Year-round technique instruction, long distance workouts, and high-intensity interval sessions all culminated in a week of high level competition earlier this month for a group of Far West Nordic Junior cross country skiers in Ishpeming, Michigan. Tucked into a different world on the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior, near Marquette, Ishpeming was the venue for this year's Junior Olympic Competition for cross country skiers across the country.

16 skiers (OJ Boys: Ian Case, Casey Watson; J1 Boys: Tony Bozzio, Scott Hill, Dana Mosman, Nick Sterling; J1 Girls: Jessica Ford, Shannon Lankenau , Laura Spohr; J2 Boys: Joaquin Goodpaster, Nicki Henriques, Andrew Van Blarigan, Phillip Violett; J2 Girls: Lindsay Collin, Natalie Joffe, Kara LaPoint) traveled halfway across the country to compete in this year's event that included 4 separate races: A short-course Sprint race, a longer-distance Freestyle (skating) event, a short distance Classic technique race, and a 3-person mixed (1 leg classic/2 legs freestyle) Relay. Also traveling with the team were 6 Far West coaches (including Head Coach Glenn Jobe and Assistant Head Coach Nancy Fiddler), and a variety of parents as helpers for such a huge crew.

The events started out with the Sprint Races, a 3-4 minute race in a series of heats leading to the finals. On a snowy and wind-blown course, Joffe (Kentfield) and Case (Grass Valley) were the two Far West skiers who were able to make it past the preliminary heats, Joffe going on to finish 12^th , and Case coming home with the first medal of the week in 7^th. In his final round, Case had the lead for much of the race. "It was so cool to see him in his Far West uniform, out in front, gaining a bigger lead every turn as the course snaked around the course," stated LaPoint. Three of the J1 boys (Sterling, Bozzio, and  Mosman) gave strong performances as well, finishing 11^th, 13^th, and 15^th (respectively) in their individual heats.

A day off to rest, and the skiers were ready for the Freestyle events. The J2 girls and J2 boys skied 5 kilometers, OJ & J1 girls skied 10 km., and the J1 and OJ boys skied a 15 km. race. Although Far West didn't take home any medals that day, some strong performances were made by a few skiers. Joffe showed that her sprint race was no fluke, finishing 14^th with All-American (AA) honors, as did Jessica Ford (Lee Vining) in her J1 female division. Finally, Case continued his strong skiing in an extremely competitive division by finishing 17^th, also earning All-American honors for his performance.

Two days later found the skiers preparing for their Classic technique races, a shorter event of 5 kilometers for girls and J2 (14-15 yr./old) boys, and 10 kilometers for the older male divisions. Joffe again continued to shine, coming home with an extremely impressive 5^th place medal. Case also achieved AA honors with a 13^th place finish. LaPoint garnered the oh-so-close award of the week when she finished 11^th in the J2 girls division, less than 2 seconds from a medal! Tahoe City's Bozzio was the other strong Far West racer that day, finishing 15^th in the J1 male division.

Finally, the competitions were closed out with Saturday's Relay events, probably the most exciting day for spectators throughout the week of events. Far West showed its depth by having two teams narrowly miss medals during the day. The J2 Girl team of LaPoint, Joffe, and Lindsay Collins of Truckee, with Joffe having an exceptionally fast leg in her classic event. Not to be out-done, the J1 Boy team of Bozzio, Scott Hill (Carnelian Bay) and Mosman (Nevada City) also tagged a 6^th place finish, missing that elusive medal by a scant 15 seconds. But perhaps the most exciting leg of the day was put in by Case, who finished his week in strong fashion by leading throughout the first leg of the relay, finishing with the second fastest classic time of the day in OJ/J1 division.

Although individual medals (top 10 finishes in races, top 5 in the relays) were few, a number of near-misses and quite a few "All-American" honors (based on a percentage of time back from the winner) gave the team high hopes that their training is paying off on a national scale. When the week was done, skiers returned tired, but satisfied that they gave their best in so many difficult competitions.

"We've learned a lot this year about how to succeed on a national level," said Jobe. "Our technique is as good as anyone's in the country. Now, we just need to get tougher." Even though the season is wrapping up, plans and training schedules are already in the works with next winter's competitions in mind. The team will continue working out on snow as long as possible, and some will even race at the spring competitions coming up in Sun Valley, Idaho. They'll then concentrate on long distance base training and strength throughout the summer in order to bring home more gold at next year's competitions in McCall, Idaho.