December 22, 2013 – Clare Egan (Green Racing Project) and Peter Kling (Alaska Pacific University) celebrated winter solstice with the victory in the Craftsbury EasternCup Opener Freestyle Sprints on Dec. 21. The day, and the EasternCup Series, opened with an individual start freestyle qualifier. Leah Brams and Forrest Hamilton skied to the win in the U16 (J2) heats.

Craftsbury rolled out a great sprint course utilizing the man-made snow loop with deep snow groomed widely for the 6-skier heats. Race conditions held up exceptionally well as over 400 athletes raced multiple heats, and the skiing was undeniably fast.

Sophie Hodges of Frost Mountain Nordic skied to third in the girls U16 (J2) race, just behind Makenzie Rizio of Stratton Mountain School and winner, Leah Brams from Cambridge Sports Union.

Hometown athlete Anders Hanson of Craftsbury Nordic finished third in the U16 (J2) boys race, just off the pace of Antoine Leforte and Mansfield Nordic Club’s Forrest Hamilton.

Vermont Academy’s Brooke Mooney won the U20 Women’s heats ahead of Alia Johnson from Middlebury College and Sarah Harvey.

Antoine Braind took the U20 Men’s heat victory ahed of Henry Harmeyer of Mansfield Nordic and Dartmouth College’s Sam Merrens.

Fresh off a successful Biathlon campaign in the midwest, Green Racing Project’s Clare Egan won the Women’s Open event ahead of Heather Mooney of Middlebury College and Heidi Halvorsen from Green Mountain Valley School.

Peter Kling returned home to Vermont from APU to take the win ahead of Frederic Touchette and Patrik O’Brien of Green Racing Project.

Event host, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, sponsored the awards, with $1,200 in prize money and great snacks and swag up for grabs. Rain and fog hung over the venue all day, making for fast, wet conditions, but not dampening the spirit of the competitors or the vibe of the series opener.

NENSA Eastern Cup Day 2 CANCELLED
With consensus of race jury, host venue, and NENSA, the second day of the Craftsbury Eastern Cup Opener has been cancelled due to treacherous conditions on course in addition to hazardous trave

Results:

Open Women
Open Men
U20 Women
U20 Men
U16 Girls
U16 Boys