GRP Ski Posts Strong Results in SuperTour Period 1
Written by Margie Freed
GRP ski headed off to begin the SuperTour circuit in the Midwest, which took place the first two weekends of December. After a year without national competition, the Sprigs were itching to race and this showed in the results.
Competition started on Saturday December 4th in Duluth, MN with freestyle skate technique sprints. Alex Lawson put the neon green into the semifinals finishing 10th with a time of just over 3.5 minutes. Cheered on by a friendly Minnesota crowd, Margie Freed, Annika Landis, Michaela Keller-Miller, and Braden Becker finished 14th, 15th, 19th, and 25th respectively in the quarterfinals.
The following day, GRP again hit the trails with another freestyle race, this time in the distance category. Making improvements from the day earlier, everyone improved their finish positions despite the snowy conditions. Adam Martin led the men’s squad in the 10k race with a strong 3rd place finish, followed by Braden in 6th, Ben Lustgarten in 10th, and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci in 12th. The women completed a 5k race with Alex in an outstanding 2nd, Margie in 6th, Annika in 10th, and Michaela in 11th. Wow! What a way to start the season.
Taking the weekdays to recover, Pepa had everyone pile into two big Suburbans that took the team over to Cable, WI for the second weekend of Midwest racing. During their off days, the skiers enjoyed making soup for dinner in a cozy cabin along a frozen lake, which reminded them of Craftsbury living. Friday, December 10th began a tiring three day period of racing with a 15k skate mass start race for all, which always leads to plenty of time in the pain cave. Adam and Braden impressively made the podium with 2nd and 4th place finishes respectively. Ben skied to 11th, and Akeo 22nd. The women were all very close with Margie in 8th, Alex 9th, Annika 10th, and Michaela 15th.
Saturday came with another sprint race, this time in the traditional classic technique. Alex sprinted all the way to the final heat, finishing 4th overall. Margie finished 11th after the semifinals, and Annika was 16th after the quarterfinals.
Sunday, the final day of this big weekend, brought a classic distance race to the group. GRP crew nailed the wax (thanks Nick Brown and Jake Barton), helping the Sprigs stay strong even when they were tired from working so hard the past two days. Alex and Margie came into their 10k race finish just seconds apart in 4th and 5th respectively, followed by another pair with Michaela in 12th and Annika in 13th. The men competed in a 15k race, led by Adam who won the race by over half a minute! Braden finished 5th, Ben in 18th, and Akeo in 22nd.
Whew! Great job GRP ski. The team will head to Soldier Hollow, UT for US Nationals in early January so stay tuned to see what they will do next.