The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Put up solid results on Grand Mesa
There are always questions surrounding a Nordic team prior to their first race. How’s their fitness level? Is their technique somewhat intact? Can they handle the pressure?
Fortunately, the Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) got a chance to answer all of those questions last weekend before jumping into the fires next weekend when they have their first Junior National Qualifier races right here in Crested Butte December 21-22.
And, it appears they are prepared for a successful season.
“For a lot of these kids it was their first chance to really gauge their fitness,” says coach Austin Ross. “A lot of them had personal best times and I was really excited for everybody.”
Ross took six CBNT athletes to the Grand Mesa outside of Grand Junction Saturday and Sunday, December 7-8 to compete in a couple USSA races and the team came back with a handful of podiums and a renewed sense of confidence.
Junior Nordic skiers were met with brutal conditions Saturday morning as the Grand Mesa was getting pounded with an arctic blast of wind, snow and single-digit temperatures. The wind let up for Sunday’s event but the cold temperatures hung on to truly test each racer’s resolve.
Forrest Smith led the charge for the CBNT racing in the U18 age class posting a third-place finish in the four-kilometer classic race and fifth place the next day in the four-kilometer freestyle (skate) race.
“It was definitely a good step for him,” says Ross. “He’s still coming into race shape and the results really helped his confidence.”
The CBNT had the strongest showing in the U16 age class with Aiden Truettner, Benjamin Swift and Woody Martineau all throwing down.
Truettner and Swift charged into the first day placing second and fifth place, respectively, beating out several of their peers who qualified for Junior Nationals last year. Martineau, in just his first year in the age group, had quality results as well, placing sixth on Saturday and fifth on Sunday.
“We saw big improvements there,” says Ross. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Robby Oberling made a strong debut in the U14 class, placing fourth and fifth over the two days, and Nathan Miller got his first taste of Nordic racing and held his own as well.
The team has this weekend off from racing and has their collective sights set on defending the home track December 21-22 when Crested Butte will host the first Junior National Qualifier race of the season, dubbed the Solstice Showdown.
“We’ll take the weekend off to make sure we’re rested up and well prepared for our home races and put on a good show,” says Ross.
The races will be held on the new trail on the bench and start at 9 a.m. on Saturday with the sprint classic and 10 a.m. on Sunday with a freestyle distance race.
