The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We’re on a really sound foundation to push for some ambitious goals this season”
[ by Than Acuff ]
Nordic ski racers from throughout Colorado and surrounding states slid into Crested Butte last weekend for a Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) event and the Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) athletes held their own, posting numerous top 10 results. Meanwhile, the local kids in the u14 races and younger pushed their way to some podium results.
It was a stellar weekend for racing with cold temps and a blue sky both Saturday and Sunday, December 17-18. As CB Nordic race organizers prepared for the big weekend, a somewhat significant snafu popped up out of nowhere as the new CB Nordic PistenBully broke within an hour of delivery on Friday, but race organizers and the snowcat crew and mechanics worked frantically Friday night and into Saturday to ensure racers were treated to a top-notch, albeit very cold, experience on the homologated trails on The Bench.
“The conditions, in a word, were polar,” says CBNT head coach Ben Theyerl. “We were flirting with the legal limit of -4 degrees for racing and were nervous both days. When it’s that cold out, it’s a whole other level of preparation.”
The weekend opened with classic races with an individual start format at 10 a.m. The u16 junior men were the first to go out at 30-second intervals, followed by the u18 junior men and the u20 junior men on the hometown course with the local athletes well aware of what lay ahead on the course.
“We ski it every day and have been prepping to race it really well and some kids did that,” says Theyerl.
Finn Veit set the tone for the day in the u16 junior men class as he raced his way to a fourth-place finish while Ben Geisler finished in 25th place and Flint Hoyt placed 29th among the junior men. Oliver White was the lone CBNT racer in the u18 junior men’s class and finished 16th place overall, ninth among his u18 peers.
“It was our first race and Finn stayed calm and handled the pressure great,” says Theyerl.
Sophia Bender mirrored Veit’s effort to place fourth as well in her u16 race with Josephine Feier placing 20th and Aubrey Laird 21st.
“To see Sophia mix it up in her first race was cool,” says Theyerl.
CBNT u18 athlete Sawyer Ezzell then stepped it up a notch. Ezzell is a first year u18 racer, a big jump from the u16 level. Oftentimes, first year u18 skiers take some time to climb through the ranks but Ezzell took a huge step in her first race placing third among her age class and sixth place overall with the u20 racers included.
“That kind of jump is really hard and for Sawyer to gain that much ground is a solid foundation for some goals this season,” says Theyerl.
Piper O’Neill crossed the line in 10th place, Katie O’Neill posted a 13th place result in the u18 class and Ruby Pendy finished 7th in her u20 race.
The athletes then lined up on Sunday for the exciting mass start skate races under equally cold temperatures with Theyerl reminding his racers of course tactics.
“The biggest thing on our course is it’s in two sections,” explains Theyerl. “The first section on the west side is relatively flat and it’s easy to get sucked into going too fast in the mass start before you hit the first big climb at the start of the second section. The kids were really patient in their racing and then able to push through the big climbs and in the final one kilometer.”
The u16 junior men kicked things off again, this time at 9 a.m. with Veit battling to stay with the lead pack only to get edged out by half a ski length to finish in fourth place, just off of the podium. Jake Pendy missed Saturday due to illness but was determined to get a race in on his hometown course and gritted his way to an 11th place finish. Geisler placed 28th with Hoyt right behind him in 29th.
“Finn hung tough the whole race and he can taste the podium and the goal is to get him there,” says Theyerl. “He gave himself a chance which is all we can ask for.”
Bender skied her way to an eighth-place finish among the u16 junior women while Ezzell had another stellar day to place eighth overall among the u18 and u20 athletes. Piper placed 14th in the stacked field, Katie finished in 23rd and Pendy crossed in 25th. Oliver White closed out his weekend of racing with a 17th place finish among the u18/u20 junior men racers.
Theyerl is aware of the pressure of hometown racing and while the team posted a slew of strong results, he also saw some encouraging attitudes across his athletes.
“It was super fun,” says Theyerl. “At the end of the day, home meets add pressure but to see them with a smile on their face was affirming. They kept their spirits up. We’re on a really sound foundation to push for some ambitious goals this season.”
Theyerl, Piper, Katie, White and Ezzell will now turn their attention to Senior Nationals in Houghton, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula January 2-7.
“The goal there is to just experience Senior Nationals and not be intimidated when lining up against the best in the country,” says Theyerl.
The team then jumps into the Community Race Series fray in January 14 and then returns to action with the next JNQ at Soldier Hollow in Utah the following weekend.
Local Results at Nordic JNQ
Saturday
U16 Junior Men Classic
4. Finn Veit
25. Ben Geisler
29. Flint Hoyt
U18 Men Classic
9. Oliver White
U16 Junior Women Classic
4. Sophia Bender
20. Josephine Feier
21. Aubrey Laird
U18 Junior Women Classic
3. Sawyer Ezzell
10. Piper O’Neill
13. Katie O’Neill
U20 Junior Women Classic
7. Ruby Pendy
U14 Junior Women Classic
7. Brie Bender
9. Tazlina Pozner
U14 Junior Men Classic
15. Robert Spencer
U12 Junior Men Classic
1. Ben Larson
3. Isaac Arell
8. Taj Crawford
9. Gabriel Kaufmann
U10 Junior Men Classic
1.Gabe Larson
U8 Junior Men Classic
1. Simeon Larson
Sunday
U16 Junior Men Skate
4. Finn Veit
11. Jake Pendy
25. Caleb Woodward
28. Ben Geisler
29. Flint Hoyt
U16 Junior Women Skate
8. Sophia Bender
U18/U20 Junior Women Skate (combined results)
6. Sawyer Ezzell
14. Piper O’Neill
23. Katie O’Neill
25. Ruby Pendy
U18/U20 Junior Men Skate (combined results)
17. Oliver White
U14 Junior Women Skate
2. Brie Bender
6. Tazlina Pozner
U14 Junior Men Skate
16. Robert Spencer
U12 Junior Men Skate
1. Ben Larson
4. Isaac Arell
U10 Junior Men Skate
1. Gabe Larson
U8 Junior Men Skate
2. Simeon Larson
