Due to lack of snow at the Olympic venue in Utah, the second Junior National Qualifier of the season was moved to Sun Valley. Athletes still had the opportunity to put their training to the test with the same race formats; a skate sprint and classic mass start distance race. Most comp team athletes had been training since June to hone in on the very different specific demands that each race format presented. For the younger athletes, the weekend presented an opportunity to put their seasonal training to practice and to gain exposure to the dynamic nature of the sport.
JHSC Nordic posted strong results in the morning skate sprint preliminary run. Jack Cornish and Sam Roubin advanced to the quaterfinals in the U18/20s, Annabel Hagen advanced to the finals for the U18/20 girls, Birch Klomparens advanced to the semifinals for the U16 girls and Chloe Stines to the quarter finals. For the U16 boys, Jack Love, Bridger Stiles, and Wylie Menolacino advanced to the quarter finals. Elijah Weenig advance to the finals to with a strong finish in 3rd, and David King advanced to the B final and unfortunately lost a ski while jockeying for position. Des Concannon, a skate sprint specialist, unfortunately missed the heats due to illness.
Notable results in the U14 category include Natalie O'brian's 2nd place, Mason Wheeler's 4th, and Sydney Wilmot's 5th. Lucas Wilmot cracked the top 3 for the U12s and Auroa Stiles just missed the podium with a 4th. Colton Petch rounded out the team's excellent results by winning the mens U10 sprint.
The classic distance mass start on Sunday presented a new set of challenges as athletes were preparing for a scramble start during their warm up to later settle into a distance pace. Annabel Hagen started in an excellent position leading the pack with SVSEF's Sofia Mazzoni to later get caught in a tangle and crashed. Her recover left her chasing the leader to eventually post a strong 5th place finish. Jack Cornish, Sam Roubin and Reed Carlman battled a strong U18/20 mens field with senior skier and Olympian Noah Hoffman leading the pack. In the final kilometer Jack Cornish found a second wind and displayed phenomenal athleticism by passing 6 skiers. David King lead the U16 boys crew with a Junior National qualifying result, finishing in 6th. Mason Wheeler and Peter Concannon cracked the top 10 for the U14s and Natalie O'brian once again secured 2nd. Again, Colton Petch showed that JHSC nordic has a bright future with his U10 vicotry.
