The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Four local athletes off to Junior Nationals
By Than Acuff
Every year Rocky Mountain Nordic has four Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) races throughout the season and every couple of years, Crested Butte Nordic gets to host one of them and this year it was their turn, and they rolled out the white carpet to provide a venue up on the Bench for the final JNQ of the season Saturday and Sunday, February 15-16. And with the final JNQ in the books, Finn Veit, Sophia Bender, Tazzy Pozner and Ben Larson all qualified for Junior Nationals.
It was quite the start to the weekend as the Crested Butte Nordic cat crew had to roll out the carpet again and again and again as a storm inundated the venue with snow forcing numerous passes of grooming with a classic sprint event set for Saturday.
“The groomers were working overtime to get the course prepped,” says Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) head coach Gordon Gianniny.
Once race time hit Saturday morning, athletes from throughout the state ages 8-18 years old were treated to a variety of weather patterns starting with cold and snowy, then some sun, then back to cold and snowy.
“It was some tough conditions,” says Gianniny. “You kind of need a day like that once a season and we hadn’t had one yet. Classic sprint days are always hectic, and the conditions added another element.”
It was a swan song for CBNT u18 skier Veit. Veit grew up skiing for the CBNT and this is his last year as a part of the team and a fitting end to have his final JNQ right here at home. That said, it was not his favorite event to open his final JNQ.
“Classic sprinting is his least favorite variety of race,” says Gianniny.
Nevertheless, Veit was racing at home and used the energy of the hometown crowd to ski his way to a fifth-place finish.
“That was a strong sprint day for him,” says Gianniny.
U18 Bender is the opposite for Veit and embraced the race to ski her way to a third-place finish.
“She likes sprinting, and she likes classic so she’d been looking forward to the race all year,” says Gianniny.
Tazzy Pozner is in her first year of u16 racing and she made her way through to the semifinal heat before getting edged out of the finals.
“She much prefers distance but still pretty darn strong at sprinting,” says Gianniny.
Meanwhile, Ben Larson came into the weekend on the bubble of making the cut for Junior Nationals in the u16 age group ad made his way through the heats to reach the finals and finish in seventh place.
“He skied really smart through the heats to advance and his result helped cement his spot at Junior Nationals,” says Gianniny.
U16 CBNT skier Robert Spencer made his way into the quarterfinals before getting knocked out to finish the day in 13th place, Riley Thompson placed 19th and John and Noah Lockman placed 20th and 22nd respectively.
But the day wasn’t over as CBNT also hosted u14 and u12 sprints and then mass start races for the u10 and u8 kids with CBNT Devo kids getting to compete in front of their hometown crowd for a total of 35 CBNT skiers competing on the day.
“It’s always so fun to get to race on the home course,” says Gianniny. “They all did a great job of staying positive and staying engaged in the challenging conditions.”
Skiers were then treated to near perfect conditions on Sunday as the CB Nordic cat crew laid out another white carpet and the kids were treated to a classic Colorado sunny day for their series of individual start skate races with the u18s skiing 10 kilometers and the u16 skiing five kilometers and both treated to an “A-climb” on the course.
Skiers head out of the start at 30-second intervals to race the clock and Veit made the most of his final JNQ race and his final race at home as he turned himself inside out on his first lap and continued pushing on the second lap to ski away with the win, over 30 seconds ahead of his closest competitor.
“His second lap time was faster than all but two other skiers first lap times,” says Gianniny. “It was a dominant performance by Finn and a great confidence boost heading into Junior Nationals.”
Bender’s illness heading into the weekend ultimately took hold of her during her race forcing her to drop out after one lap, but Pozner remained consistent to finish seventh in her u16 race.
“It was a solid day for her finishing right around where she’s been all season,” says Gianniny.
Larson improved on his typical skate results to place 12th further emphasizing that while he is competing technically below the u16 class age-wise, he belongs there and ensuring he is headed to Junior Nationals. Spencer finished the day in 16th place while Thompson, John and Noah came across in 21st, 22nd and 23rd place.
It’s now go-time for Veit, Bender, Pozner and Larson with Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow, Utah three weeks away. The athletes have four races starting with an interval start classic on March 10, followed by skate sprint on March 12, a mass start skate race on March 14 and a team relay on March 15. The CBNT crew will compete in the first three races with the relay teams to be decided by the Rocky Mountain Nordic coaches. Veit’s top race should be the mass start skate race and Bender will be gunning for a solid result in the skate sprint.
“I’m really excited to see where Finn ends up in the skate distance race and Sophia raced really well on that sprint course earlier this season,” says Gianniny.
Pozner and Larson will get their first look at Junior Nationals as first year u16 athletes to gain experience as they both should have several more Junior National races ahead of them during their CBNT careers.
“The first trip to Junior Nationals is all about learning for future years,” says Gianniny.