The 5/6 gang. Carl teamed up with Taylor and Virginia paired with Julia. Cole arrived just in time to partner with Callum!
Twenty MNC skiers teamed up to ski in the Rikert Classic Relay on Sunday! It was a windy, snowy day and conditions at Rikert Touring Center were great. Coach Rosemary set up the wax bench in the lee of the “milk house” where racers could easily get their skis waxed and access the trails and starting line. Most kids had figured out their partners ahead of time and we were able to match singles up with kids from other clubs. Sometimes it’s fun to meet and race with a new friend, like Astrid did!
Coach Rosemary had figured out the wax ahead of time but it warmed up slightly and everyone came back asking for a little more kick by the time the Lollipopers went off. Coach Julie, Coach Emilie and Brad Carlson all pitched in and we quickly got everyone’s skis kicking up to snuff! No klister today, just some nice sticky hardwax!
Pippa Diller enjoying the post-race lollipop.
Astrid Longstreth was our sole 1/2 skier and she teamed up with Micah Mahood from Woodstock for a first place finish! In the 3/4 race, Pippa Diller reunited with her relay partner from the BKL Fest, Violet Anderson from Frost Mountain. They pulled out a solid second! Tessa Diller paired with Julia Cisz and landed in sixth! Great job girls!
MNC had five teams in the very competitive 5/6 relay. There are some wicked fast Vermont girls in the 5/6 age class right now and they’ve all been racing together for a number of years. Former MNC Festival partners Virginia Cobb and Julia Thurston teamed up once again and beat Putney’s speedy Sadie Bell & Caroline Tammy but came in second to Ford Sayer’s “A” team of Sarah Gluek and Wyeth Murray. MNC’s Mia Diller teamed up with Ella Cisz and skied very well, pulling into 9th place. Rounding out the 5/6 team for MNC was Dagne Pippenger and Adleigh Franke who did an awesome job and finished 11th. Taylor Carlson and Carl Priganc were the first boys team to finish, pulling out a solid 4th place overall. Cole Shullenberger and Callum MacCurtain finished second for the boys and 6th overall. Nice skiing guys!
Mia skiing towards the relay tag zone.
Callum showing some nice striding.
The 7/8 race was separated into a boys and a girls race. Jordon Shullenberger teamed up with Rye MacCurtain and skied to fifth. Great job boys! In the girls race, Festival partners Carly Trapeni and Greta Kilburn teamed up once again and kicked their way into second place behind a very fast team from Frost Mountain. Bella Norris teamed up with Maise Franke and finished third, just ahead of a CVU middle school team! Way to go girls!
I am so proud of all our MNC racers, especially those who are new to racing. Great job and I hope you had lots of fun!
By the way, I didn’t get enough photos. If you have some good ones, please send them to me and I will share them on the MNC Flicker site for all to enjoy. Thanks!
Eleven BKL skiers and one coach tried their fitness and sharpshooting at the 13th Annual Mt. Top Paintball Biathlon race on Sunday. Everyone had great results and a whole lot of fun!
Seventy-four racers came out for the Range Ramble on Saturday, Jan. 20 and about 40 of them were from Mansfield Nordic Club! We drew racers from Frost Mountain (Middlebury area), Craftsbury, Sleepy Hollow and even Onion River (Montpelier area). Although the day dawned partly sunny, by race time clouds covered the skies keeping the race course cold and fast, as the thermometer was threatening to move into the thirties. First off were the 8 Lollipoppers. They were followed by the 1/2’s, then the 3/4’s, the 5/6’s and lastly, the 7/8’s who skied 2 loops for a total of 4 km. Thanks to Juniors Kai Richter and Ali Priganc for acting as “rabbits” and showing the racers the way. I think the juniors got more of a work-out than they were counting on because these BKL kids were FAST!
It’s nice to have hot cocoa and snacks after the race for everyone! Bring a snack to share and a jug of water so that we can make hot cocoa for after the race (Range water is non-potable)!
