Ava Thurston wins Junior National 5K Nordic race

March 8, 2022 | By James Biggam | Times Argus 

Harwood Union senior Ava Thurston of Waterbury competes on Monday in the 5k freestyle event at the Junior National Championships in Minneapolis. Race photos by Bruce Adelsman at Skinnyski.com.

Harwood senior Ava Thurston collected her eighth individual Vermont Nordic skiing state championship last week and clearly has no intentions of slowing down soon.

The Waterbury athlete placed first out of 136 racers Monday during the 5-kilometer freestyle competition at the 2022 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Junior National Cross-Country Ski Championships taking place this week in Minneapolis.

Thurston crossed the line in 14 minutes, 18.9 seconds to prevail by nearly a minute. Last winter Thurston placed 14th at junior world championships in Finland and she’s consistently been one of the fastest under-20 skiers in North America.

Harwood Union sophomore Julia Thurston of Waterbury skis the U16 5k freestyle on Monday at the Junior National Championships in Minneapolis. Race photo by Bruce Adelsman at Skinnyski.com.

Her margin of victory Monday was eye-popping in a stacked field filled with athletes from elite programs across the country. Wheelock competitor Nina Seemann, who competes for Dartmouth College, wound up second in 15:13.3.

Mount Mansfield senior Hattie Barker finished fourth in 15:14.2 and Cougars teammate Emma Page was 17th in 15:56. Lamoille senior Maggie McGee crossed the line in 27th with a time of 16:01.4.

Middlebury’s Beth McIntosh competed in the under-16 5k race and skied to a fifth-place result in 16:01.9. Craftsbury Academy eighth-grader Amelia Circosta was 17th in 16:39.6. Harwood 10th grader Julia Thurston was 19th in 16:41.4 (the Thurston skiers are sisters); and Craftsbury’s Anika Leahy placed 20th in 16:44.

GMVS star Tabor Greenberg won the U16 boys race by finishing the 5k course in 13:37.4. Stratton’s Micah Bruner (third, 13:49.1) also reached the podium.

Alaska’s Michael Earnhardt won the U20 boys 10k race in 22:02.5. Stratton Mountain School standout Jack Lange placed third in 22:29.3, while University of Vermont skier Aidan Burt was sixth in 23:04.9. Jay native Jack Young, who races for Colby College, was 15th in 23:39.9.

Stratton’s Finegan Bailey placed 19th in 23:45.7 and Twin Valley’s Luke Rizio was 28th in 23:58.6. U-32’s Tzevi Schwartz (50th, 24:49.6) barely held off Middlebury College’s Jack Christner (51st, 24:51.4).

Stratton’s top finishers also included David Sychon (53rd, 24:56.9) and Wyatt Teaford (63rd, 25:07.6). Leading the way for the Green Mountain Valley School were Elvis McIntosh (60th, 25:05.2), Lucas Palcsik (75th, 25:29.5) and Joseph Graziadei (78th, 25:34).

Racers will return to action Wednesday for classic sprints. Friday’s classic mass-start race will be followed by team relays Saturday. The New England squad will compete against athletes from the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, High Plains, Great Lakes, Far West and Alaska.

This story was published first in the Times Argus.