March was a busy month for some local Nordic skiers, who competed in New England and national events to conclude the racing season.
From March 11-13, 2016, the J2 New England Festival for the Under-16 year-old division was held in Bethel.
In the freestyle 5K, Alec Cyr of Caribou was 26th out of 95 racers with a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds. In the classic 5K, his time of 14:11.7 put him 23rd overall. He was 40th in the 1.2K classic sprint in 5:35.71 and 22nd in the skate sprint in 4:29:24.
Emerson Duplissie-Cyr, also of Caribou, competed in all four races. He was 43rd in the freestyle race (17:14.9), 38th in the classic (14:46.6), 42nd in the classic sprint (5:38.28) and 39th in the freestyle sprint (4:41.53).
On the girls’ side, Isabelle Jackson of Presque Isle was 28th out of 95 in the freestyle in 18:49.1, 43rd in the classic in 19:42.1, 25th in the classic sprint in 6:35.43 and 34th in the freestyle sprint in 5:36.31.
Team Maine came in second place in the Eastern High School Cross Country Championships, held in Ripton, Vt. March 18-20. The team featured numerous skiers from central Aroostook County.
Lance McKenney of Fort Fairfield came in second place in the 7.5K classic race in 18:19.4 and was fourth in the 5K freestyle in 14:19.8 to lead the local contingent.
Jason Bartley was 31st in the classic event in 20:24.9 and 50th in the freestyle in 16:12.7, while Max Bartley came in 67th in the classic (21:47.2) and 103rd in the freestyle (18:37.7).
For girls, Sarah Beaulieu of Fort Fairfield was 37th in the classic race in 25:03.2 and 73rd in the freestyle in 20:08.1), while Jackson came in 88th in the classic (28:29.2) and 74th in the freestyle (20:10.1).
Placements in the 1.2K freestyle tech sprint were, for boys: McKenney, second, 3:08.66; Jason Bartley, 49th, 3:38.24) and Max Bartley, 59th, 3:43.33). For girls, Beaulieu was 59th in 4:28.17 and Jackson 75th in 4:34.13.
A 4 X 3K mixed medley relay race took place as well. McKenney was on the top Maine team, finishing ninth overall, with a time of 23:52.3. McKenney finished his leg in 5:17.4. Jason Bartley skied his leg in 5:28 and his team was 13th. Beaulieu had a 3K time of 7:11.1 for her team, which was 26th in the standings. Jackson came in at 7:26.2 for her leg and her team was 41st, while Max Bartley had a split of 5:57.2 as his foursome came in 45th.
Team Maine was the runner-up behind Vermont and was ahead of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York.
At the United States Ski Association Cross Country Junior Nationals in Cable, Wisc. March 6-13, Jason Bartley, McKenney and Brendan Cyr all competed.
In the classic 10K, McKenney and Cyr were in the U20 age category and McKenney was ninth overall in 30:15 and Cyr 20th in 31:28. In the 15K skate, Cyr placed 17th in 37:44 and McKenney was 28th in 39:05.
McKenney was sixth in the 1.2K skate sprint in 2:26.8 and Cyr ended up in 2:30.7, while in the 2K skate hill climb relay, McKenney’s time for his leg of 5:45.2 helped his team to a second-place finish. Cyr’s individual time of 6:09.4 helped his team to ninth place.
McKenney’s result in the classic 10K and skate sprint ascended him to All-American status.
Bartley, competing in the U18 division, was 30th in the 10K skate (28:36), 35th in the 10K classic (31:40) and 59th in the skate sprint (2:38.7). His skate relay team was seventh as he finished his leg in 6:12.5.
