FAR WEST CONTINGENT RACING AT US NATIONALS
18 Far West Athletes Compete at Soldier Hollow, Utah
CLICK HERE for the US Nationals Results Page.
MEN'S SPRINTS
In the Preliminaries, Matt Gelso established a strong position as the 6th Junior racer (1st J1 Boy, 42nd overall) in the Sprint Competition. He advanced to the Junior Final division, which he WON in the single elimination round. Technically, he was the 3rd Junior overall, because there were 2 OJ's who advanced to the Senior Elimination Rounds, and their preliminary times bumped Matt down 2 notches. This puts him in good position to qualify for the World Junior Team heading to Slovenia later this month.
Nick Sterling had a strong prelim (40th place), and was just one second short of advancing to the heat rounds. Joaquin Goodpaster had the next fastest time for Far West athletes, placing 90th overall (20th OJ Male). Other local racer results included Phillip Violett in 103rd (67th Senior Male), Jakub Benes in 105th (68th Senior Male), Tyler Wright in 137th (27th J1 Male), Alex Taylor in 153th (32th J1 Male), Spencer Wood in 170th (41st J1 Male), Colin Shane in 164th (38th J1 Male), Danny Rodrigues in 159th (39th OJ Male), Dom Henriques in 160th (40th OJ Male), Garrett Reid in 166th (42th OJ Male), and Jake Peterson in 182th (50th J1 Male). Zach Violett didn't race today. Stay tuned for more updates.
WOMEN'S SPRINTS
In the Prelims for the women, Maisha Goodpaster had the fastest Far West time, in 69th place overall (19th J1 female), with Bernie Nelson in 80th place (23rd J1, although she's actually a J2) and Gabrielle Joffe in 105th (30th, ditto). Kara LaPoint was 101st (30th OJ female). Whitney Prosor didn't race today.
MEN'S 15K CLASSIC
With a huge final kick in the last 5 K, Matt Gelso has come across the finish line in FIRST PLACE for all Junior skiers, 27th OVERALL, and 22nd in the US! This makes him a sure bet to make the US World Junior Team. Zach Violett was 20th overall. Other results: Nick Sterling (83rd / 21st U23), Phillip Violett (88th / 24th U23), Garrett Reid (106th / 53rd OJ), Joaquin Goodpaster (125th / 59th OJ), Spencer Wood (134th / 20th J1), Alex Taylor (157th / 27th J1), Danny Rodrigues (171st / 73rd OJ), Tyler Wright (183rd / 33rd J1), Colin Shane (193rd / 39th J1).
WOMEN'S 10K CLASSIC
Big news of the day is ASC Coach Melody Scheefer's 17th place overall finish (12th US racer!!) in today's 10K. Not bad for someone who flew out to Utah Thursday night. Other Far West results were from Maisha Goodpaster (63rd overall / 13th J1), Kara LaPoint (90th / 19th OJ), Gabrielle Joffe (77th / 16th J1), Bernie Nelson (104th / 22nd J1), and Whitney Prosor (144th, 40th U23).
WOMEN'S 5K FREESTYLE
On the last day of the Far West contingent's stay at Nationals, great performances were turned in yet again. Mel Scheefer showed that her incredible placing in the classic race on Saturday wasn't a fluke, coming in an amazing 12th overall (top 10 American!). The rest of the FW racing crew went as follows: Kara LaPoint (120th / 32nd OJ), Gabrielle Joffe (123rd / 23rd J1), Bernie Nelson (126th / 25th J1), Maisha Goodpaster (138th overall / 31st J1), and Whitney Prosor (163th, 47th U23).
MEN'S 10K FREESTYLE
Matt Gelso solidified his placement on the World Junior team by grabbing 3rd place for all Juniors (38th overall), giving him two bronze and one gold for the week. Zach Violett (36th overall), Nick Sterling (84th / 21st U23), Garrett Reid (98th / 14th OJ), Phillip Violett (105th / 28th U23), Joaquin Goodpaster (100th / 15th OJ), Dominic Henriques (103rd / 16th OJ), Alex Taylor (135th / 17th J1), Spencer Wood (160th / 25th J1), Danny Rodrigues (221st / 44th OJ), Tyler Wright (235th / 48th J1), Colin Shane (237th / 49th J1), and Jake Peterson (244th / 51st J1).