Soldier Hollow, the venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics nordic competitions, provided the site for the latest set of Junior Olympic Qualifying races. The "Super Qualifier" series attracted a starting field of more than 550 racers from Vermont to California to Idaho, including the Sun Valley Nordic Ski Team.
SVSEF Nordic Director Rick Kapala was very positive after the series, which featured classic sprint and freestyle, Jan. 30-31.
Kapala remarked, "I think we are heading in the right direction after a slower start due to three weeks of no snow in December.
"We did have very promising J2 results from a young squad. In the mass start skate race -- four J2 gals in the top ten among all the kids in the five Western divisions, plus three J2 boys in the top twelve. On top of that Andrew Pfeiffer, Sam Farnham, Scott Schoen, Maranda Stopol, Zach Lindahl and Jackson Long all posted their best IMD results ever."
The lone Sun Valley skier to podium was Miles Havlick with an almost five second win in the classic and third in his class in freestyle.
Soldier Hollow, UT Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) XC Results
Friday, January 30th
MJ3 (age 12-13) Boys 3KM Classic
17—Stephen Pfeiffer. 26—Ty Reinemann. 32—Jake Adicoff. 39—Nate Nasvik. 40—Nick Krekow.
FJ3 (age 12-13) Girls 3KM Classic
18—Hayley Montgomery. 20—Katie Feldman. 23—Montana Tucker. 27—Elana King--Nakaoka. 31—Kailey Wilt. 34—Sarah Williams
MJ2 -- Classic Sprint (1.3Km)
5—Brandon Wade. 9—Torin Tucker. 19—Zach Lindahl. 26—Jackson Long. 27—Andrew Pfeiffer.
MJ1-MOJ Classic Sprint (1.3 KM)
1—Miles Havlick. 8—Willie Neal. 10—Scott Schoen. 12—Scott Phelan.
Quarterfinals: Daniel Sundali, Sam Farnham
FJ2 -- Classic Sprint (1.3 KM)
9—Maggie Williams. 10—Maranda Stopol. 12—Emily Williams.
Quarterfinals: Claire Bowman, Morgan Atkinson, Sloan Storey
FJ1-FOJ Classic Sprint (1.3 KM)
9—Makayla Cappel
Quarterfinals: Julia Bowman, Courtney Hamilton, Bronwen Raff
Saturday, January 31st
Girls 10Km Skate FJ1/FOJ: Overall/Age Class
Julia Bowman: 16th/8th
Makayla Cappel: 21st/11th
Courtney Hamilton: 31st/20th
Bronwen Raff: 34th/21st
Also racing: Keller Gibson,
Boys 15Km Skate MJ1/MOJ: Overall/Age Class
Miles Havlick: 5th/3rd
Willie Neal: 11th/6th
Daniel Sundali: 19th/8th
Sam Farnham: 31st/12th
Also racing: Travis Job, Will Spiller, Sean Dumke, Scott Phelan, Chase Caulkins, Scott Schoen,
5Km Skate FJ2
6—Maggie Williams. 9—Maranda Stopol. 10—Emily Williams. 11—Sloan Storey. 22—Claire Bowman. 24—Morgan Atkinson. 42—Kaitlyn Landis.
5Km Skate MJ2
7—Torin Tucker. 8—Brandon Wade. 12—Andrew Pfeiffer. Also racing: Zach Lindahl, Jackson Long, Ketchum Wilt
Boys J3 Racers:
Stephan Pfeiffer, Ty Reinemann, Jake Adicoff, Nate Nasvik,
Girls J3 Skate: 3Km
8—Katie Feldman. 16—Hayley Montgomery. Also racing: Kailey Wilt, Elana King-Nakaoka, Montana Tucker, Sarah Williams
Girls J4 Racer: Maddy Watts
Sun Valley racers Sean Dumke and Scotty Phelan working hard in the 15k cross-country race at Soldier Hollow.
