On Sunday most teenage racers in Vermont swarmed the tiny, yellow-housed mountain retreat of Middlebury’s Breadloaf Campus for the Eastern High School and U16 Championship qualifier race. Or, as it’s know to most in shorthand, “The Qualifier”.
Charles working on his Klaebo flow (Photo: Dave Priganc)
This is quite a scene, and it’s an important snapshot of Vermont skiing at the Junior level. The JN team is big drama every year, with races down-to-the-wire and competition from colleges and pros at big events…but this race is much more accessible for all athletes and it truly paints a picture of how the state skis when we’re all together: high schools, academies, clubs, and even some incredibly talented middle school racers who ski up each year.
One thing is for sure: Vermont is the strongest skiing state in America. I am just saying that flat-out, right now, and you can fight me if you disagree. That’s right Alaska, I said it. The dedication, skill, work ethic, guts, and power it takes to ski at the highest level in this state is unprecedented. What’s more, the DEPTH is insane. The speed on skis it takes to make the Vermont Eastern High School Championship team is equivalent to the skiing it takes to earn a spot on many Junior National teams from other regions.
So the measuring stick is poking out of the snow each year at this collection of races; a 3km classic race in the morning, followed by a 3km skate race in the afternoon. Simple but effective!
Skiers from MNC totally crushed this year. With Charles leading the charge on the men’s side, a collection of seniors like Silas, Jax, and Ethan all skied strongly and even though they didn’t all make the team outright via this initial naming, they proved they have the chops to do it in a few weeks at the State meet where additional spots are up for grabs. On the women’s side, it was quite frankly an MNC swarm stacking the top ranks…of the top 25 athletes in the final rankings, 13 are affiliated with the club.
Particularly strong for the club was the classic race, which mirrored last year. In this case the snow was a bit odd and it was certainly not straight blue hardwax conditions. The skiing required finesse and confidence and that’s where we shined. In particular both Julia and Ali had some of their best races of the season only a week removed from a classic race that left them both disappointed and struggling with the skis and conditions. It would’ve been very easy to let that spiral downward but instead this was a chance to go out with something to prove. Rose also shined in conditions and on a course that would have spelled a lot of trouble in previous years.
Sammie keeping it stable and powerful (photo: Dave Priganc)
Charles rocketed to 10th and proved again how capable he is of competing with JN-bound skiers, and keeping himself in the mix for the next two Eastern Cup weekends. Silas and Ethan seem to always finish near each other, and this battle was no exception. With Jax in the mix too, the State meet is going to be pretty exciting!
A really strong group of BHS skiers (Isabelle, Grace, Maeve, Silas, Ethan, and of course Quincy) are really showing some cool dedication and excitement for the sport…there’s a special culture on that team for sure and it’s exciting to see momentum building for the Seahorses.
For the skate race, brutal climbs and harrowing descents were the name of the game. Some went for smooth skiing, but were a bit TOO smooth. Others went for pure raw tempo, and it was a bit TOO wild. Hattie was the perfect combination of the two, and watching her ski up the A-climb it was clear she was going to be the top skier from our group even without seeing splits or times. Sure enough the finish held up, as did that of Finnegan who continues to improve with every race: those two U16 gals are starting to really turn heads on the New England level! Also embracing the tougher trails, Lydia Hodgeman put up a blistering 13th place, one serious jump from last year when she was 32nd in the skate race.
Ali heading out on course in the skate race (Photo: Dave Priganc)
A real breakthrough for Hanna came with her skate race and a hard-fought battle with Charlotte Brown from GMVS. Charlie has been skiing great this year, and she caught Hanna from 15 seconds back around the 1km mark. At the base of the steepest, longest hill Charlie made the pass but Hanna stayed tough and they skied all the way up and down the hill together, coming into the finish close together. It’s one thing to see someone always finish an “untouchable” distance ahead of you on the results list, but another to suddenly ski with that person for almost a whole race and know that you can do it too.
Snow and Hanna: last year Snow was 47th in the skate race…this year, 24th! (Photo: Dave Priganc)
Jax, Silas, and Ethan all improved 20+ places from their 2019 rankings, while Noe Lindemuth went from 87th (2019) to 58th. Improvements are cool to measure at races like this, and they mean a lot when you are taking both a classic and skate race into account. As a one-day opportunity it says a lot about what some good work can do! Charles secured his spot with another strong skate race in the afternoon and 13th overall.
If you didn’t know, Virginia Cobb works very hard! (Photo: Dave Priganc)
A special shoutout has to go to the strong contingent of MNC U16 skiers, many of whom earned a spot on the U16 trip! When it comes to diligence and hard work, you can’t ignore Virginia Cobb who is a really great example of commitment day-in and day-out. Virginia is an 8th-grade U16 who really began training “for real” this year. She began summer training and could barely hang on during distance runs and hard ski workouts. She has often been the youngest one at practice, kind of flying solo for her age group on occasion, but that hasn’t stopped her from being really committed to showing up every week, filling out her training log, keeping up with the strength training, and having good personal analysis of her racing and work…it has really paid off, as she jumped from 21st (2019) to 10th in the U16 standings with a 9th place finish in the classic race (did I mention she is a biathlete?). Given she is still in 8th grade, she’ll also be competing at the BKL Festival which I’m sure will go out with a bang for her!
In the end a group of 20 boys and 20 girls were called up for the EHS team, and 24 for the U16 team, with alternates also brought up who will most certainly get a spot once the JN team is announced (the groups overlap this year, so those who attend JNs will miss EHS). MNC-affiliated athletes nominated include:
EHS Team:
Charles Martell, Rose Clayton, Hattie Barker, Finnegan Mittelstadt, Sammie Nolan, Ali Priganc, Julia Oliver, Lydia Hodgeman, Lily Porth, Hanna Holm, Isabelle Mittelstadt, and Snow Lindemuth. With a special shoutout to Esther Cuneo who is skiing with CVU this season!
U16 Team:
Hattie Barker, Finnegan Mittelstadt, Lydia Hodgeman, Virginia Cobb, Maeve Fairfax, Maisie Franke, Carly Trapeni, Rachel Porth
A collection of gang members feeling the vibe (Photo: Dave Priganc)
It is honestly very inspiring to be a part of this team, and to see how this group interacts and carries itself on a big race day. The vibe was incredibly powerful for this one, and I think part of it just has to do with the spirit of Vermont skiing and the gathering of most every team, athlete, and force in the sport. In past years this event has been divisive, as certain powers struggle to prove themselves against others or whatnot. I’m sure I have been guilty of that mentality. While of course that measuring stick is always there, I like to think that in this case it mostly measured the level of Vermont skiing as a whole, independent of who skied for what group, and found the results to be off the charts.
Link to photos by Dave Priganc
And a parting photo by Dave of none other than the human cowbell himself, Peter Mittelstadt:
