The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It was a big step in the right direction for everyone from their first races in December”
By Than Acuff
The Crested Butte Nordic Team (CBNT) returned to action following the holidays with their second Junior National Qualifier race of the season January 23-24 at the hallowed Nordic grounds of Soldier Hollow, Utah. Not only was this one special due to the venue but also due to the fact that it was a Super Qualifier which brought in collegiate racers as well as junior Nordic teams from all over the west.
“It’s much bigger than our normal JNQs,” says CBNT coach Gordon Gianniny. “And it’s a great venue. They really know what they’re doing with their snowmaking there.”
The CBNT skiers were coming in fresh off a good training block that included their own personal efforts during a week off and then a solid stint as a team.
“We took a week off but 90% of them were getting together and skiing on their own, it’s great to see that dedication,” says Gianniny. “We then got in two weeks of solid training on snow. We feel pretty lucky in that regard because a lot of teams I spoke with have way less snow than us and are still on rollerskis and doing dryland.”
Ten members of the CBNT made the trip to Utah which opened on Friday, January 23 with classic sprint races. Given the number of athletes in attendance, the sprints proved more competitive than ever with anywhere from 100-150 skiers per age group, in both the boys’ and girls’ races, competing for the top 30 spots to advance out of the time trial round.
It was U18 Jayden Beyer’s first ever sprint race experience, so he just went in to test the waters while u16 boys skier Micah Hansen went in with bigger plans hoping to advance. While he fell shy of cracking top 30 in the time trial, Hansen did finish the day ninth among his Rocky Mountain Nordic (RMN) division peers to keep him well within the mix of qualifying for Junior Nationals.
“Top 10 in the Rocky Mountain division is really good,” says Gianniny.
Riley Thompson showed how far he has come since the start of the season with his result finishing 17th among his RMN peers and Larkin Lockhard got some experience at his first JNQ event with the race team.
CBNT u18 girl Sophia Bender did crack the top 30 to advance before getting knocked out in the quarterfinal round yet still placed sixth in RMN and Brie Bender finished 20th in her RMN group.
Tazzy Pozner posted the top result for CBNT on the day. Pozner finished the time trial 18th overall to advance and would close the day with a third place result out of her RMN competitors.
“I really feel like she’s hitting her stride,” says Gianniny.
Meanwhile, u16 skiers Dari Spedden and Ali Johnson both finished top 20 among the RMN athletes.
The CBNT skiers then lined up Saturday for a skate race interval start with each racer heading out solo with a staggered start.
The u18s had a 7.5-kilomter course and while Beyer had to sit out to rest a bad knee, Sophia continued to charge placing 12th out of her RMN class.
“It’s a good result as she’s still just dialing in the mental side of the longer races,” says Gianniny.
Brie finished 23rd for the RMN crew as she continues to comeback after a season off from racing last year and then Pozner continued her weekend of charging in the u16 RMN age class to post a fifth-place finish. Johnson placed 17th in RMN and Spedden 21st.
“Tazzy had an awesome weekend,” says Gianniny. “She’s starting to ski to her potential.”
Hansen led the way for the CBNT boys u16 crew again with a 39th place finish overall, ninth among the RMN skiers while Spencer sat out with illness and Thompson and Lockhard continued to hone their race craft.
“It was a good weekend,” says Gianniny. “It was a big step in the right direction for everyone from their first races back in December.”
The CBNT heads to Frisco this weekend for their third JNQ of the season with rest and recovery the focus now.
“They’re racing every other weekend,” says Gianniny. “We’re trying to keep the training load lighter so they can stay sharp and healthy for races.”
