Kearsarge wasn’t first to cross the finish line in any of the four races on Tuesday at Gunstock Mountain Resort, but strength in numbers catapulted the Cougars to another sweep of the Division III Nordic ski championships.
Lili Baer was the top finisher in the classic and freestyle races for the Kearsarge girls, while Benjamin Boulton was the best of the Kearsarge boys in each discipline to help the Cougars remain atop the D-III competition. It’s the fourth consecutive title for the girls, and the third straight championship for the boys.
The Kearsarge boys were paced by their five seniors. Boulton (15:14.7 in classic and 12:57 in freestyle) was the top point earner with a fifth-place finish in each discipline. Trevor Pauling (15:37.2 in classic and 13:30.4 in freestyle) was right behind him and took sixth in each race. Thomas Lick (11th, 17:10.1 classic; seventh, 13:51.8 freestyle) and Edward Stowell (ninth, 16:24 classic; 11th, 14:22.2 freestyle) were also among Kearsarge’s top contributors.
“On the boys’ team there are five seniors, and they’ve been skiing together for a long time. It was very special,” Kearsarge coach Kevin Lee said. “It was pretty amazing they were able to do that. They kept working hard and working hard and we’re at the point now where they’re all pretty good skiers. It’s awesome.”
Corbin Monminy, Evan Pauling and Steven Williams also competed for the Cougars on the way to the championship.
The Kearsarge boys needed nearly every point it earned, as the Cougars cleared Fall Mountain by three points in the classic race in the morning session, and held off the Wildcats by a four-point margin in freestyle to secure the D-III crown. Kearsarge finished with 748 points, followed by Fall Mountain (741), White Mountains (558), Belmont (200) and Gilford (197).
Belmont’s 200 points came from Zachary Ennis, who had a pair of individual titles to celebrate. Ennis won the classic race in 12:08.3 before finishing the sweep in the afternoon with a freestyle triumph in 13:22.6.
“The conditions were beautiful, absolutely magnificent. The fresh snow really made for a great race and great conditions for skiing,” Lee said. “Gunstock did a great job of grooming it out. That was awesome.”
The Kearsarge girls claimed their fourth consecutive championship a little more comfortably. The Cougars racked up 766 points for the win, followed by Fall Mountain (729), White Mountains (728) and Gilford (395).
Lili Baer paced Kearsarge with third-place showings in the classic (16:50.8) and freestyle (14:56.4). Her sister, Marliese Baer, was fourth in the freestyle (15:15.2) and sixth in the classic (17:52.2). Marlia Richer (fifth, 17:52.2 classic; sixth, 15:59.3 freestyle) was another stellar performer for the Cougars, while Jenna Bears (eighth, 19:19.4 classic; seventh, 16:01.5 freestyle) also contributed points to the title. Ada Gardner (ninth in each race), Molli Mayo (11th classic) and Kate Kelly (12th freestyle) skied well for Kearsarge, as well.
Despite the Cougars winning four straight championships, life won’t get any easier for the competition in D-III next year, either.
“There’s no seniors on our team for the girls, so that’s pretty crazy,” Lee said. “There’s five juniors on the team, so they’ll be back next year.”
Vanessa Genakos of Gilford was the D-III individual champion in the classic (16:14), while teammate Catherine Stow finished second (16:21.1). Stow went on to win the D-III freestyle race (14:13.5).
Lee was thankful his team took the necessary time – and not just during the winter months – to deliver elite results.
“It takes commitment and dedication to really be an endurance athlete. You’re going to have to work hard,” Lee said. “Even though the ski season only runs from the end of November to March, you’ve got to be fit. You can’t just start being fit in November, you have to be fit all year long.
“If you talk to any of the coaches like Matt Whitcomb, who is the women’s national team coach, they all say that skiers are made in the summer. A lot of our kids run track, they run cross country and they do a lot of work doing different sports.”
London Warburton finished second in the classic (14:39.5) and freestyle (12:53.4) to lift the Bow boys’ Nordic team to third place in Division II on Tuesday – and every second counted for the Falcons.
Bow tied with Lebanon for third place, but won the tie breaker – combined time by point scorers – by only 4.3 seconds.
“That’s 4.3 seconds out of 7,353 seconds,” Bow coach Chris Naimie said. “It’s a tiny margin.”
Kirpal Demian was Bow’s second-best performer (18th, 16:49.4 classic; 10th, 14:16.4 freestyle), followed by Samuel Berube (21st, 16:53.3 classic; 15th, 14:32.9 freestyle), Oliver Dolcino (22nd, 17:13.9 classic) and William Carey (21st, 15:14.6 freestyle).
Warburton, though, led the way.
“He had a phenomenal day with two of the best skis of his career,” Naimie said. “It’s a really nice launch pad for him as he goes on to represent New Hampshire at the New England High School championships.”
Demian’s performance in the freestyle vaulted him to the Meet of Champions, while Dolcino was the only underclassman to accrue points for the Falcons.
“Everybody else that scored points for us this year was a senior, so adding a bright new face into the mix helps with prospects for the team in the future for sure,” Naimie said of Dolcino.
Hanover took the boys’ D-II title with 756 points, edging second-place Kennett (747) despite individual triumphs from Aiden Hagerty in the classic (14:12.6) and freestyle (12:37.3).
The results flip-flopped on the girls’ side, though, as Kennett (758) topped Hanover (739) for the title. Bow was fifth in D-II.
Hannah Thelemark of Kennett won the classic race (16:51.6) and teammate Helen Badger was first in freestyle (15:39.5).
Bow’s best finisher in the freestyle was senior Brianna Boone (21st, 18:03.1), while Natalia Rivera (21st, 20:48.3) was tops among Falcons in the classic. Elizabeth Parker (22nd classic and freestyle) and Isabelle Dolcino (23rd classic, 24th freestyle) scored in each event for Bow.
Naimie, who organizes all four Nordic division championships, was pleased with the conditions and competition.
“The folks up at Gunstock Mountain Resort and Gunstock Nordic Association were extremely helpful in enabling us to put on a super set of championship races,” Naimie said.