Nordic Success in Vail

This past weekend the Durango Nordic Ski Club, and youth cross country ski club, travelled to Minturn, CO to compete in the first Junior National Qualifier of the winter season.  “Our Team showed our true colors this weekend, racing with the heart they show every day at practice” said head coach Josh Dalley.

On Saturday Ski and Snowboard Club Vail hosted a kilometer classic technique race.  The Men’s race was won by DNSC alumni Tad Elliott followed by another alumni Lars Ellefson in 6^th place.  Leading the way  for DNSC in the Junior Men’s race (ages 16-19) was Gino Pastore in 4^th place, followed by Sepp Kuss in 10^th, Haakon Samuelson in 13^th, Gunter Ott in 15^th, and Ben Capelin in 22^nd.  The Junior Women’s race was lead by DNSC skier Alicia Pastore in 2^nd place, followed by Elena Breed (DNSC Alumni) in 6^th, Rachel Hampton in 10^th, and Hannah Madden in 15^th.  In the J2 Men age group (14-15), the race was won by DNSC member Cully Brown.  Following Brown were Haakon Sigurslid in 3^rd, Levi Kurlander in 19^th, John Rhoades in 23^rd, Gordon Gianniny in 24^th, and Abe Ott in 26^th.  In the girls J2 age group, Durango was lead by Amy Katz in 5^th place, Lily Oswald in 8^th, Kaylee Blevins in 9^th, Hannah Peterson in 14^th, and Emma Greenberg in 20^th.  DNSC had two J3 boys, Charlie Greenberg skied to a 2^nd place finish and Jared Webster placed 17^th.  Stan Ott placed 8^th in the J4 Male age class.

The excitement continued on Sunday, as the racers went head to head around a 1km loop in an elimination sprint race.  The top 3 skiers in each heat moved on to the next round, until the finals.  In the J4 Boys, Stan Ott placed 9^th.  Charlie Greenberg sprinted to the line to claim 2^nd place in the J3 Boys, followed by Jared Webster in 14^th.  Amy Katz skied to 6^th place finish in the final of J2 girls, followed by Kaylee Blevins in 7^th, Hannah Peterson in 10^th, Lily Oswald in 13^th, and Emma Greenberg in 19^th.  In the J2 boys, DNSC skiers Cully Brown and Haakon Sigurslid sprinted to the line in the final, respectively placing 1^st and 2^nd.  They were followed by Levi Kurlander in 22^nd, John Rhoades in 24^th, Abe Ott in 27^th, and Gordon Gianniny in 30^th.  In the women’s race, ages 16 and up, Alicia Pastore lead DNSC in 5^th place, followed by Rachel Hampton in 6^th, Hannah Madden in 12^th, and DNSC Alumni Elena Breed in 13^th.  In the Men’s race, ages 16 and older, DNSC Alumni Tad Elliott lead the way in 4^th, followed closely by Haakon Sameulson in 6^th.  Lars Ellefson, a DNSC Alumni placed 8^th, Gino Pastore was 13^th, Sepp Kuss was 15^th, Ben Capelin placed 26^th, and Gunter Ott placed 27^th.

Full results can be found on www.fourcornerstiming.com or www.durangonordic.org.