December 14, 2002 Grafton, Vermont – 92 Olympian John Farra came back froma broken polein the semi-final heat to win the first Banknorth Eastern Cup of theseason at Grafton Ponds Nordic Ski Center in Grafton, VT. Hebeat Dave Smutok, of Stratton Mountain School, and Ryan and Ethan Fosterof University of Vermont. The women's field saw eight women fight itout in the semifinals, and it was UNH's Coreen Woodbury take the winover Morgan Smyth, from Stratton Mountain School, Gretchen Czaja of UNH,and Kelsey Bouchard, from the Maine Winter Sports Center.In the Junior 2 field, Stratton led the boys and girls with CamMackugler and Ian Black ahead of Kevin Cutts from Putney and RussellCurrier of Maine Winter Sports Center.

And again SMS's Whitney Coombsnabbed the lead over Marlijne Cook, New York Ski Educational Foundation,Mae Foster – SMS, and Elizabeth Stephen from Burke Mountain Academy.The Freestyle Sprints made their debut to the public at the 2002 WinterOlympic Games. Skiers race in heats of four, head to head racing on ashort course of a kilometer (6/10mile) or less. Falls, spills and brokenpoles are part of the game and spectators can see the racers battle itout over the entire course.Today's sprints (Dec 14) were the first of nine in the Banknorth Eastern CupSeries and the first of seven Junior Olympic Qualifiers for the NewEngland JO Team.

The Banknorth Eastern Cup continues at GraftonPonds Nordic Center with the men's 10km and the women's 5km freestyleraces which start at 10:30am. Spectators are welcome.Results are posted at the NENSA website, www.NENSA.net.* The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) is the Olympicdevelopment organization for cross-country skiing in New England,providing year round educational, recreational and competitive events.`* NENSA's programs are supported by Title Sponsor, Banknorth Group.Associate Sponsors include Buderus Hydronic Systems, Hannaford Brothers,Yoko/Toko, and the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).* For more information on cross-country skiing in New England and onNENSA's sponsors, please visit www.NENSA.net.