In December, MBSEF hosted the first of four Junior National Qualifier Races. JNQs are races where athletes form all over the Pacific Northwest come together for an opportunity to qualify for Junior Nationals which, in 2024, will be in Lake Placid, NY. This first race was hosted at Mt Bachelor and the MBSEF comp team enjoyed racing their first JNQ on their home trails. The conditions were pretty warm, which made it difficult to wax, but MBSEF’s coaches nailed it!
MBSEF athletes had great races that weekend, starting on Saturday with Sophie Corkran, Neve Gerard, Zach Shockey, and Catcher Kemmerer winning their respective categories. Sunday was another great day with Neve Gerard, Piper Widmer, and Zach Shockey winning their categories as well! If we listed the all the other MBSEF names who were on the podium, the list would go on and on. Overall, the JNQ was a huge success for MBSEF’s comp team.
MBSEF athletes had a blast and reported it was fun to see friends from other PNW teams. Coaches from other teams noted that the event was very well organized and was a very enjoyable race weekend, despite less than ideal now conditions. Sending a special thank you to Andrea Shockey and Dylan Watts who are serving as co race-directors for MBSEF’s Nordic events this year. We also want to give a special shoutout to Will Mowry who was sick and not able to race, but still showed up to cheer for his teammates on both days!
The next JNQ of the season will take place in Soldier Hollow, Utah in early January.
This post was co-written with the help of our Nordic Media Intern, Neve Gerard.
