School sprints set for today at Tahoe Donner
Special to the Sun
One of the most exciting events on the local Nordic scene returns today ” in its original location ” at Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Area.
Hundreds of young racers will be charging around a 1-kilometer course in view of a crowd of cheering spectators along the trailside and from the Day Lodge.
Based upon the highly successful sprint formats used in Europe on the World Cup Circuit, where complete downtown areas are turned into winding courses lined with thousands of spectators, the Truckee Sprints will offer the local crowd a great opportunity to witness the competition at the high school and middle school levels.
The competition begins with the preliminary “time-trial” portion of the race, where skiers race against the clock in an effort to make it to the next stage of racing. They are then “seeded” from each division ” high school boys and girls and middle school boys and girls ” and the top racers advance into the finals of the competition. Groups of skiers race against each other ” eight abreast, much like a track meet ” in an effort to move through to the final competition. The final race is then held, and the champion is crowned for this event. It’s wild out there!
Truckee High is the overall favorite, with a few racers recently returned from a highly successful stint at the U.S. National Championship competition in Houghton, Mich., and last weekend’s Intermountain/Rocky Mountain Super JOQ at Soldier Hollow, Utah.
Look for nationally-ranked racer Bernie Nelson, along with Kelsey Dion, Sophie Aaron and Angela Raso, to compete strongly for the Truckee girls varsity team. Expect Truckee’s Spencer Wood, Russell Kennedy and Daniel Gelso to vie for the top spot for the boys.
For North Tahoe, Dani and Joey Griffo are the favorites, with help from Tom McElravey and Winston Krauss.
In the middle school division, the skiers to watch out for are Alder Creek’s Annika Taylor and Annika Deurlington, with Justin Ondry and Evan Dion the favorites among the younger boys. North Tahoe Middle School skiers to look for include Morgan Paulson and Carson Clark.
For more information on watching or volunteering for this event, contact the Far West Nordic office at info@farwestnordic.org.
Middle School: 1 p.m. preliminary rounds, 2 p.m. quarterfinals
High School: 3 p.m. preliminaries, 4:15 p.m. quarterfinals, 5:15 p.m. finals
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.