(Lander, WY) – Teams from Idaho, Utah, Montana, California, and Wyoming converged on Jackson Hole to compete in the LL Bean U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at Trail Creek.
Four Lander athletes, three girls, and one boy placed in the top 10 in their respective events at this prestigious meet last Friday and Saturday.
Lander’s Bennett Hutchison had a great weekend placing second in the 1.5K Nordic Sprint on Friday in a time of 3:22.4.
On Saturday, Hutchison was fifth in the 5 Kilometer race with a time of 12:26
“We had some kids post outstanding results against national level competition as the best skiers from the Intermountain USSS Division and Far West as well as the Wyoming H.S. teams competed,” Lander head coach Norm Cessna said. “In the Boys U16 Age group, Bennett Hutchison earned a podium placing second in the Friday Classic Sprints. He came back on Saturday with another top ten finish in the 5K Freestyle Mass Start placing 5th.”
This event is broken down into age divisions with Lander Valley High School athletes in the Under 16 age class. Under 16 skiers race on the 5-kilometer course, while older skiers run the 10-kilometer event.
For the Tiger girls, Ameya Eddy was eighth in the 5K at 14:19.
KayKay Sandall was ninth in the Friday sprint event with a time of 3:59.76, and teammate Anika Wilmot was 10th in 4:08.
The sprint races are conducted much like track and field preliminaries, with the top times advancing. This meet had so many skiers that there were quarterfinal, semi-finals, and finals in the sprint event.
“KayKay Sandall turned in a gritty performance in the Girls U18 Classic Sprints,” Cessna said. “The kids showed a lot of poise when facing difficult klister conditions on Friday as the previous day’s warm temps had turned the course to ice. Saturday’s race was also blistering fast with icy downhill turns and some long climbs. The mass start on Saturday provided for some tense moments as it was followed by a fast downhill in ski to ski traffic. Teamwise, we followed peak performances from the Lander meet with another two days of great racing.”
2022 LL Bean US Cross Country Ski Championships, Trail Creek, Jackson
Classic Sprint 1.5 KM
Men’s U-18/U-20:
Qualifying Round: top-30 move to Quarter Finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Mason Wheeler, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:06.07
*5. Kaleb Simonson, post-grad Lander, 3:14.44
*30. Gage Gose, LAN, 3:28.65
56. Diego Labatos, LAN, 3:43.50
73. Ben Browning, LAN, 4:02.42
82. Riley Chesmore, LAN, 4:25.55
89. Tim Bales, LAN, 4:30.89
91. Noah Hampton, LAN, 4:31.39
96. Carlos Canny, LAN, 4:44.91
Otus Beason, LAN, DNF (fell & binding broke)
Quarterfinals: top-12 move to semis & finals
*1. Mason Wheeler, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:06.15
21. Kaleb Simonson, post-grad LAN, 3:15.4
30. Gage Gose, LAN, 3:39.2
Women’s U-18/U-20:
*Qualifying Round: top-30 move to Quarter Finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Kate Brigham, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:34.56
*12. Kaykay Sandall, LAN, 4:02.36
*20. Kate Wilmot, LAN, 4:11.79
*24. Shayla Babits, LAN, 4:13.87
32. Krya Simonson, LAN, 4:20.39
34. Divya Forbis, LAN, 4:25.22
48. Magdalena Escudero-Kane, LAN, 4:48.81
61. Meesha Prine, LAN, 5:18.79
67. Rebecca Whiting, LAN, 5:41.35
68. Jessica Baron, LAN, 5:42.79
69. Rebecca Brough, LAN, 5:43.41
Quarterfinals: top-12 move to semis & finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Natlie O’Brien, 3:42.99
* 11. Kaykay Sandall, LAN, 3:53.75
Semi-finals:
1. Kate Brigham, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:45.01
12. Kaykay Sandall, LAN 4:15.78
Finals:
1. Eloise Herbert, Sun Valley SEF, 3:52.08
9. Kaykay Sandall, LAN, 3:59.76
Men’s U-16
*Qualifying Round: top-30 move to Quarter Finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Nate Struebel, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:16.20
*6. Bennett Hutchison, LAN, 3:34.0
*Quarterfinals: top-12 move to semis & finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Lucas Wilmot, Jackson Hole SSC, 3:19.8
*3. Bennett Hutchison, LAN, 3:24.5
Semi-Finals
1. Landon Wyatt, Bridger Ski Foundation, 3:23.1
4. Bennett Hutchison, LAN, 3:30.0
Finals:
1. Landon Wyatt, Bridger Ski Foundation, 3:19.3
2. Bennett Hutchison, LAN, 3:22.4
Women’s U16 Qualifiers:
*Qualifying Round: top-30 move to Quarter Finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Ally Wheeler, Natrona, 3:51.75
*11. Ameya Eddy, LAN, 4:07.2
*17. Anika Wilmot, LAN, 4:13.8
*26. Emily Anderson, LAN, 4:24.10
39. Lizzie Whiting, LAN, 4:48.0
57. Audre Brave-Heart, LAN, 5:31.9
Quarterfinals:
*top-12 move to semis & finals * Denotes Qualifier
*1. Ally Wheeler, Natrona, 3:51.75
*11. Anika Wilmot, LAN, 4:00.04
16. Ameya Eddy, LAN 4:06.4
25. Emily Anderson, LAN, 4:11.0
Semifinals:
1. Ally Wheeler, Natrona, 3:45.3
11. Anika Wilmot, 4:01.37
Finals:
1. Cora Faye Scott, Sun Valley SEF, 3:44.4
10. Anika Wilmot, LAN, 4:08
Saturday – 10 K Freestyle Results:
Men’s U-18/U-20 10K Freestyle
1. Cooper Hartman, Bridger Ski Foundation, 23:40
20. Kaleb Simonson, post-grad LAN, 25:53
33. Diego Lobatos, LAN, 26:39
51. Gage Gose, LAN, 27.21
60. Otus Beason, LAN, 28:25
78. Tim Bales, LAN, 32:18
82. Riley Chesmore, LAN, 33:11
83. Ben Browning, LAN, 33:47
87. Noah Hampton, LAN, 34:34
95. Carlos Canny, LAN, 38:42
Women’s U-18/U-20 10K Freestyle
1. Aurora Cramer, Sun Valley SEF, 27:07
18. Kaykay Sandall, LAN, 30:35
20. Kate Wilmot, LAN,30:53
21. Shayla Babits, LAN, 31:01
31. Krya Simonson, LAN, 33:03
29. Magdalena Escudero-Kane, LAN, 35:04
46. Rebecca Whiting, LAN, 37:27
48. Meesha Prine, LAN, 38:12
60. Rebecca Brough, LAN, 41:32
Men’s U-16 5K Freestyle
1. Wyatt Landon, Bridger Ski Foundation, 11:56
5. Bennett Hutchison, LAN, 12:26
Women’s U-16 5K Freestyle
1. Cora Faye Scott, Sun Valley SEF, 13:22
8. Ameya Eddy, LAN, 14:19
13. Anika Wilmot, LAN, 14:51
20. Emily Anderson, LAN, 15:04
34. Lizzie Whiting, LAN, 16:27
48. Audre Bravehart, LAN, 18:48