Clear Skies and Cold Temps: Nordic Racing in Crested Butte

The past weekend the Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Crested Butte, who played host to the first Junior National Qualifier in the Rocky Mountain Division.  Struggling with a shortage of snow this winter, volunteers around Crested Butte spent days shoveling snow onto the ski trails in order to have a complete 3km race loop.  The 14 and older athletes raced two laps for a total of 6km, while ages 10-13 raced one lap on both Saturday and Sunday.  Athletes in the ages of 8-9 raced a shortened loop totaling 1km.

Saturday morning saw clear skis and temps around 0 degrees at the start of the Freestyle technique races.  “It was awesome to have a full team travelling to the race in Crested Butte,” said Head Coach Josh Dalley, “we had a total of 26 athletes representing Durango, covering each age group.”  Starting with the youngest ages first, on Saturday Dec 17^th the 1km J5 female class was won by DNSC athlete Jordan Taylor.  The J5 male class was won by Wiley Corra, followed by Ivan Sippy in 5^th.  Skiing 3km in the J4 female class, Taya Bruell of Durango placed 11^th.  In the J4 male class Carter Kileen of Durango was 8^th.  DNSC skiers Katja Freeburn placed 8^th, followed by Camryn Sippy in 10^th in the J3 female class.  Dylan Williamson lead Durango with an 8^th place finish in the J3 male class.  He was followed by teammates Stanton Ott in 13^th, Perrin Kileen in 15^th, and Leo Bruell in 20^th.  Skiing two laps for a 6km race, Hannah Peterson of Durango placed 3^rd in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown won the J2 male class followed by teammates Charlie Greenberg in 8^th, John Rhoades in 10^th, Gordon Gianniny in 13^th, and Abe Ott in 15^th.  Rachel Hampton lead the way for DNSC with an 8^th in the J1 female class, followed by Amy Katz in 9^th, Lily Oswald in 13^th, and Kaylee Blevins in 15^th.  For the men, Haakon Sigurslid lead Durango with a 3^rd place finish, followed by Sepp Kuss in 7^th, and Levi Kurlander in 13^th.  DNSC alumni and now Denver University skier Elena Breed placed 3^rd in the OJ women’s race.

Temps were again near 0 degrees at the start of Sunday’s Classic race.  Jordan Taylor again won the J5 female class, as did Wiley Corra in the J5 male class followed by Ivan Sippy in 6^th.  In the female J4 class, Taya Bruell was 12^th.  For the J4 men, Carter Kileen placed 7^th.  In the J3 category, for females Katja Freeburn placed 8^th  and Camryn Sippy placed 9^th.  Dylan Williamson lead the J3 boys in 8^th place, followed by Stanton Ott in 14^th, Perrin Kileen in 15^th, and Leo Bruell in 18^th.  In the 6km classic race, Hannah Peterson placed 5^th in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown of Durango again took the win in the J2 male class, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 8^th, Gordon Gianniny in 13^th, John Rhoades in 15^th, and Abe Ott in 16^th.  In the female J1 class, Rachel Hampton of DNSC placed 4^th, Amy Katz was 8^th, Kaylee Blevins was 14^th, and Lily Oswald was 15^th.  For the J1 male class, Haakon Sigurslid was 8^th, Sepp Kuss was 9^th, and Levi Kurlander placed 13^th.  DSNC alumni Elena Breed placed 2^nd in the female OJ class.

“I am very pleased with this weekend’s effort from our team.” said Dalley “with winter break on the way we are excited for quality training in the daylight.  We will be ready for more racing at our next qualifier in Steamboat Springs on January 13^th and 14^th.  In the mean time we will race in the local Coke series hosted at the Nordic Center at Purgatory on January 7^th.”

Nordic Racing in Colorado Kicks Off with a Weekend in Steamboat

This past weekend marked the start of the Cross Country ski racing season with a USSA race hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.  The race was originally to be hosted in Summit Country, but due to a lack of snow, they were forced to change venues to Steamboat. 

The Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Steamboat to participate in these early season ski races, with a focus on getting early season race starts prior to the First Junior National Qualifier race that will be held December 17^th and 18^th in Crested Butte.  On Saturday December 3^rd everyone raced 5 kilometers around a fast course using skate technique.  The J2 (14 and 15 years old) category was lead by Durango Nordic skier Cully Brown.  Following him in 5^th place was Durango Nordic skier Charlie Greenberg.  For the girls, Hannah Peterson placed 2^nd.  In the J1 (16 and 17) boys category, Haakon Sigurslid of Durango placed 3^rd, followed by Sepp Kuss in 8^th.  For the J1 girls, Amy Katz placed 7^th, Kaylee Blevins placed 12^th, Lily Oswald placed 13^th, and Emma Greenberg placed 19^th. 

Saturday’s race was around the same course, but using classic technique.  All racers again competed in a 5km race besides the J1 boys who raced an extra loop to increase the distance to 10km.  Cully Brown of Durango again lead the J2 boys, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 5^th.  Hannah Peterson placed 6^th in the J2 girls race.  In the J1 girls race, Durango was again lead by Amy Katz in 10^th, Kaylee Blevins in 12^th, Lily Oswald in 14^th, and Emma Greenberg in 19^th.  The Durango Nordic J1 boys got around the 10km course in good fashion, with Haakon Sigurslid again claiming the 3^rd place position, followed by Sepp Kuss in 9^th.

“These preseason races are good for us to participate in as a team,” says head coach Josh Dalley “as they help get us used to the speed of racing as well as a weekend of skiing ‘on snow’.  For the past week we have been forced to go back to dryland training, so the cold weather and snow in Steamboat this past weekend was beneficial for our training as well.”  Now that the snow is falling in Durango, Dalley is looking forward to kicking off ski training for the whole team.  For more results, visit the Durango Nordic Ski Club website at www.durangonordic.org.