XC Devo Team: March Update

A week before the Junior Race Team traveled to Middlebury and Fairbanks, New England Ski Association (NENSA) in partnership with Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosted the Bill Koch Youth Ski League Championship weekend. This festival weekend is the marquee event for skiers from kindergarten up to 8th grade, and our DEVO group competed in several days of racing and revelry!

The festival theme this year was, “North Woods in Winter” and was a celebration of the northern forest as both a recreational space and a working landscape DEVO athletes brushed up on their basic survival skills, animal identification, and maple sugar farming. They tackled the Salomon jumps course, conquered dodgeball, and competed in the skate relay and classic distance.

Just as the JRT gathered as a region representing Mid-A, the DEVO skiers joined New York State Clubs from Rochester, Old Forge, and Osceola to compete against the New England States. Our team celebrated a podium result, personal best races, and graduation for both Anika Mian and River Gray. Will Preece, had exemplary results both days earning a podium finish in a grade 5/6 relay team with Rochesters Collin Bellizzi, and 23rd place on the distance classic Liam Stoddard, also charged through the competition to finish 27th in a highly competitive boys grade 7/8 field of 61 competitors.

The Craftsbury Outdoor Center has a long-standing history of hosting races and events It is one of the most beautiful ski venues in the east, both lodge and trail system, and one which our team looks forward to visiting. However, navigating the southern tip of the Northeast Kingdom on a bumpy dirt road requiring 4wd can be a real challenge Mother nature graced us with one of our deepest snow storms leading into the festival weekend, leaving Coach Julianne sitting behind a car accident and roadblock. Our team of parents was immediately in contact.