Sports Report – Feb. 20, 2020

Nordic skiers double their efforts
This time of year Nordic skiers split their time between high school and New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) events, and some skiers participated in both. Most of the higher performing racers choose NENSA, which has four Eastern Cup races and one high school-specific State Race. The State Race was held in Rumford, Maine, on Feb. 8 and 9.

The Eastern Cup two-day races feature classic and skate techniques. The age groups are under 20, under 18 and under 16; if racers score well enough, a select few will qualify for the Junior Nationals and represent New England.

In the NENSA Vermont Championships in the U18 Girls Classic and the U18 Girls Skate, the Mittelstadt sisters, Finn and Isabelle, finished in the top 25. Finn won the U16 Girls Classic and was 2nd in the U16 Girls Skate. She and her sister were named to the U18 Girls Vermont Elite team, and Finn was also named to the U16 Girls Vermont Elite team. The elite teams will represent Vermont in the New England Championships.

In the U18 Boys Classic, Gus Lunde placed 32nd, Skyler Heininger, 52nd, and Conner Falk, 78th. Sam Holmes placed 26th in the U16 Boys Classic and in the U16 Boys Skate. In the U18 Boys Skate Heininger placed 30th, with Lunde in 36th and Falk in 77th.

Alpine Skiing
St. Michael’s College senior Colby Jordan from Charlotte placed 36th in the slalom race at the Bates College Carnival on Feb. 7 and 8.

Redhawk women’s basketball undefeated season nearly ends
Tied 42–42 at the end of the third quarter, it took CVU women’s basketball team a 21-point fourth quarter to top Essex, 63–46. Leading Redhawk scorers were Mekkena Boyd with 21 points and Catherine Gilwee with 19 points, five of which were three pointers. Key to CVU’s victory was switching from man-to-man to a zone defense at the start of the fourth quarter. CVU remained undefeated with 14 wins, having overcome Rice 60–33 the previous week.

CVU gymnasts win second state title in last three seasons
Behind the strong comeback from Tali Giubardo, who missed last season recovering from a serious vertebrae injury, the Redhawks topped second-place Essex by five points, 143–139, to win the state championship. Tali was the leading individual, winning the all-around title and floor title, placing 4th in the vault, 4th on the bars and 3rd on the beam. Laurynn Bombardier won the vault with Delaney Miller-Bottoms placing 7th. Taylor Hoar placed 5th and Miller-Bottoms tied for 6th on bars. Miller-Bottoms was 2nd in the beam, Hoar, 4th, and Logan Claffy, 5th. In floor exercises Claffy finished 3rd, Bombardier took 4th, and Hoar tied for 6th.