It was a tough day of waxing on the John Roderick Trail System at Black Mountain of Maine as high school and U16 skiers vied foe a chance to represent Maine at the Eastern High School Championships and U16 Championships later this month. Skiing on an abundance of new snow, the morning featured a 5k Classical race, followed by a 2.5k Freestyle Pursuit.
In the men’s competition, Benjamin Condit of Edward Little High School was the top finisher in the High School division, completing the 5k in 15:48 and the 2.5k pursuit in 7:36.3 for a total time of 23:24.3. In second place was Eli Shifrin of Gould Academy (23:43.3) with third place taken by Isaac Seeker of Falmouth HS with a combined time of 23:51.2.
Mt. Blue High School’s Henri McCourt was to top competitor in the combined HS and U16 division, having the fastest time in that division in the 5k, finishing the course in 16:06 and also the 2.5k, completing that race in 7:37.5. McCourt’s teammate Grayson Hoeft was second with a 17:01 in the 5k and 8:05.5 in the pursuit. Becket Cote of Messalonskee was third with times of 17:30 and 8:03.3.
In the boys U16, Alden Reardon of Fort Kent was tops with times of 16:49 and 8:11.17. Jacob Dening of Leavitt was second with times of 18:198:36.0. In third was Fryeburg’s Owen Reinbach with times of 18:30 and 9:35.6.
In the women’s high school competition, Ruth White of Orono had the fastest time in the 5k and held on to with the pursuit for a total time of 26:48.5. Kayley Bell of Caribou HS closed the gap on White with a 8:45.0 Freestyle to finish with a 27:12.0. Third place went to Annabelle Brooks of Cheverus (27:30.0).
In both EHSC and U16, Nora McCourt of Mt. Blue was tops with a combined score of 27:49.2. Second place went to Reed Proscia of Freeport (31:05.5) with Leavitt’s Jade Haylock in third (31:54.6)
It the strickly U16 division, Rowan Tanguay of Fort Kent came in first with a total time of 30:23.8, followed by Lucy Fullerton on Traip Academy at 30:54.9. Third place went to Madelyn Herman of York with a combined time of 32:00.2.
The U16 championship will take place at the Fort Kent Outdoor Center in Fort Kent, Maine on March 17-19. The High School EHS Championships will take place at the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vermont on March 10-12. These races will feature teams from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.
For Complete Results, CLICK HERE
Damian Wynn, skiing for the Farmington Area Ski Team, won the final race of the 2023 Maine Junior Ski League Championships, finishing the 3k Nordic freestyle race in 9:22.2. Second place went to Quarry Road Ski Club's Owen Beale-Tate, who completed the race in 9:45.8. Skating across the finish line in third was Oxford Hills' Asher Roy, who had a time of 9:52.5.
Wynn's teammate Nick Demarco was fourth at 10:43.2. Also finishing in the top 10 were Daniel Fullerton of Agamenticus (10:48.8), Kaeden Swan of Dirigo (10:58.2), Elliot Gerald of Quarry Road (11:09.8), Telstar's Reece Pierce (11:09.9), and Wyatt Jessen (11:13.2) and Quinn Hoeft (11:16.9), both skiing for FAST.
With that strong performance, FAST captured the MJSL Nordic Combined Championship as well as the Alpine and Nordic Overall Championship.
Oxford Hills was awarded the Greg Waite Memorial Award for outstanding sportsmanship.
Telstar’s Lillian Smith and Tess Smith were the top two finishers in the 2023 Maine Junior Ski League Nordic Freestyle at Black Mountain. Lillian won the gold on Day 2 of the Championships, striding across the finish line with a time of 10:43.7. Tess took the silver with a time of 11:48.8, while the bronze was captured by Acacia Hartley of Camden Hills, who had a time of 11:52.3.
Andrea Gunter of Quarry Road Ski Club in Waterville missed the podium by 1/10 of a second with a finish of 11:52.4. Rounding out the top 10 were Nell McAllister of Agamenticus (12:06.8), Zaya Irving of Quarry Road (12:17.4), Scout Simpson of the Farmington Area Ski Team (12:23.5), teammate Nora Lindsay (12:50.9) and Oxford Hills skier Ellie Winslow (13:031).
The superior depth and strong skating of the Quarry Road team vaulted them to the Nordic Combined Championship, with Telstar coming in second with FAST taking third.
A strong Camden Hills alpine team and solid Nordic team captured the overall combined league championship.
