Nordic Ski: Concord, Hopkinton and Kearsarge get wins against tough competition in Kearsarge Classic
Published: 01-29-2025 1:40 PM |
Conditions and logistics finally cooperated to allow for one of the biggest high school Nordic skiing races so far this season, the Kearsarge Classic at Proctor Academy’s ski area in Andover. The Concord, Hopkinton and Kearsarge boys’ and girls’ teams raced against 10 other schools on a challenging course to accumulate points and find their rhythm with plenty of skiing left in the season.
It was the first classic of the season for the three teams. The event was packed with supporters from across the state cheering on racers in frigid temperatures, all gathered to enjoy a very friendly but still competitive day of cross country skiing.
The Tide girls’ and boys’ teams, led by coach Erin Waters, each placed fifth and were consistent overall at their first classic of the season.
The boys narrowly missed out on fourth place by only four points behind Gilford. They were paced by juniors Dean Ayotte and Sebastian Christie, in fourth and 12th place, respectively. Sophomore Benjamin Poole and Evan Anderson were the other two scorers in 31st and 37th place.
“Dean Ayotte’s our speedy human, and he works incredibly hard,” Waters said. “He trains over the summer. He does a ton of work. To prep he does races – they’re called Eastern Cup races – and he does those, but he’s constantly thinking about how he can improve. He’s constantly thinking about what can make him better.
“He wants to bring other people up along with him. He’s been skiing for his whole life and so I think it’s something he finds really fun. Dean is totally the person that brings people together, and I think that’s awesome. He brings our team together.”
Waters added that, overall, the team is growing and improving constantly as the season progresses. She said that Christie has improved his technique since last year, and Poole is the most coachable on the team and his effort is unmatched, which has led him to improve immensely this year.
The girls were led by Frances Lesser in eighth place, while Mahalie Burdette came in 13th. Phoebe Dater-Roberts and Bella Komorek both placed in the top 30 to secure fifth place by a wide margin. The rest of the team had a few first-time classic racers who looked good and will get more comfortable as they compete more, according to Waters.
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“We’ve got kind of a cluster of some seniors. We’ve got three senior girls who are all pretty strong and have been really pushing themselves over the course of the four years, and I think this year is just them stepping up just a little bit,” Waters said.
Concord will host its own Capital Classic next week, although the location might change depending on snow-cover. This first classic was a huge success in the Tide’s eyes as they get some experience before hosting their own race.
“There’s nothing wrong with a smaller race, but the big races, especially at this point in the season, are so fun. We have music going; they get the rush from their friends. And also the cool thing about Nordic is they know people from all these other teams and are excited to see all these other teams,” Waters added.
The girls had a fantastic day at Proctor and came in third place, with all four scoring skiers placing in the top 20 and higher than their bib numbers.
Senior Amelia Walsh led the group, placing 11th to score 90 points, and she was followed closely behind by senior Flo Dapice in 12th. The other two scorers, senior Evelyn Hopper and sophomore Lia Chapin, were right next to each other in 16th and 17th place. Reese Bove’s performance was also notable, and showed the strength of the team, coming in 27th overall and fifth for the girls.
“The girls came back fairly strong again. This year we only lost one, didn’t gain a lot, but we’ve got a good veteran crew in there. They’ve been working hard with what little conditions we’ve had, so they’ve kind of been in the results where I’ve expected them to be. We’re just hoping to get on more snow,” said Hawks coach Rob Rothe.
The girls placed fourth at states last year and are hoping to move up this year as they gain experience and perfect their technique. Their performance at Tuesday’s classic proved that they are not far off from meeting that goal.
“I think overall our team is pretty strong this year. We have a lot of good skiers, we’re really close together and I think we work really well together on hills,” said Walsh. “We have to practice up at Pat’s Peak because, sadly, the fairgrounds where we normally ski don’t have a lot of hills and not a lot of snow, so we do a lot of 5 a.m. practices up the mountain, which is really nice. But I think this year we’re working really well and have a strong team dynamic.”
The Hopkinton boys had a wider spread and placed seventh as a team, 29 points behind sixth-placed Bedford, but showed promise to build upon. Sophomore Andrew Clarner, whose brother was one of the top skiers in the state a few years ago, led the boys and placed 10th. The other three scorers were Jacques McCrillis, Miles Van Hoff and Max Goupil, all of whom are on the younger side.
“The boys, on the other hand, are a really new crew. I had two returning boys that I knew of, and they were both sophomores and the rest of them that have come in have been freshmen. So super young crew, a lot of energy, a lot of learners,” Rothe said.
The Kearsarge teams are much smaller in comparison to Hopkinton and Concord, yet they had very solid performances to place well. Head coach Kevin Lee was busy keeping times and managing multiple aspects of the classic while his team raced around, but he said that he thought the race was a success because of the good mix of experienced seniors and promising younger racers on the team all putting in big performances.
The Cougar boys only had three racers but managed to place ninth with all three finishing in the top 40. Ned Stepp placed 14th. Kelby Frenkiewich came in 21st despite starting 44th. Andrew Brahan rounded out the group and placed 38th. The team was only 12 points behind Winnacunnet, which had 11 racers.
The girls had a very solid day as well to place sixth, 47 points behind Concord, as Ainsley Frenkiewich, Katherine Blagden and Ava Valle all placed between 19th and 26th. They were rounded out by Haley Deegan in 59th.
“They were working incredibly hard. They know that there’s strong competition out there, and there are some really talented skiers that are here. There are several kids here today who were on the New England juniors national team last year, so a strong field. I’m really happy with their efforts,” Lee said.
“I think one of the things that’s nice about this point in the season is that we’re finishing the race and it’s still light out, so that has an impact on their outlook and how they feel about things. Looking forward to the best skiing of the year coming up.”
Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.