RIPTON, Vermont - The University of Maine at Farmington women's nordic team punched its ticket to the USCSA National Championships for the fourth consecutive season after placing second overall at this weekend's USCSA Eastern Regional Championships at the Rikert Outdoor Center.
The event was a two-day competition, with Saturday featuring a 1.5K sprint and Sunday a 7.5K classic race. The Beavers placed second on Saturday, earning 24 place points, before another second-place finish on Sunday, earning 22 place points. Across the two-day event, Farmington accumulated 46 place points, finishing behind only Paul Smith's, which earned first place overall.
Saturday's event started with 93 total skiers. All 93 competed in the 1.5K sprint, and from there the top 31 were seeded and placed into five quarterfinal heats. Four of the five heats featured six skiers, with the final heat consisting of seven. The top two skiers from each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals, leaving 12 skiers remaining. From there, the top three skiers from each semifinal moved on to the A finals. The bottom three skiers in each semifinal advanced to the B finals to determine places 7–12 for the event.
The Beavers were led by senior Ayla Bodach-Turner (East Montpelier, Vt.), who earned third place overall, advancing through the loaded field into the A finals, where she posted a time of 4:07.3 — just one second out of second place and 4.2 seconds out of first. Bodach-Turner won both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats, posting times of 4:12.3 and 4:06.6, respectively.
Junior Cora Treiss (Berlin, N.H.) finished the qualifying round inside the top 31 to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round. Treiss completed the qualifying race in 4:44.8, securing the 26th seed. In her quarterfinal, Treiss finished in 4:32.2, earning fourth place in her heat. For the day, Treiss placed 19th out of the 93 skiers.
Sophomore Kelsey McCrum (Greenbush, Maine) placed 41st overall in the qualifying round, finishing in 5:00.0. Senior Hokulani Caroselli (Temple, Maine) placed 53rd, posting a time of 5:11.6. First-year Abbie Dumont (Windham, Maine) finished in 5:43.6 en route to a 65th-place finish.
On Sunday, the Beavers were once again led by Bodach-Turner, who tore through the course in 28:56.6 to earn a second-place finish. Bodach-Turner earned her second medal in as many days, this time silver after taking bronze on Saturday.
Treiss and Caroselli each had standout races on Sunday for the Beavers, both placing inside the top 30 out of 90 skiers competing. Treiss finished 21st overall with a time of 33:16.2. Caroselli was not far behind, racing to a 29th-place finish with a time of 34:17.9.
McCrum and Dumont also performed well for the Beavers on Sunday. McCrum took home 46th place, while Dumont came in 54th. McCrum crossed the finish line in 37:21.1, and Dumont did so in 39:19.1.
UP NEXT
The Beavers will head to the USCSA National Championships in Lake Placid, New York, starting on March 9 and running through March 14.
