Spokane: the last qualifier!

This past weekend was another one filled with excitement and action as the Methow Valley Nordic Team headed to Mt. Spokane for the PNSA U14 Championships and the final Junior National Qualifier. The weather has been rather soggy all over the region and Spokane was no exception, the team was greeted by rather dreary conditions but that did little to dampen spirits. The snow was still in good condition and the skiing was great!
Saturday's event was a mass start classic and the U16 boys kicked things off with some strong performances, setting the bar for the rest of the day. Peter Aspholm won the race followed by Emerson Worrell and Walker Hall came in just behind in an exciting photo finish where he ended up 4th. This pattern continued throughout the day with MVNT taking top spots in all age groups they could! This included U16 girls with Novie McCabe again taking the victory, U20 girls with Claire Waichler claiming the top spot, U14 boys with Zane Strome leading an MVNT podium sweep, U14 girls with Liv Aspholm winning and leading a 1-4 MVNT finishing, U12 girls with Jori Grialou and another podium sweep and finally U10 girls where Marit Nelson rounded up a good day and stood on top of the podium.

U16 girls lining up for the start: Novie McCabe (foreground) and Gretta Scholz (background)

Coach Leslie Hall said, "It was a a huge success for the team and we had one of our best days all season! The wax was decent and everyone skied well despite dealing with falls and other hardships out there. Overall, it was a great day."

Full results can be viewed here: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=62165

Sunday's race format was a individual start skate and proved to be almost as successful as the day before! Again we had stellar performances in all age categories and winners in several of them! Novie McCabe sealed a final victory making it eight for eight in the U16 girls this season. Ella Hall won the U18/20 girls and Zane Strome and Liv Aspholm again took the top spots in the U14 categories. Results can be found here: http://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=62282

Another U14 girl podium sweep!!

This being the last qualifier there were many awards and team-naming and such following the race. MVNT did well in this due to their great performance this weekend and all season long. One such award was the Washington State High School Championships which MVNT members won handily with a near perfect score.

A giant chocolate bar for their hard efforts. 

A second and perhaps more exciting announcement was the naming of the 2016 Junior National team which will be headed to Cable Wisconsin March 7-13th. This years team consists of 7 MVNT members out of 32 total members from all around the division, Claire Waichler, Ella Hall, Eli Nielsen, Peter Aspholm, Emerson Worrell, Novie McCabe and Gretta Scholz. 

The JN's crew (minus a few who weren't there)

In other news, international biathlete and team member Eli Nielsen is currently competing in the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer Norway. He has been having a great experience and results from his races can be found at: http://www.lillehammer2016.com/.

Also, the annual holiday camp is happening this weekend with many happy participants from around here and beyond. Skiing has been really great throughout the valley and the younger team members are especially enjoying a fun obstacle course that Flash Clark has made at the McCabe trail. Progress is visible! 

A happy group on a sunny day! (pc: Steve Hirsch)

In upcoming events, Hanz's Big Adventure will be taking place this coming weekend and then the season is wrapping up with the final day of practice being February 25th. 

Stay tuned!