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William Jordan of Portland and Tom Bancroft of Oxford Hills battle at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
TURNER — Ice was the main concern of skiers Saturday morning at Leavitt Area High School, to which many of Maine’s nordic skiers flocked for the Leavitt Hornet Classic.
In what was some skiers’ first classical nordic race of the season, the temperatures were in the single-digits and the hills in Leavitt’s course were covered in ice that made it difficult to ski through, given the wax and style of skiing.
For Emma Charles of Mt. Blue, the terrain showed itself before the race even began. After the boys’ race finished and before the girls’ race began, skiers had 45 minutes to warm up and practice on the course. During the practice, Charles slipped on ice while rounding a turn and fell into the woods. That part of the course stayed with her when it mattered a few minutes later.
“There were a couple parts that were pretty icy, and during my warm-ups I actually went into the woods on a corner,” Charles said. “I think it kind of made me a little more scared. At least in that part, so I had to ignore that and just focus on getting to the end.”
Charles got to the end faster than any other racer. She crossed the finish line in 16:01.1, which was 23 seconds faster than second-place finisher Lilo Bean of Gould Academy.
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The nordic season is still young, so Saturday’s race was used as a practice of sorts for Charles and others. Along with the ice, the temperature at the time of the girls’ race was 9 degrees, which gave the racers yet another thing to worry about. Again, though, Charles was unfazed by the conditions.
“It’s just kind of practice on a more serious level, and getting ready for later,” Charles said. “I’m kind of made for cold weather. All my other teammates are wearing a lot of layers and I just have two layers, a top and a bottom, and I am fine.”
St. Dom’s Emily Gerencer, who practices with Leavitt, finished in fourth place in the girls’ race with a time of 17:03.8. Gould Academy finished with five skiers in the top-10 finishers in the girls’ race.
In the boys’ race, earlier in the day, the course was fast and served as a solid test for the skiers. William Jordan of Portland High School finished first with a time of 13:26.3. Roy Varney of Leavitt came in second, just 13.30 second behind. Varney knew he was close to the top before the final results were announced but was second-guessing some moves he made out on the course.
“I am still trying to figure out going up hills, and I am trying to figure out if my technique choice was wise or not,” Varney said. “I tried to extend the double polls and I am a little double-thinking it now, but it was pretty fast. Going into the woods the first time, it was OK but it was icy. Then this guy fell in front of me so I had to take the upper route and it was kind of cool because that part was better, so in some ways he saved me.”
As was the case with Charles, Varney didn’t mind the cold, as he said he warmed up well before. The challenging home course for Varney proved a good starting point for the rest of the classical season.
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“I want to excel in classic, so I am using (Saturday’s race) to see where everyone else ends up, and to do better in my classic,” Varney said. “I hope I do win this one, but sometimes losing and getting your technique better is good. It’s always nice to have something to work on.”
In third was Maranacook’s Luke Bartol, who finished with a time of 13:45.3. Battling a sickness, and given his past at the Hornet Classic, Bartol was content with his performance Saturday morning.
“I woke up two days ago with a sore throat, so I have dealt with that,” Bartol said. “It was fun, though. It’s always nice to race at the Hornet Classic here. I’ve had some rough years in the past, but that was definitely a lot of fun and it’s definitely a difficult technical course with all the icy hills.”
In the past, Saturday’s course may have been a huge challenge for the Maranacook skier. Thanks to practice, not anymore.
“Ice used to be something I could never deal with at all, but it was nice to finally get over that,” Bartol said. “I felt like I did a pretty good job today — didn’t fall, so I was pretty happy with that.”
Gabe Fein, also of Maranacook, finished fourth, followed by Mt. Blue’s Sam Smith and Dominic Giampietro.\
Emma Charles of Mt. Blue at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Roy Varney of Leavitt at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Luke Bartol of Maranacook at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Cami Ciembroniewicz of Mt. Ararat and Lilo Bean of Gould battle at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Lilo Bean of Gould Academy at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
Gwinna Remillard of Central Maine Ski Club races at the Leavitt Classic in Turner on Saturday morning. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)
