The final weekend before Christmas is typically the time when junior athletes open their qualifying season for Junior Nationals. This year was no exception, as Junior National qualifying races, or JNQs (aka “JOQs,” for those of us of a certain age; if you know offhand what age group “J1” or “J2” refers to, you might have been a JOQ athlete or parent), were held in at least six venues around the country. My sense is that it was the first JNQ race in each region of the country save the Midwest, which had raced in Duluth the weekend before (Saturday results, Sunday results).
Racing before Christmas poses its challenges, especially for the high school and early-college athletes making up the U16, U18, and U20 categories of Junior Nationals qualification. From a training perspective, athletes in some regions of the country may have relatively limited time on snow headed into what are for some season-opening races. And everyone may not fully be at race fitness yet, or at least may not wish to be peaking yet when the season’s biggest races are held in the spring. Finally, from a life perspective, racing in mid-December essentially guarantees that students will do so either during or immediately after finals, which is not easy.
Nonetheless, for those athletes who could mitigate the life stress and avoid winter colds, it was time to race. This year’s Junior Nationals will be held in Fairbanks, Alaska, from March 13–16, 2023. New England is the defending team champion, and has claimed the Alaska Cup, for top division, nearly every year since 2013, the last year that JNs were held in Fairbanks, as well as for most of the preceding decade. For aspiring junior racers around the country, the road to Fairbanks starts now.
Please enjoy this roundup of last weekend’s JNQ results from around the country, organized by, well, the order in which I found them online. Yes, this article is just a laundry list of name and links — but hopefully there is some value to having all this information in one place, whether you are a proud parent, a junior coach, or a high-level junior athlete wanting to keep tabs on the competition, and desirous of some raw data to back up the boasts you see on social media.
Far West: Auburn Ski Club Training Center Holiday Race Weekend
Saturday: 1.3km classic sprint
Men’s qual top three: Jake Hacker, Matteus Sokulsky, Cabot Godoy
Women’s qual top three: Hannah Halvorsen, Kili Lehmkuhl, Keira Scott
Sunday: 5-kilometer interval-start skate
Women’s podium: Kili Lehmkuhl, Hannah Halvorsen, Aili Scott
Men’s podium: Dane Karch, Cabot Godoy, Matteus Sokulsky
Rocky Mountains: Crested Butte Nordic JNQ
Saturday: 5-kilometer interval-start classic
U16/U18/U20 women’s podium: Rose Horning, Adele Horning, Bettina Burgess
U16/U18/U20 men’s podium: Benjamin Barbier, Trey Jones, Andrew Siegel
Sunday: 5-kilometer mass start skate
U16 boys podium: Tristan Thrasher, Campbell McLaren, William Bentley
U16 girls podium: Kiera Stabile, Anna Rhodes, Lucy Perkins
7.5-kilometer mass start skate
U18/U20 men’s podium: Trey Jones, Luka Riley, Henry Magill
U18/U20 women’s podium: Rose Horning, Bettina Burgess, Sophie Spalding
Alaska: Besh Cup 1 and 2 JNQ, Anchorage
Saturday: 5-kilometer interval-start classic
U16 girls podium: Rosie Conway, Zoe Rodgers, Olivia Soderstrom
U16 boys podium: Vebjorn Flagstad, Kieran Kaufman, Oskar Flora
10-kilometer interval-start classic
U18 women’s podium: Marley Ireland, Zarah Laker-Morris, Kiley Dennis
U20 women’s podium: Katey Houser, Emily Erickson, Natalie Hood
U18 men’s podium: Blake Hanley, Cole Flowers, Peter-John Bragonier
U20 men’s podium: Hugo Hinckfuss, Matt Seline, Philipp Moosmayer
Sunday: 5-kilometer mass start skate
U16 girls podium: Olivia Soderstrom, Brynn Rathert, Rosie Conway
U16 boys podium: Kieran Kaufman, Vebjorn Flagstad, Noa Kam-Magruder
10-kilometer mass start skate
U18 women’s podium: Marley Ireland, Zarah Laker-Morris, Sammy Legate
U20 women’s podium: Katey Houser, Lily Pannkuk, Abigail Haas
U18 men’s podium: Murphy Kimball, Owen Young, Blake Hanley
U20 men’s podium: Philipp Moosmayer, Derek Richardson, Matt Seline
Central: Michigan Tech University Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite/CXC Cup, Houghton
Saturday: 5-kilometer interval-start skate
U16 boys podium: Ben Buchmann, Anders Decker, Soren Winikoff (results)
U16 girls podium: Lauren Carlton, Elsa Lindfors, Zoe Wagner (results)
10-kilometer interval-start skate
U18 men’s podium: Davis Isom, Zaine Braaten, Daniel McCollor (results)
U20 men’s podium: Adrik Kraftson, Wes Campbell, Benjamin Lewis (results)
U18 women’s podium: Audrey Parham, Fran Peterson, Nina Fedje (results)
U20 women’s podium: Greta Hansen, Catherine Stow, Greta Leitheiser (results)
Sunday: skate sprint
U16 boys podium: Jack Dahlby, Sam Kyes, Anders Decker (results)
Men’s final: Kristoffer Karsrud (U23), Adrik Kraftson (U20), Luke Fricker (U23) (results)
U16 girls podium: Elsa Lindfors, Anna Gilmer, Lauren Carlton (results)
Women’s final: Anabel Needham (U23), Katerina Hyncicova (SR), Merle Richter (U23) (results)
Pacific Northwest: Bend JNQ, Mt. Bachelor
Saturday: classic sprint
Boys podium: Quinten Koch, Zach Shockey, Callahan Waters (results)
Girls podium: Bridget Burns, Carolina Menna, Annie McColgan (results)
Sunday: 5-kilometer interval-start skate
U16 girls podium: Caroline Menna, Becca Wade
U18 women’s podium: Neve Gerard, Piper Widmer, Isabel Menna
U20 women’s podium: Bridget Burns
U16 boys podium: Callahan Waters, Silas D’atre, Quinten Koch
U18 men’s podium: Zach Shockey, Reed Wuepper, Fergus Waag
U20 men’s podium: William Adams, Adrian Gonzalez
Eastern: Eastern Cup Opener, Lake Placid
Saturday: 5-kilometer interval-start classic
U16 girls podium: Amelia Circosta, Ava Schneider, Annelies Hanna (results)
U16 boys podium: David Northcott, Henri McCourt, Lucas Barstow (results)
10-kilometer interval-start classic
U18 women’s podium: Virginia Cobb, Maddie Hooker, Julia Thurston (results)
U20 women’s podium: Ava Thurston, Quincy Massey-Bierman, Hattie Barker (results)
U18 men’s podium: Tabor Greenberg, Finegan Bailey, Luke Rizio (results)
U20 men’s podium: Jack Lange, Aidan Burt, Nathan Maybach (results)
Sunday: 5-kilometer skate pursuit
U16 boys podium (skate time): David Northcott, James Crowley, Charlie Kehler (results)
U16 girls podium (skate time): Amelia Circosta, Mary Harrington, Annelies Hanna (results)
U18 men’s podium (skate time): Finegan Bailey, Tabor Greenberg, Luke Rizio (results)
U20 men’s podium (skate time): Sam Gallaudet, Parke Chapin, Nathan Maybach (results)
U18 women’s podium (skate time): Maddie Hooker, Beth McIntosh, Gillian Fairfax (results)
U20 women’s podium (skate time): Ava Thurston, Hattie Barker, Evelyn Walton (results)
— Gavin Kentch
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