January 04, 2016 (Houghton, Michigan) – Reese Hanneman (APU) secured his first National win of the season and his first skate title as he skied to victory in the Elite men’s 1.5km FR Sprint competition at the 2016 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan.

The final was a repeat of the three previous face-offs between Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess (Bend Endurance) and Hanneman and as expected, the race was not decided until the last 100 metres. Canada’s Julien Locke of Team Blackjack raced on to the final podium in third.

(l-r) Hanneman, Gregg, and Von Jess battle in the semis © Bryan Fish

After winning the qualifier for the first time this season, Hanneman felt confident going into the rounds. “To know I was the fastest in the morning, without using accelerations or full finishing kick – I knew that if I added those in I could have a good day,” he said. Advancing confidently through the quarter and semi finals, Hanneman skied the final from the front, taking a smooth pace until the top of the second long climb, where, he said, it finally turned into “sprint pace.” By the finish stretch, Von-Jess had pulled even, but Hanneman was able to find one more gear. “When you are accelerating away from Dakota in the finish you are doing good,” he added.

Von Jess, who won the previous two Supertour qualifiers, took a very different approach in the lead up to Nationals. Whereas Hanneman raced in yesterday’s 15km classic, finishing 26th, Blackhorse-Von Jess decided to skip it as he has done in the past. For Hanneman, the distance race was a way to jump-start his engine, and, after finishing 2nd in the last 15km classic race at US Nationals in Soldier Hollow in 2013, he said it would have been a tough opportunity to miss. “If the races had been switched, I definitely would have raced,” said Von Jess, “Our training system has worked well in the past.” As it was, he said, “I’m just not quite at 100%, but I will be at the end of the week.”

Final Elite Men's Sprint podium (l-r) Von Jess, Hanneman, Locke © Mary Kozloski/CXC

Von Jess’s next stop will be World Cups in Slovenia, at which he was offered a spot by the US Ski Team, and from there he hopes to continue with Period 3 World Cup racing – but only if he can grab the Supertour sprint points lead in next Saturday’s classic sprint. “My goal is to spend as much time on the World Cup as possible,” he said “I’m old enough that if I’m not racing the World Cup it’s time to consider something else.”

By winning, Hanneman has tied up the overall series lead with yesterday’s 15km winner Scott Patterson, who narrowly missed out on the points today. The overall leader after US Nationals is guaranteed funding and starting rights for Period 3 World Cups. When asked whether he was stressing about the points battle, Patterson was quick to play it down. “Mostly we’re fighting over money,” he said, “It’s kind of fun to do it with a teammate.”

Women’s Sprint

Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation showed yet again that she is the woman to beat this year for skate sprinting, winning the qualification and each of her heats as she out-sprinted Anne Hart (Stratton Mountain School T2) for the final victory. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project), yesterday’s 10km CL winner, was third.

Throughout the heats, Bender was confident enough to try some different tactics and positions within the pack. “I led the quarter but then realized it was a waste of energy and wanted to do a heat sitting behind someone to see how it felt,” she said.

Hart (l) battles Bender © Bryan Fish

In the end, the extra energy might have been just what she needed in the final straight away, as she was able to pull away from a determined Hart, who nonetheless was able to reach her first podium of the season and first-ever National Championship podium. “I feel really great, so happy,” said Hart. “Of course there is a part of me that’s disappointed, you don’t go into a race trying to get second.”

Hart, who was frustrated with her early season feeling she hadn’t been skiing to her full ability, took time over the holidays to regroup and focus with on-snow skiing. “It’s good to know that hard work pays off,” she added.

Bender, a usual contender in the sprints, has shown remarkable consistency so far this season, a skill she attributes to getting on top on of a lingering back injury and more consistent training without re-injury. “I’ve had a lot of time working on PT to fix my back, which helps my skating a lot,” she said.

Final Elite women's podium (l-r) Hart, Bender, Patterson © Mary Kozloski/CXC

The relatively long sprint course – qualification times were close to four minutes – allowed for some of the distance racers to excel, including Patterson, yesterday’s winner. The result was significant in that it allowed Patterson to overtake APUNSC’s Chelsea Holmes in the overall Supertour ranking. Patterson now has a commanding 27-point lead, but emphasized that she wasn’t taking anything for granted knowing there was another two races coming up in the championships.

In another impressive showing by the Craftsbury Green Racing Project team they had three women in the top seven and four in the top 30. With another sprint coming up, Patterson was confident she and her teammates would be again in the mix. Rounding out the top six in the women’s A-Final were Craftsbury’s Kaitlynn Miller in 4th, who was on yesterday’s podium in third, Hannah Halvorsen from the Sugar Bowl Accdemy in 5th, who was also the top junior, and Erika Flowers of Stratton Mountain School T2 in 6th.

Full results here.