LAKE PLACID, New York - The University of Maine at Farmington women's nordic team was led by the duo of senior Ayla Bodach-Turner (East Montpelier, Vt.) and junior Cora Treiss (Berlin, N.H.) en route to earning fifth place on Wednesday in the Freestyle Sprint National Championship.
The event commenced with the qualifying heat, where 66 athletes were vying for a spot in the top 30 to move into the quarterfinal round. For the Beavers, Bodach-Turner and Treiss qualified after finishing their time trials in 3:37.5 and 4:10.4, respectively. Bodach-Turner entered the quarterfinals seeded sixth overall, while Treiss was seeded 23rd.
Senior Hokulani Caroselli (Temple, Maine), sophomore Kelsey McCrum (Greenbush, Maine), and first-year Abbie Dumont (Windham, Maine) also competed in the qualifying round but did not advance. Caroselli finished 42nd overall in 4:34.8. McCrum finished 57th in 5:29.7. Dumont was 58th after her time of 5:44.4.
The quarterfinals were set up into five different heats with six racers in each. The top two finishers from each quarterfinal, plus the next two fastest finishers, advanced into the semifinals. From there, the top three finishers from each semifinal advanced into the 'A' Final, with the bottom three finishers in each semifinal moving into the 'B' Final.
Competing in the first quarterfinal, Treiss placed sixth, posting a time of 3:58.40 and did not advance into the semifinals. Overall, Treiss placed 27th in the standings.
Bodach-Turner competed in the third quarterfinal, easily winning after finishing the race in 3:44.22. Her time in the heat was nearly four seconds faster than any other skier she raced against. After advancing into the semifinals, Bodach-Turner posted a time of 3:57.38 and finished fifth in her semifinal race. With the fifth-place finish, she advanced to the 'B' Final where she placed third out of six in 4:02.67. The placing in the 'B' Final earned Bodach-Turner ninth place overall for the event.
UP NEXT
The Beavers will be off on Thursday but will return to action on Friday in the 15K Freestyle National Championship.
