Bodhi Kuzyk (No. 217) tried to hold off the charge of other racers in the 5K classic race at the Super Junior Qualifier in Utah last weekend.
The Methow Valley Nordic Team (MVNT) made the long trek to Midway, Utah, for the Super Junior Qualifier on Jan. 18–19 at Soldier Hollow.
MVNT Director Leslie Hall reported that the event draws skiers from around the West with over 700 competitors coming from California, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The skiers competed in a skate sprint and a classic mass start distance race.
The skate sprint was on Friday, with all skiers ages 14 on up racing a 1.3-kilometer course. Racers had to finish in the top 30 in their age groups to continue on to the afternoon heats.
“We thought we had eight of our 15 skiers qualified for the afternoon rounds, with U16 skier Keeley Brooks perched in the tenuous 30th position,” Hall reported. However, some skiers were late to arrive at the venue due to a controlled avalanche that had closed a road, and the late arrivals were allowed to run the course — which resulted in Brooks being bumped out of the top 30, Hall said.
The MVNT’s U16 girls’ qualifier results were: Jori Grialou 10th, Keeley Brooks 32nd, Lilia Kuzyk 37th, Mahali Kuzyk 50th, Eva Weymuller 57th and Mariah Lucy 65th.
“For the U18/20 girls, we had three advance into the heats with their qualifying spots of second for Ella Kuzyk, eighth for Hadassah Lurbur and 23rd for Greta Laesch. Gretta Scholz was just outside the top 30 in 36th,” Hall reported.
Bodhi Kuzyk finished in second place for the U16 boys with Cooper Legler in 96th, Hall said. In the U18/20 boys’ race both Travis Grialou and Garrett Butts qualified for heats, in 23rd and 28th places respectively.
In the girls’ heats, Jori Grialou managed to make it to the semi-finals but then was unable to make the A final and finished eighth on the day for the U16 girls, Hall said.
“Ella Kuzyk kept up her sprinting progress and advanced fairly easily into the finals, where she finished third for the day,” Hall reported. “Bodhi Kuzyk kept up his strong sprinting show, also making the final and maintaining his second-place standing in the U16 class.”
Travis Grialou and Garrett Butts kept things interesting in the U18/20 men’s rounds, both coming from the back of the quarterfinal pack to advance to the semis. “In the semi-final, Travis almost squeaked into the A final but was out-lunged for a lucky loser position and ended up ninth for the day, with Garrett close behind in 11th,” Hall reported.
Saturday dawned cold and mostly clear with solid tracks for the challenging mass start races, Hall said. The U16s were set to race two laps of a speedy but hilly 2.5K loop while the U18/20s had a tough 3.3K lap that they circled three times.
“Long, progressively steepening uphills followed by speedy downhills with corners were the name of the game,” Hall said.
In the U16 girls’ race, Jori Grialou led the way for MVNT with a ninth-place finish. Lilia Kuzyk finished 19th, Keeley Brooks 29th, Eva Weymuller 32nd, Mariah Lucy 46th and Mahali Kuzyk 65th.
The U16 boys went next. Bodhi Kuzyk started off strong and faded a bit but hung on for ninth place, Hall reported. Cooper Legler finished 76th.
“The U18/20 ladies were up next, and with Ella and Hadassah sitting out the race to stay healthy, we only had two starters,” Hall reported. “Greta Laesch skied a great race, putting her fine classic technique to use to finish ninth. Gretta Scholz started out strongly but had some foot pain and struggled a bit while still maintaining 20th place.”
“In the men’s U18/20 class, was exciting to watch as Garrett and Travis moved up and down within a chasing pack,” Hall said. At the end Travis Grialou finished 8th in a tight battle with three other skiers and Garrett Butts came in 10th.
Meanwhile, Novie McCabe is in Lahti, Finland, for the World Junior Championships, Hall said. McCabe raced Tuesday (Jan. 22) and placed 29th in the 5K individual start. She will race again Thursday (Jan. 24), and hopefully in a relay on Saturday (Jan. 26) Hall said.
Next up for MVNT is joining relay groups for the Ski to Sun race on Saturday in the Methow Valley, followed by a junior qualifier race on Feb. 2-3. “Right now, 13 athletes have a good chance of making the PNSA junior national trip to Anchorage, Alaska, in March,” Hall said.
