What a great first weekend of racing at Craftsbury! The first real races are incredible bubbles of anxiety for everyone. Will the training pay off? Will the hard work, the long hours, and the fun times all balance out to create the best race possible?
The short answer to that is: it’s hard to achieve that for every single racer in one weekend, but we’re off to a good start. As our team grows and deepens, there is more variability with what a good day means and how to characterize that. MNC was working with a large number of skiers this weekend, and I think a good recap would be to go through at least a brief summary of some strong moments for each skier.
Sammie Nolan Had a great classic race and hung in for a top-30 result in the skate pursuit!
Ali Priganc Passed a BUNCH of girls in front of her to get her first Eastern Cup top-10 as a first-year U16!
Magda Lelito Had a really great skate race to move up and score points in the top 30! #Swagshus
Ava Thurston Surprised some veteran skiers to see a first-year U14 flying up the tracks on Saturday!
Tim Cobb Showed his improved classic skiing is no joke, and then hunted the podium like a beast!
Aidan Burt Took the U16 world by storm as a U14 with two top-10 races!
Cameron Brochu (MNC-Supported skier from Concord, NH) Scored some top-30 points in his first Eastern Cups!
Eliza Thomas Skied with a pack of Bates ladies to a great skate race after one of her strongest classic performances!
Alex Warner Bounced back from an ab sprain and pushed lung to have a great skate race Day 2!
Will Solow Had a solid classic race and then bested it by 10+ places with an aggressive pursuit!
Brandon “Dingo” Herhusky Skied with lots of tempo and power to fly through soft snow in the skate race!
Ben Carnahan Back from Compartment Syndrome AND hip injuries, and having great races both days!
Eli Grossman Made a big return to racing with a strong, energetic race on Sunday after a lap-counting mishap on Saturday!
Baxter Bishop Had a ripping fast classic race with great hillclimbing speed for his first-ever 10k!
Phil Gulick Skied smooth and powerfully in his first Eastern Cup on Sunday, looking fly in Adam’s race tights!
Isaac Frietas-Eagan (MNC-Supported skier from Brattleboro) Crushed some fast times to put himself in the mix for JNs!
Sammy Leo Put sculling muscles to work with a powerful V2 up the climbs of the 10k courses!
Ethan John Came out of retirement and down from altitude to rep the Pugs
This weekend was also a huge success thanks to the help of so many parents, coaches, and supporting players. Big thanks as always to Coach Sara who is somehow able to test skis, get race video, apply MNC tattoos, prepare wax, and more all in what seems like a 5 minute span. Coach Liam, Coach Rosemary, and Coach Rick were also huge in the wax room and at the bench, while the parental squad kept everyone healthy, warm and happy with the best spread at the venue!
And now, onto some awesome photos from Gary, Paul, and Sara! More can be found (and are being continually uploaded) in the MNC Flickr Album
Photogenic skate skier Aidan Burt taking Jake Hollenbach’s skis out for a rip to 8th place (5th American) in the U16 pursuit
Will Solow getting after it with an aggressive skate race
Here’s one to keep an eye on: Ava finding herself among fast company in the open women’s race (as a first-year U14!)
Timmy with the eye of the tiger. A few more seconds would’ve netted him the W and believe me he is going for it this season
Ali captured her first top-10 and led all three U16 ladies into the points! Looking smooth on the classic skis and even snappier on the skate
Speaking of those three…
No more compartment syndrome and some great results in both techniques for Ben!
Dingo powering up Chip Hill. Waiting to rock the MNC suit once the special-order XL arrives!
