By James Biggam
TIMES ARGUS
It was another banner day for Vermonters during the second race at Junior National Cross Country Ski Championships in Minneapolis.
Waterbury’s Ava Thurston followed up her gold medal from Monday’s 5-kilometer freestyle event by triumphing again during the classic sprint competition. The Harwood senior won the under-18 qualifying race by nearly two seconds, posting a time of 3 minutes, 33.59 seconds. Thurston won her quarterfinal heat by a whopping five seconds, crossing the line in 3:35.87. The eight-time Vermont high school individual Nordic champ laid down the hammer again during the semifinals, prevailing by over six seconds in 3:28.59.
Thurston sped toward the inside lane after the final heat started and quickly opened up a gap on the rest of the field. She led by a few seconds at the top of the biggest climb and double-poled across the finish line with a hefty six-second margin of victory. Her time of 3:26.58 was easily good enough to beat runner-up Kate Brigham (3:32.77).
Mount Mansfield standout Hattie Barker was 16th during U18 qualifying with a time of 3:46.17. Her Mansfield Nordic Club teammate Virginia Cobb was 19th in 3:46.95.
Wheelock’s Nina Seemann, who skis for Dartmouth College, matched Thurston with a wire-to-wire victory in the U20 division. Seemann began her gold-medal mission by obliterating the rest of the field in qualifying. Her time of 3:35.62 established a lofty standard, with the second-place qualifier finishing over five seconds off the lead pace.
U-32 senior Isabelle Serrano was third during qualifying in 3:41.08. Former Raiders standout Julia Oliver, skiing for Bates College, was 16th in 3:50.8. Seemann won her quarterfinal by over two seconds by finishing in 3:34.66. Serrano set the pace during the last quarterfinal, posting a time of 3:40.07. Oliver also advanced to the semis by placing second during her quarterfinal in 3:43.93. Seemann raced to a two-second margin of victory while winning her semifinal in 3:33.12.
Seemann left nothing to chance in the final, using strong technique and fitness to win by six seconds. She finished in 3:29.08, while Mia Case was runner-up in 3:35.07. Serrano wound up second in the ‘B’ final and Oliver was fifth.
Craftsbury Academy eighth-grader Amelia Circosta turned heads during the U16 qualifier, placing third in 3:45.47. Harwood sophomore Julia Thurston was 15th in 3:55.73. Middlebury freshman Beth McIntosh, fresh off a team Division II team championship last week, was 22nd in qualifying with a time of 3:58.78. Craftsbury’s Anika Leahy also earned a spot in the heats, qualifying 25th in 3:59.25.
Circosta won her quarterfinal in 3:40.96 before finishing second during the semifinals in 3:43.05. The rising star ended the day fifth with a finals time of 3:48.19.
Former North Country standout Jack Young placed second in the U20 men’s division. Young finished in 3:04.01 during the final. University of Vermont skier Aidan Burt was fourth (3:10.68) and Middlebury College’s Jack Christner was fifth (3:12.65).
Young qualified second (3:01.31), with Burt (third, 3:02.41) and Christner (sixth, 3:03.28) close behind. Green Mountain Valley School athlete Elvis McIntosh was 14th (3:11.3). Christner (3:04.22), Young (3:06.74) and Burt (3:07.49) won their respective quarterfinal heats. Young (3:04.71) and Burt (3:04.85) recorded a 1-2 finish in the second semifinal. Christner (3:05.91) advanced out of the first semifinal as a Lucky Loser.
Stratton Mountain School’s Finegan Bailey captured the boys U18 gold medal. He won the qualifier in 2:55.95, triumphing by over four seconds. GMVS racer Joseph Graziadei qualified 13th in 3:11.59 and Stratton’s Janne Koch was 20th in 3:12.82. U-32 senior Tzevi Schwartz was 26th in 3:14.4 after leading the Raiders to their fourth consecutive state championship last week. GMVS competitor Lucas Palcsik (29th, 3:15.05) also earned a spot in the heats.
Bailey crossed the line in 3:04.38 to win his quarterfinal by seven seconds. His semifinal time of 3:04.7 was good enough to prevail by over two seconds. The final heat turned into a battle, but Bailey dug deep to stand atop the podium with a time of 2:52.72. Runner-up Trey Jones put up a strong fight, finishing in 2:58.09.
GMVS skier Tabor Greenberg (3:18.1) placed ninth during the U16 boys qualifier and Stratton’s Micah Bruner (3:22.74) was 17th. Racing will resume with Friday’s classic mass-start race prior to Saturday’s team relays. The New England skiers will compete against athletes from the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, High Plains, Great Lakes, Far West and Alaska.
jamie.biggam @timesargus.com
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