January 29, 2010 (Craftsbury Common, Vermont) – On a frigid evening, under the light of a full moon, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center held the Onion River Sports Dash For Cash. It was a true dash, with Casey Simons (US Biathlon Team) winning qualifying in 28 seconds. Despite the cold temperatures, the course was skied in and turned out to be surprisingly fast. Anneliese Cook (US Biathlon Team) won women’s qualifying.

The top 8 finishers advanced to a pair of four-person semifinals. It was difficult to pass anywhere on the short, narrow course, so being quick off the line was important. The top two finishers from each heat advanced to the A-Final, while the losers were relegated to the B-Final. With $200 being awarded for the win, competition was fierce.

In the men’s A-Final, Green Mountain Valley School coach Justin Beckwith broke a pole but tried to keep the lead with only one. He eventually broke his other pole and finished 4th. His athlete Jordan Buetow took the win, followed by Simons, with Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) rounding out the podium. In the B-Final, Ollie Burruss (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) led the pack, followed by Patrick Joslin (GMVS), former Williams skier Joel Bradley, and Matt Briggs (Craftsbury Green Racing Project).

Biathletes took the top two spots in the women’s A-Final, with Cook skiing to first, followed by teammate Susan Dunklee. Hannah Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) rounded out the podium and Tara Garaghty-Moates (Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club) finished 4th. In the B-Final, the Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Lauren Jacobs and Chelsea Little led Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club) and Emily Stitt (GMVS).

Open finals were followed by age-group heats, with a single 4-skier final for each age group. Full results can be found at here.

Stay tuned for more results, since the 50 kilometer Craftsbury Marathon is coming up tomorrow!