More than 20 Maine Winter Sports Center athletes from throughout Aroostook County took part in the opening NENSA Eastern Cup races held in Jericho and Craftsbury, Vt. Dec. 18 and 19. The weekend served as the first measuring stick for most New England athletes, and was the final opportunity for high level competition in the lead up to the U.S. National Cross-Country Skiing Championships slated for Jan. 2-8 in Rumford.
Contributed photo
Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield, center, had a solid performance at the Eastern Cup ski races Dec. 18 and 19 in Vermont.
In the Dec. 18 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint, MWSC was paced by Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield and Sam Tarling of Cumberland Foreside. McNamee qualified third in the field of over 100 women and used strong tactics to race all the way to the final round, eventually placing fourth. Tarling, generally a much better distance skier, held tough through the rounds to finish 12th. Also qualifying for the sprint rounds were Meagan Toussaint of Stockholm and Joey Bard of Woodland. Presque Isle High School sophomore Jon Rochester was 14th in the boys J2 competition.
The mass start classic races on Dec. 19 gave the distance racers their sho and Sam Tarling did not disappoint, with a strong performance over the entire 12K course to earn fifth place. McNamee again paced the MWSC women, moving up from her 30th position seed to earn 19th place in a particularly strong field. Sarah Dominick of Stockholm was the top masters competitor for the second day in a row.
