February 4, 2007 (Weston, MA) – Unexpectedly remaining home in Vermont after lack of snow postponed the World Junior Championships in Italy, Parker Tyler continued her stellar season and nabbed victory in today’s TD Banknorth Eastern Cup CSU Sprints at Weston Ski Track.

Her closest competition was Ida Sargent who fell just 1.5 seconds short of Tyler’s time. After Sargent there was a large gap to 3rd through 5th place finishers Emily Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT/Craftsbury Nordic), Stephanie Crocker (Poughkeepsie, NY), and local favorite Alex Jospe (CSU/Newton, MA).

In the J2 class, composed of athletes aged fifteen and under, Megan Killgrew (Peru,VT/Stratton) remained undefeated and impressed the older skiers with an 8th place overall finish. Not far behind was local favorite and CSU skier Hilary Rich of Andover, MA. Craftsbury Nordic’s Kaitlynn Miller (Stowe, VT) grabbed the final podium spot for J2s.

Timing troubles forced a re-run of the women’s qualifying round and cancelled the heats.

The sprint is the most exciting race development in Nordic skiing in recent years. Courses, like today’s, often loop in and around the stadium and remain in full view of the spectators. Skiers race an individual start qualifier in the morning, with the top 30 advancing to the afternoon heats.

Weston Ski Track is a cross-country ski and snowshoeing center serving the Boston area. With natural snow, they groom 15km of trails. Snowmaking on the 2km lighted loop provides consistent snow conditions and reliable night skiing. Weston provides beginner lessons and a warm cafe. The track is also home to Cambridge Sports Union, winners of three straight New England Club Series titles.

Today’s race was hosted by the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU). CSU was started in 1962 with the goal of eventually being a multi-sport club. Initially, activity focused on running, but cross country skiing was added in 1964, and orienteering in 1972. The club is organized into semi-autonomous sections that carry out the activities in each sport: Running, Race Walking, Cross Country Skiing, and Orienteering (on foot and on skis), but with cooperation and resource sharing among the sections. Most of the members participate in only one sport, but some are active in two, and a few participate in more.

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