Tristan Riley of Maranacook won the gold in the 2023 Maine Junior Ski League Championships at Black Mountain. Riley had times of 35.67 and 36.94 for a combined 2-run time of 1:13.61 to edge out Dylan Cobb of St. Doms. Cobb of St. Doms won the silver with runs of 37.16 and 36.53 for a combined time of 1:13.69. The final podium position was won by Sawyer Shanaman, who led a strong Auburn team with runs of 37l59 and 37l32 (1:14.91).
Also finishing in the top 10 was Garrett Beaucage of St. Doms (1:14.93), Luke Holman of Sugarloaf Area Ski Team (1:15.02), Eben Laliberte of Rangeley (1:17.03), Tanner Melanson of Auburn (1:17.08), Silas Wills of Telstar (1:18.14), Thomas Leblanc of Auburn (1:18.34), and Wyeth Ball of Chisholm Alpine Racing Team (1:19.39).
With the strong showing and a good scoring race by Peyton Langlois, the Auburn team captured the Boys Alpine Combined Championship, with St. Doms coming in second and Maranacook taking third.
Day 2
Location: Black Mountain of Maine
Schedule of Events
Alpine Giant Slalom
6:45 – 7:30 Alpine Giant Slalom registration in the Main Lodge by the fire place: bibs, fees, running orders
7:30 Alpine Coaches and officials meeting in Competition Center (Old Lodge)
7:45 Lift opens for athletes
8:00 Volunteer meeting in Competition Center (Old Lodge)
8:00-8:45 Course Inspection
8:45 Course Closed
9:00 Start of Alpine Giant Slalom Race – 2 runs (Girls, Boys, Girls, Boys)
11:15-12:15 Nordic Freestyle registration at Race Headquarters; bibs, fees, running order
12:15 Nordic coaches and officials meeting outside of Nordic Timing Building
1:15 Nordic 3K Freestyle Girl’s Start – 15 second interval start
1:45 Nordic 3K Freestyle Boy’s Start – 15 second interval start
Fees: Alpine: $27.00/athlete - A signed “Liability Waiver” must be submitted for every athlete.
Nordic: $11.00/athlete
Make checks payable to Chisholm Ski Club
Bibs: Bibs are provided by Chisholm Ski Club
No racer is allowed on the race course or hill without bib visible.
Tickets: All Athletes, coaches, race staff, volunteers, spectators must have ticket to ride lift or ski on trails.
Run Orders submitted for the original day will be used. They are available at https://www.chisholmskiclub.org/index.php/maine-junior-ski-league-championships-2-17-23
Alpine - 8-athlete teams (8 men and 8 women maximum per event), plus athletes that are competing for skimeister only and are not part of the scoring team. Also, list 2 alternates. Please mark all skimeisters with “SM” and skimeister only with "SMO". Nordic - List the 8 scoring athletes first. Additions to the run orders are to be sent for Alpine and Nordic to Chisholm Ski Club at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Bob Arsenault: 357-8844) by 8:00 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26th. Note: Teams may enter all their Nordic racers. Non-scoring athletes will ski at the end in a guest class.
Volunteers: Skiing volunteers will be issued a Lift Pass as needed.
Passes: Maximum of 3 coach Lift Passes will be issued per team. All non-participating athletes will be required to purchase a lift/trail ticket ($27/Alpine or $11/Nordic).
Wax rooms are not available.
Tailgating is not allowed in the Main Lodge. It is allowed in the parking lots.
Buses must park in the lower tier of the parking lot.
The lodge is not available after 3PM and all athletes must exit the lodge by 3PM.
Awards and location will be announced during the Nordic event.
Go to MAINE JUNIOR SKI LEAGUE WEBSITE
Ashley Nelson had runs of 37.55 and 37.89 for the combined score of 115.44 to capture the gold in the girls giant slalom in the Maine Junior Ski League Championships. St. Doms’ Hailey Lebreque captured the silver with times of 38.25 and 37.91 for a 1:16.16 total. Kendal Duchart of Telstar won the bronze with times of 38.86 and 38.41 (1:16.62), just edging out Eloise Porter of St. Doms for the final medal spot (1:16.70).
Also finishing in the top 10 were Emerson Dunlap of Maranacook (1:17.76), Addison Libby of Mountain Valley (1:18.33), Amelia Lincoln (1:20.34) and Amelia Mills of Camden Hills (1:20.92).
St. Doms, led by Lebreque, Porter, Lilly Bonney and Olivia Tassinari, won the Girls Alpine Combined Team Championship,