U16 Championships Recap

March 20, 2023
U16 Championships Recap

U16 Championships in Fort Kent, Maine were an exciting three days for the Massachusetts team, culminating in a third place standing, behind Vermont and New Hampshire! The MA team has accomplished this only once since 2013, with a third place standing in 2018. Way to go, Massachusetts cross-country team skiers and coaches! Susannah Wheelwright, the MA U16 Team Leader highlighted many of the reasons behind the breakthrough standing in a recent note to the team:

  • "All team members finishing every race!"
  • "Crushing it during the relays!"
  • "Top 10 finishes...by 12 out of our 37 athletes!"
  • "All 17 girls team members working hard to score your best!"
  • "All 20 boys team members--including those who were called up to the team late Wednesday night--doing their best to displace other teams' racers all weekend!"
  • "Lots of MA team folks outskiing your seed, particularly in the middle pages of the race results!"

Great job skiers!

Marcus (pink shirt) in Day 1 skate action.
Jasper (right) in Day 1 skate action.
Leigh in the XCX sprint race. Just missing her flying squirrel suit.
Anneka in the classic distance.
Abby with nice body position in the XCX sprint.
Levin leading out his heat.
Calvin awaiting Hannah's tag in Sunday's relay action.
Rowan in Friday's skate race.
Sunday's Relay podium. Team MA, with Leigh, Hannah, and Calvin, takes bronze.
Boys XCX Sprint Podium. Calvin in 10th.
Girls Classic distance podium featuring Leigh, Hannah, and Alex.
Girls XCX podium, featuring Leigh and Hannah.
Girls skate distance podium. Hannah in 3rd, Leigh and Alex both in top 10.

All photos courtesy of NENSA.

Big thanks to the Fort Kent and NENSA organizers of the event. It was an incredible venue and provided all of our skiers a rare opportunity for fantastic and fun skiing conditions so late in the season.

We also want to highlight the incredible team leadership provided by Meg Yoder and Susannah Wheelwright. It is a huge feat to organize all the logistics and details behind this team event, and we are so grateful for your patience, incredible organizational skills and most of all, your enthusiasm and positive spirit!

Additionally, a huge shoutout to Steve Lake, Mark Doughty, Chris Stock, and the rest of the wax team for stepping up to the challenge of leading Team MA's waxing for the weekend! And, thanks to all the coaches, food table organizers, and other caregiver and friend volunteers/fans who jumped in to make the weekend run beautifully.

For more footage of the races, check out this video from NENSA.