Biathlon: March Update

by Head Coach Maddie Phaneuf

March came and went in a blink of an eye! A majority of NYSEF's biathletes saw the end of their race season during the final weekend in February We raced in Jericho, Vermont at the East Regional Biathlon Cup and had NYSEF athletes on the podium both days! Galen H. placed 1st in the Youth Men’s Sprint, Bella W. placed 3rd in the Youth Women’s Sprint, Abby V D placed 1st and Jenna S in 3rd in the U17 Girls Sprint The following day was Pursuit Day and we saw Abby V.D. and Jenna S. again topping the podium in 1st and 2nd for the U17 Girls, Bella W. in 2nd for Youth Women, and Galen H. in 2nd for Youth Men.

Since our season has come to an end, most athletes put their rifles away until next year, but we have two athletes still competing. Abby V.D. is currently traveling to Casper, Wyoming to compete in US Biathlon 2023 Nationals! She’ll race over the weekend in the Sprint, Pursuit, and Relay events We also have Jenna S traveling in early April to race in Norway for the Liatoppen Festival She’ll be traveling with a group of other U17 athletes representing US Biathlon during the race week. This will be Jenna’s first international trip as well as her first international competition!

Congratulations to all of our biathletes for an awesome season! Special shout out to our graduating senior biathletes; Galen H who will be attending St Lawrence University in the fall, and Bella W. who will be attending Middlebury College next January! We will miss you at NYSEF and are looking forward to seeing what’s next for the both of you!

BIG News for NYSEF Ski Jumping!

We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that NYSEF was awarded over $60,000 from the North Elba LEAF Fund to purchase a fleet of ski jumping skis, bindings, boots, and suits for our athletes to use. Coming on the heels of the successful FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in February, we think it's safe to say that ski jumping is back in a big way in Lake Placid!

Freeride: March Update

The US Freestyle Junior National Championships took place from March 15-18 in Steamboat Springs, CO , and NYSEF Whiteface mogul skier Wyatt Stanclift qualified for the first time Going in, Wyatt was aiming for a top 20 result but took 11th in his qualifying runs and then bested that in the Mogul final the following day moving up to 7th place. Wyatt spent a lot of time on the road competing this season and it resulted in a performance peak at the best possible time. Wyatt’s 7th place was his best finish of the season and was 3rd best for all Eastern Freestyle skiers. Congratulations, Wyatt!

The Freeride competition season is winding down with only one more event to go - USASA Nationals at Copper Mt, CO Close to 30 athletes and coaches from all three NYSEF mountains will be representing the USASA Adirondack and Catskill regions in Slopestyle, Ski/Snowboard Cross, and Railjam events. Up to 2000 athletes participate over 9 days of competitions starting with the snowboarders from April 1-5 followed by the freeskiers from April 9-12 Download the Stack Team App and search for USASA National Championships to see start lists, event details, and results from each day.

Nordic Combined/Ski Jumping Update:

Although NYSEF's ski jumping and nordic combined teams wrapped up their championship competitions in February, we still had a great couple of weeks of training at home! The postponed Empire State Winter Games competition took place on March 11th on the newly remodeled large hill that the World Cup competed on last month. Several of our development athletes jumped in the HS128 competition, with many athletes setting new personal records, which is always exciting for coaches and athletes. The weather was amazing, and it was a great way to wrap up the competition season at home!

Congratulations to our athletes who were on the podium! Leila F. took first place in the U12 Girls Jumping. Max F. and Jack K. tied for first in the U16 boys jumping with Eli L taking third Schuyler C also took first in the Open Boys Jumping. On the Nordic Combined side, Leila F. took first again in the U12 Girls, and Max F. Jack K. and Duncan V.D. took first, second, and third places respectively in the U16 Boys