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.”