Olympic Venue Strength - Western Super Qualifier

The Durango Nordic Ski Club took part in a weekend of racing at Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT, the 2002 Olympic ski trails.  The event is named the Western Super Qualifier and it is the largest junior cross country ski race in the nation.  Taking place on January 27^th and 28^th and drawing in teams from the pacific coast to the Mississippi River, there were over 650 competitors for this past weekend’s races.  Durango Nordic Ski Club had 31 racers competing with ages ranging from 6 to 17.  “We were very excited to be there racing at Soldier Hollow again this year” said coach Josh Dalley.  “It is always the best venue we attend each year, as well as the largest and most competitive fields.  This year there is an added bonus to the race, as we will be back here in March for Junior Nationals.”

After hard rain on Thursday afternoon, the all man-made snow race trail were groomed into shape for the classic technique sprints that they would host that day.  In sprint racing, the top 30 in each age group move on to the elimination heats where they go head to head in heats of 6 racers.  From each heat, the top few skiers will move on to the next round.  The boys were the first around the 1.2km course, setting an early pace.  From Durango, Haakon Sigursld qualified in 3^rd in the J1/OJ group, Sepp Kuss placed 45^th, and Levi Kurlander placed 79^th in a field of 124 racers.  The next group to go was the J2 boys (14-15 year old) and Durango’s Cully Brown set a tough mark to beat, qualifying 1^st.  He was followed by teammates Charlie Greenberg in 28^th, John Rhoades in 39^th, Abe Ott in 40^th, and Gordon Gianniny in 53^rd.  Next the girls were up for qualifying and Rachel Hampton lead the way for Durango Nordic, placing 14^th.  She was followed by Amy Katz in 20^th, Kaylee Blevins in 35^th, and Lily Oswald in 40^th.  Hannah Peterson qualified 15^th in the J2 girls division.  After the qualifier, DNSC had 6 skiers that would move on to the heats in the afternoon.  Again the boys went first, and Haakon Sigurslid skied strong through the rounds, making at 6^th place finish overall in the A final.  Cully Brown showed his strength and ski handling skills, winning each heat on the way to an A Final victory.  Charlie Greenberg was eliminated in his quarter final and would place 29^th on the day.  The girls were up next, but after tough battles to the line, Hampton, Katz, and Peterson would not advance past the quarterfinals.

Beyond the sprint racing for the older athletes, Friday also saw a lot of great racing by the younger age groups.  Starting Durango off with a podium was Ruby May, who placed 3^rd in the J6 female category. The momentum continued as Wiley Corra took 1^st in the J5 male category.  He was followed by teammates Ethan Craig in 9^th, Mason James in 10^th, Quincy Buickerood in 11^th, and Wyatt Gober in 15^th.  Jordan Taylor brought another podium home to Durango, placing 2^nd in the J5 female group.  Racing in the J4 male category was Cobe Freeburn and Carter Kileen of Durango, who placed 9^th and 15^th respectively.  Skiing two laps of the sprint loop, leading the way for Durango in the J3 male group was Dylan Williamson in 31^st place.  He was followed by teammates Stanton Ott in 35^th, Leo Bruell in 41^st, and Perrin Kileen in 42^nd.  Marit May of Durango placed 12^th in the J3 female group.  She was followed by her teammates Katja Freeburn in 20^th, Maggie Wigton in 24^th, and Camryn Sippy in 36^th. 

DNSC woke up the next morning to chilling temps and a rock hard race course.  This time the technique would be freestyle and younger racers would get to race before the older one who will race a longer distance.  Ruby May again started it off right with a 3^rd place finish in the J6 females.  As did Wiley Corra, who again won his race in the J5 males.  Corra was followed by teammates Quincy Buickerood in 10^th, Ethan Craig in 11^th,  Jack Tescher in 13^th, Mason James in 14^th, and Wyatt Gober in 17^th.  Jordan Taylor again placed 2^nd among the J5 females.  In the J4 males, Cobe Freeburn lead the way for Durango in 13^th, followed by Carter Kileen in 16^th.  In the J3 male group, Dylan Williamson placed 25^th, Perrin Kileen place 34^th, Leo Bruell placed 40^th, and Stanton Ott placed 41^st.  In the J3 female group, Katja Freeburn had an outstanding race, placing 8^th.  She was followed by Maggie Wigton in 16^th, Marit May in 2^nd, and Camryn Sippy in 29^th.  Next to race were the male J2’s, which turned out to be a tough head to head battle among the top 3 thoughout the 5km course.  Coming to the finish line neck and neck, Cully Brown placed 3^rd. He was followed by Charlie Greenberg in 15^th, John Rhoades in 35^th, Abe Ott in 29^th, and Gordon Gianniny in 46^th.  Hannah Peterson, placing 10^th, was the next to race in the J2 female group.  As the distances increased, the J1/OJ females were next.  Rachel Hampton placed 7^th overall, followed by Amy Katz in 15^th, Kaylee Blevins in 30^th, and Lily Oswald in 31^st.  The last race of the day was J1/OJ males, skiing a 15km course with 126 racers.  Sepp Kuss had an amazing race, placing 16^th.  He was followed by Haakon Sigurslid in 31^st, and Levi Kurlander in 86^th.

“This weekend was a huge success for us as a club.” said Dalley “Not only did we show our strength among the top competitors in the nation, but we also proved that we have serious racers in middle who are moving up in their standings as the season goes on.  And we have this amazing group of young superstars who going to be following right in their tracks.  Now we are focusing our training and looking toward the Durango JNQ we host and being back here at Soldier Hollow in March for Junior Nationals”