It was a big weekend for 19-year-old Erik Fagerstrom on the cross-country ski trails at Soldier Hollow, Utah—where young Nordic racers from Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana staged the second set of three Junior National qualifiers.
Men's Older Junior racer Fagerstrom of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation won Friday's OJ/J1 sprint 1.3k freestyle "A" Final and turned around Saturday to claim second place among 116 skiers in the 15-kilometer mass start classic race.
Other highlights for the 31 SVSEF skiers ranging in age from 10-19 at the Super Qualifier co-hosted by the Utah Nordic Alliance:
Second place overall and tops among J1s (16-17) to Annie Pokorny, 17, in Saturday's OJ/J1 women's 10k classic race; seventh place overall and first J1 to Scott Schoen, 17, in men's 15k classic; first and second places to Sloan Storey, 15, and Maggie Williams, 14, in J2 girls' 5k classic.
Annika Landis podiumed in third place among J4 (10-11) girls in 2k classic, and Gray Riedinger, 16, won the Novice Boys' 3k race Saturday.
Sun Valley boasted a number of finalists and quarterfinalists in the skate sprint heats Friday.
Pokorny placed second in the OJ/J1 "A" Final; Zach Lindahl won the J2 "B" Final and finished seventh overall; and Maggie Williams and Sloan Storey finished second and fourth in the J2 "A" Final.
Making the OJ/J1 quarterfinals were Emily Williams 14th and Morgan Atkinson 27th. In the J2 heats, quarterfinalists included Maranda Stopol and Jackson Long.
The final of three JN qualifiers is set for Feb. 12-14 at Boise followed by the naming of the Intermountain Division squad to the 2010 USSA Cross Country Junior Nationals March 8-13 at Presque Isle, Maine.
Here at Soldier Hollow results:
Saturday, Men's OJ/J1 15k mass start: 1—Miles Havlick, 20, Utah 42:32. 4—Erik Fagerstrom, 19, 43:15 (2nd OJ). 7—Scott Schoen, 17, 45:03 (1st J1). 29—William Spiller, 17, 47:48 (18th J1). 35—Andrew Pfeiffer, 16, 48:38 (22nd J1). 73—Torin Tucker, 16, 53:25 (47th J1)—116 finishers.
Saturday, Women's OJ/J1 10k mass start: 1—Caitlin Compton, 29, USST 31:49. 2—Annie Pokorny, 17, 33:10 (1st J1). 21—Morgan Atkinson, 16, 37:47 (13th J1). 35—Emily Williams, 16, 40:25 (22nd J1)—77 finishers.
Saturday, Girls' J2 (14-15) 5k mass start: 1—Sloan Storey, 15, 16:47. 2—Maggie Williams, 14, 17:15. 8—Maranda Stopol, 15, 17:41. 54—Elana King-Nakaoka, 14, 21:41. 60—Kaitlyn Landis, 15, 22:21—85 finishers.
Saturday, Boys' J2 5k mass start: 8—Zach Lindahl, 15, 15:25. 9—Jackson Long, 15, 15:29. 19—Ketchum Wilt, 15, 16:30. 30—Stephen Pfeiffer, 14, 16:59. 51—Jake Adicoff, 14, 18:44. 57—Andrew Graves, 14, 19:10. 60—Ty Reinemann, 14, 19:22—92 finishers.
Saturday, Girls' J3 (12-13) 3k mass start: 14—Haley Montgomery, 13, 13:31. 16—Maddy Watts, 12, 13:45. 17—Montana Tucker, 13, 13:52. 20—Katie Feldman, 13, 14:17. 28—Kailey Wilt, 13, 14:48—44 finishers.
Saturday, Boys' J3 3k mass start: 17—Nathan Nasvik, 13, 12:16. 26—Nate Thomas, 13, 13:04. 31—Luke Verst, 13, 13:22. 33—Danny Graves, 12, 13:35—51 finishers.
Saturday, Girls' J4 (10-11) 2k mass start: 3—Annika Landis 7:48. 7—Sarah Verst 8:49. 11—Emily Siegel 9:19. Boys' J4 3k:Jack Dwyer DNF.
Novice Boys' 3k: 1—Gray Riedinger, 16, 11:28—21 finishers.
Friday, Girls' J3 wave start freestyle: 5—Katie Feldman. 12—Haley Montgomery. 14—Montana Tucker. 17—Maddy Watts. 30—Kailey Wilt.
Friday, Boys' J3 wave start freestyle: 12—Nathan Nasvik. 21—Nate Thomas. 30—Luke Verst. 36—Danny Graves.
Saturday, Girls' J4 wave start freestyle: 3—Annika Landis. 7—Sarah Verst. 15—Emily Siegel. Boys' J4 wave start free: Jack Dwyer DNF.
Hamilton added to Olympic Nordic squad
A final skier has been added to the 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. He is a member of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation's Olympic Development Team.
Simi Hamilton, 22, of Aspen, Colo., a former All American from Middlebury College, was announced Thursday after the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association received an 11th and final quota spot.
Hamilton, who is now training with coaches Travis Jones and Rick Kapala in the Sun Valley Olympic Development Program, is one of the fastest U.S. sprinters. He won four qualifiers in the USSA SuperTour, Canadian NorAm and U.S. Championship events, and took U.S. title in the freestyle sprint. Earlier this week, he led sprint qualifying by over a second in the Under 23 World Championships in Germany.
"Simi has definitely raised some eyebrows this season with his pure speed in the sprint events," said Cross Country Head Coach Pete Vordenberg. "He is a talented young athlete who will be a great addition to the Olympic Team."
Athletes are presently training around the country, preparing for a pre-Olympic camp and World Cup on the 1988 Olympic trails in Canmore, AB Feb. 1-8. The team will arrive in Vancouver on Feb. 9 to prepare for a schedule that includes 12 medal events.
Morgan Arritola, 23, of Ketchum is another SVSEF skier on the Olympic team. Arritola, a freshman, and Hailey's Graham Watanabe (snowboarding) are two of 14 Westminster College students who have been name 2010 Olympians. Westminster is a liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, Utah. Watanabe is a sophomore business major at the 3,000-student school.
