9 DNSC Skiers Named to the Junior National Team after Aspen Nordic Festival

In Sunny and warm conditions, cross country skiers from the Durango Nordic Ski Club raced in the Aspen Nordic Festival, the final Junior National Qualifier of the season.  The races were held on Saturday February 12^th and Sunday February 13^th in Aspen, CO in conjunction with the Owl Creek Chase, a stop along the SuperTour series.  With tough competition from pro skiers, these races were also the last chance for skiers age 14 and older to qualify for Junior Nationals which will be held in Minneapolis, MN from March 6^th through March 12^th.

The classic races on Saturday kicked off with the youngest age groups first.  Placing 6^th skiing for Durango in the J5 race was Cobe Freeburn.  In the Girls J6 race, ages 6 and 7, was won with Durango skier Ruby May.  DNSC had two skiers in the Boys J4 race, Dylan Williamson (3^rd) and Stan Ott (6^th).  For the Girls J4 race, Marit May was 3^rd, Camryn Sippy was 5^th, and Katja Freeburn was 9^th.  Avra Saslow placed 9^th in the Girls J3 race.  Moving on to the older skier who are trying to qualify for Junior Nationals, the Boys J2 (ages 14-15) was won by DNSC athlete Haakon Sigurslid.  He was followed by teammates Cully Brown (3^rd) and Abe Ott (23^rd).  The DNSC girls were lead by Amy Katz in 2^nd and followed by Lily Oswald (5^th), Hannah Peterson (7^th), Kaylee Blevins (12^th), and Emma Greenberg (18^th).  Gino Pastore lead the J1 boys in their 10km race placing 3^rd.  He was followed by teammates Sepp Kuss (6^th), Gunter Ott (16^th) and Ben Capelin (18^th).  Racing against college skiers, Haakon Samuelson placed 7^th in the OJ field.  The Durango J1 girls were lead by Alicia Pastore in 3^rd place, followed by Rachel Hampton (8^th), and Hannah Madden (12^th).

Sunday’s races were mass start, meaning everyone in each age group starts at the same time, and freestyle technique.  Again, the morning start with the youngest skiers first.  In the J5 boys group, Cobe Freeburn moved up to 5^th place. In the J4 boys, Dylan Williamson placed 6^th, followed by Stan Ott in 7^th.  For the girls, Katja Freeburn moved up to 3^rd and was followed by teammates Marit May (4^th) and Camryn Sippy (12^th).  In the J3 girls race, Avra Saslow moved up to 8^th over the 3km course.  In the deciding race of who will travel to Minneapolis for Junior Nationals, the DNSC J2 girls was again lead by Amy Katz.  She was followed by teammates Hannah Peterson (6^th), Lily Oswald (8^th), and Kaylee Blevins (10^th).  Cully Brown lead the boys race for DNSC, placing 4^th.  He was followed by Haakon Sigurslid (11^th) and Abe Ott (22^nd).  In the OJ/J1 girls race, there was a lead pack of 5 most of the race.  Alica Pastore lead Durango with a 5^th place finish, followed by Rachel Hampton (6^th) and Hannah Madden (9^th).  The OJ/J1 boys skied 3 laps around the 5km course for a 15km race.  Stick with the lead pack until just about the end was DNSC skier Sepp Kuss (5^th).  He was followed by Gino Pastore (9^th), Haakon Samuelson (13^th), and Gunter Ott (16^th).

Sunday was also the running of the Owl Creek Chase, a 21km race course from Snow Mass to Aspen.  Ben Capelin of DNSC placed 2^nd in the 19 and under age group.  Racing in the Men’s Elite field was DSNC Alum Lars Ellefson (34^th).