crusher her qualifier. She got caught up in a crash on the big climb and missed advancing to the semis, but hearing about all of these heats reminds me of how much of a learning experience this all is. Going head-to-head against the other regions can make Eastern Cups seem pretty relaxing…something about knowing all your competitors versus being in a totally unknown situation. There’s a LOT to be learned at a championship event, from racing itself to the prep and physical/mental aspects away from the race trail.

All the results can be found on Superior Timing.

Racing continues tomorrow (Friday) with mass start classic races and relays on Saturday. Be sure to follow along with all the action!

Junior Nationals kicked off yesterday with an individual start freestyle race. MNC is excited to have 6 athletes representing the club: Anders Linseisen, Ava Thurston, Emma Page, Hattie Barker, Julia Thurston, and Virginia Cobb are all out in Minnesota to compete against the best in the country.

Things started off with a bang, with Ava winning her first Junior National Championship by almost a full minute in the U18 5km freestyle! Hattie laid down an amazing race to take 3rd and make it a double MNC podium!

Every MNC athlete scored a top-30 finish, with Emma just outside of the top-10 (All-American) awards in 13th. Julia and Anders claimed a 19th and 25th, respectively, in their first-ever JNs races at U16s. Virginia was inside the club points for her first-ever JNs race in 30th, and all the athletes are now preparing for a classic sprint on Wednesday.

You can follow along with results, livestreams, and more on the official Junior Nationals website here!

This year, NENSA implemented team scoring to Eastern Cup races. Much like high school running or skiing races, clubs were awarded points for strong finishes by all members, across all age groups in a given Eastern Cup weekend.

MNC came out strong and won the first Eastern Cup in Waterville. 

1. Mansfield Nordic Club
2. Craftsbury
3. EMXC

Next, the team travelled to Lake Placid. While senior team members from the Green Racing Project and SMS T2 scored a lot of points overall, the junior scoring had MNC on top again for EC #2.

1. Mansfield Nordic Club
2. EMXC
3. Ford Sayre

In Craftsbury, a Supertour field meant more pro skiers, but among the junior scoring it was once again MNC taking the top spot in EC #3.

1. Mansfield Nordic Club
2. EMXC
3. Craftsbury

With our club’s strongest racing of the year, possibly ever, the club took a commanding win in Dublin to solidify the full sweep of Eastern Cup weekends.

1. Mansfield Nordic Club
2. EMXC
3. Craftsbury

After a season of racing only within Vermont during the deep winter of the pandemic we knew our skiers were strong, but everyone longed to get back to racing against the rest of the region.

On social media and on the internet in general, I (Adam) have tried to refrain from overtly posting results and wins. Other teams cap off every weekend by highlighting the medals and awards won by their skiers, but there are plenty of great athletes competing for MNC that won’t necessarily win a medal or stand on a podium. The great thing about this team scoring format is that success doesn’t just depend on skiers at the very top: everyone contributes, and our group was motivated throughout the year to prove what they were capable of.

So yes, it’s time to share an announcement about a result and a rank because it was achieved by our whole crew of athletes…

In the 2021/2022 season MNC was the strongest junior team in New England.

Our club has the strength at the top, and the depth throughout the field in all age groups, to take on the best clubs and ski academies in our region and come out on top. But heavy is the head that wears the crown! For sure, our competitors will be training hard to beat us next year, just as we’ll be working hard to stay at the top…that’s what makes everyone stronger!

But for now, I want to congratulate all of the MNC athletes who took part in Eastern Cup races this year. This group of Pugs came out on top!

You can view the NENSA rankings over various events here. Note that Junior scoring occurs on the far right for the Lake Placid and Craftsbury weekends (which omits professional, adult racers).