Junior Nationals Preview
March 2, 2017March is here and already Junior Nationals are upon us! This year's competition is being held in Lake Placid, NY, the week of March 5th thru the 11th. Originally scheduled for Mt. Van Hoevenberg, recent warm weather is shifting the races over to the Olympic Ski Jumping venue.
Schedule
- Sunday, March 5th: Opening ceremonies
- Monday, March 6th: 5K, 10K Freestyle (interval start)
- Wednesday, Mar 8th: Classical Sprints
- Friday, Mar 10th: 5K, 10K, 15K Classical (mass start)
- Saturday, Mar 11th: 3 x 3K Freestyle Relay, Closing ceremonies
This schedule may change as organizers review options with the venue change.
Team
The Midwest brings a large squad again this March with 50 athletes on the team, as well almost a dozen coaches and support staff. Some of the favorites: The U20 field girls seem to bring strong talent each season, especially once collegiate skiers are added. Hannah Rudd, UAA, and Margie Freed, UVM, have solid shots at a podium result. One of the surprises on the team is Greta Jenkins, CSS, who is an Alaskan native skiing for the Midwest this season and is a strong candidate for a top classic result. The U18 girls are some serious depth with Abigail Jarzin, Erin Moening, Anja Maijala, and Renae Anderson as some of the best from that group, and could score some top results, especially in the relay. Patrick Acton in the opening freestyle race represents one of the best chances for the U18 boys, with Xavier Mansfield leading the U20 boys field for medal contention. The U16 field is always hard to read, with new kids coming in each year, but Peter Moore, James Schneider, and Kasia Bednarski are some of the more prominent rising stars in the field.
View the full Junior National field
Resources
Daily Coverage
With support from many parents, and some major underwriting from CXC, Maplelag and LNR, we plan to be on-site Sunday through Wednesday, as well as Friday, providing hopefully same day coverage on the events.