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In a show of the overall strength and depth of the division, Far West Nordic is sending an unprecedented 31 athletes to the Chevy Truck Cross Country Ski Junior Olympic Competition in Lake Placid, New York, beginning on March 7, 2004. Along with 8 coaches and numerous parental assistants, this will be the largest and most talented group of athletes to represent the division. In total, 18 boys and 13 girls from throughout Northern California and Nevada will attempt to win medals and score points in the coveted “Alaska Cup” competition at JO’s 2004, to be held on the same trails as the 1980 Winter Olympic Competitions. Far West Nordic Co-Head Coach Jeff Schloss calls it “our strongest team, ever. What’s great for us this year is that we have a solid mix of veteran juniors who have been to 5 or 6 JO’s, along with a large group of very talented newcomers who are eager to win some medals.”
One person quite familiar with those trails is Co-Head Coach Glenn Jobe, who competed there for the U.S. 24 years ago in the Biathlon competition at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and has been back once for a previous Junior Olympics. “I’m really excited to go back there,” said Jobe. “The trails are challenging, with lots of ups and downs, similar to where we train here at Auburn Ski Club. Plus, the heritage of having two previous Olympic Games and World Cups there makes it an important place for skiing here in the United States.” Coach Schloss adds, “The courses at Lake Placid are extremely hilly, which should favor our athletes, because we have a great deal of fitness built-in from training at high altitude. Our kids have been working hard all year long in preparation for this trip.”
Almost all of these athletes have dedicated the last year and more to training in preparation for these competitions. From a rigorous nordic skiing training schedule, to running, biking, and roller skiing in the off-season, making the JO team doesn’t happen without a lot of hard work. A veteran of 2 previous JO’s, Whitney Prosor of Truckee calls the Junior Olympic experience “phenomenal. It allows me to experience so many incredible places, meet lots of great individuals, belong to a wonderful group of people, and find out who I really am inside.”
In order to attend this “Junior Nationals” competition, skiers between the ages of 13 and 19 needed to qualify by racing in a series of 4 competitions in the Truckee/Tahoe/Soda Springs area. Races included a Freestyle (Skate) Sprint competition (approximately 1 km. race), 2 Classic-style events, and one longer Freestyle competition. Skiers race in 2-year age groups, which include Junior 2 (J2) athletes 14 & 15 years old (with exceptional 13 year-old athletes able to “petition” for inclusion), Junior 1 (J1) athletes 16-17, and Older Juniors (OJ) at 18-19 years old. Each division competes against other athletes from 8 other divisions from across the country, with the Alaska contingent as the defending champions. Other top divisions from across the country include the New England, Intermountain/Northern, and Midwest divisions. With the talent they are sending in 2004, Far West is aiming for breaking into the top 4 this year, after finishing 2003 with a best-ever 6-place ranking.
Far West’s team this year includes athletes from throughout Northern California and Nevada. The J2 Girls team includes Sarah Clark, Maisha Goodpaster, Alexandra O’Neil, and Bernie Nelson of Truckee, Gabrielle Joffe of Kentfield (Marin county), Sara Violett of Brownsville, and Dayna Stimson of Crowley Lake/Mammoth. J2 Boys are represented by Nick Bozzio (Tahoe City), Matt Gelso, Alex Taylor, Spencer Wood, and Tyler Wright of Truckee, Carl Reid of Palo Alto, and Patrick Trainor, Far West’s first-ever representive raised in Reno, Nevada. J1 Girls include Cindy Apodaca and Jennifer Myers of Mammoth Lakes, Kati Clark and Kara LaPoint of Truckee, and Natalie Joffe of Kentfield. The J1 Boys team is comprised of Robby Beno, Joaquin Goodpaster, Ben Kantz, Sam Sterling, and Owen Wright of Truckee, Dominic Henriques of Tahoe City, Pat Lane of Nevada City, and Garrett Reid of Palo Alto. Finally, the Older Junior Girls will be represented by Whitney Prosor of Truckee, with the OJ Boys comprised of Martin Benes of Oakland (currently skiing for Bates College), Nick Sterling of Truckee (and Colorado University), and Phillip Violett of Brownsville.
This year’s schedule includes 3 individual races and one relay event. On Monday, March 8, the competition starts off with a 1 km. Freestyle Sprint race. After a day off, athletes will compete in a Classic event on Wednesday, March 10th. OJ and J1 boys will ski a 15 kilometer distance, with J2 boys and girls skiing 5 km., and OJ and J1 girls going 10 km. The races resume again 2 days later on march 12, with a Freestyle (Skating) competition: 10 km. for the OJ & J1 boys, and 5 km. distances for the remainder of the classes. Finally, the competitions wrap-up with an always-exciting 3-person Relay event on Saturday, March 13th, with OJ & J1 boys skiing 5 km, OJ & J1 girls racing 5 km., and the J2 boys and girls going 3 km. In this event, the first two legs will be Classic technique, with the anchor leg being an all-out freestyle race. The team will be returning to the west on Sunday, March 14th, hopefully laden with a record number of medals and a great placing in the Alaska Cup competition. In addition, Far West hopes to have “thrown down the gauntlet” in preparation for its hosting of the next Junior Olympic Competition right here at Auburn Ski Club on Donner Summit in March, 2005.