RIPTON — Seven Mount Anthony Patriots helped push Vermont to a victory in the Eastern High School Nordic Championships over the weekend at Rikert Nordic Center. The event serves as the unofficial regional championships.
Team Vermont finished with 31,921 team points over the course of seven events that took place Friday through Sunday: boys and girls freestyle, classic and spring, as well as a team relay. New Hampshire placed second with 30,142 points.
MAU’s Pete McKenna scored more than 200 points in each discipline finishing with a combined score of 603, good for 20th overall out of 109 total competitors. Fellow Patriot Finn Payne, (596, 22nd) finished close behind, as did Riley Thurber (595, 23rd). Silas Rella-Neill rounded out the MAU contingents, finishing 45th overall with 546 points.
Massachusetts’ Quinn McDermott finished with the top overall score with his 684 points.
MAU had three more athletes in the female bracket, highlighted by Tanis White’s 596 points, which landed the freshman in 26th place out of 107.
MAU’s Eden White (564, 38th) and Roey Rella-Neill (524, 50th) also placed in the top half of all competitors between Friday and Saturday’s action.
New Hampshire’s Lea Perread racked up the most individual points, with 695.
Sunday’s combined relay races featured two male and two female athletes per team, and MAU racers contributed in a big way.
McKenna served as the first leg of Vermont Team 3, which finished fourth overall and second for Team Vermont, crossing the finish line in 28 minutes, 59.6 seconds. McKenna started off strong, passing the baton to teammate Ava Whitney of Brattleboro in 6:38.1. Vermont Team 1, which consisted of James Underwood, Great Kilburn, Baxter Harrington and Anika Leahy, posted the fastest of all Vermont relay squads with its time of 28:35.9. Only New Hampshire’s Team 1 of Oliver Wilson, Lea Perread, Matthew Clarner and Eli Englund posted a better time (28:32.9).
Tanis White helped her relay team to a seventh place finish. Thurber and Eden White served as the first two legs of Vermont Team 9, which finished in 23rd out of 52 teams. They were the lone group to feature multiple MAU skiers.
Maine (27,722) finished in third place, followed by Massachusetts (27,117) and New York (13,489).