Nordic Boys
Gold Medalist: Luke from Asia. Silver Medalist: Aiden from the Americas. Bronze Medalist: Ben S. from Africa
Nordic Boys Race
Kiersten Daigle
(Dedham, ME) It was a treacherous winter day on February 15th, 2022, the wind was roaring and so was the crowd. There was a sharp look in the components' eyes as they took to the snow. It was nordic ski racing time! The line was set and the tracks were iced. There were emotions of happiness, excitement, and intimidation in the cold air. The racers had to complete one lap around the outside track and switch effortlessly to the inside track for another lap to complete the competition. It was every middle school boy contestant for themselves. It was a tough battle. The contestants had to claw their way to the top.
Starting off the races was a competitive battle between Ben S. from Africa and Trae from Europe. Ben's game face was on from the start. He shot out like a cannon and took the lead. Trae followed behind Ben with a rocky start. Ben crushed the first lap with an effortless change of tracks. Trae, still looking bumpy, finished his first lap with still a way to go. Ben ended the race with a time of 3.06 min. Trae with his head held high finished with a time of 4.15min. “The race was very hard because the snow was horrible!” stated Ben S.
The second pair up to the line was Nick W. from Oceania and Luke from Asia. They were neck and neck but on the first turn Luke broke away for the lead. Nick did not give up while trailing behind Luke. Luke still going strong ended his first lap and moved on to the second seamlessly. He took a tumble on the second lap but quickly recovered and finished strong with a time of 2.53min. Nick kept going and ended with a time of 3.34min. “ It was fun and good… he is definitely faster than me,” stated Nick W.
Brody representing Africa and Parker representing Oceania, stepped up to the line as the third pair of competitors. The race started off neck and neck with the crowd going wild! When the first wide turn hit things took a turn for the worst. Brody fell behind instantly with Parker speeding up. Parker ended up finishing lightning fast with a time of 3.50 min. Brody took it slower with a time of 8.04 min. “My competition did a lot better than me, and all my possible competitors did better than me.”
The fourth match-up was Brock and Jack. Brock comes from Europe and Jack comes from The Americas. Brock started off strong and led the way from the start. Jack started strong but slowly lost his momentum and ended behind Brock. Both finished their laps effortlessly. Brock ended with a time of 3.19 min, and Jack with a time of 4.05 min. “ I felt like if I fell less then I would have done better,” Jack stated.
Finally, the last matchup of the day was between Europe's Ben L. and America's Aiden. Aiden started off with a strong lead above Ben. Ben was struggling and fell two times through his run. Leland lost a ski and kept going with a finishing time of 4.29 min. Aiden took the victory with a time of 3.02.
In the end, the podium was stacked with Luke taking home the gold to Aisa, America getting a sliver from Aiden, and Africa getting a bronze from Ben S.
Boys Nordic News Report
By Owen Robinson
On Tuesday Feb 15 the boys nordic took place. The first two to compete were Trae Davis coming from Europe racing Ben Sproul from Africa. Right off the bat Ben S. was in the lead and after two laps around the field Ben S. came out victorious with Trae not far behind. Trae had a time of 4:15.66 and Ben S. had a time of 3:06.78 so they both did very well. Later in an interview with Trae he was asked if he enjoyed it. He replied sternly “NO!”
Next up was Nick Wardwell from Oceana racing, and Luke Monnier from Asia. Luke had the lead right off but fell halfway through. Despite falling he still held the lead and came out in first. Luke had a time of 2:53.0 and Nick had 3:34.75.
Then came Brody Bilodeau from Africa competing against Parker Plourde from Oceana. Right off the bat Parker had the lead. Halfway through the first lap Brody took a fall but got back up right back up and pushed on. Almost halfway through, Brody stumbled and lost his glasses which cost him some time but he got them right back on and took off again. He fell right at the halfway mark and again got back up. but all the falls cost him and Parker was nearly done on his second lap and seemed sure to succeed. Brody was halfway through his last lap when Parker crossed the finish line! Brody then slowly made his way to the finish line. Parker came out with a 3:50.0 and Brody had 8:04.69.
Next was Brock Bates from Europe v.s. Jack Hastings from the Americas and right away Brock took the lead. Jack fell only a few moments away from the starting post giving Brock an advantage. Jack then fell a fair way behind and fell again three fourths of the way to the finish line. Brock won against Jack with a time of 3:19.13 while Jack had 4:05.32. In an interview with Jack he was asked if he enjoyed it and he replied, “Sure.”
Finally last but definitely not least comes Aiden Shulman from the Americas racing against Ben Leland from Asia. Ben L. fell right off the bat at the start. While Aiden took the lead. Ben L. then fell two more times between the start and the halfway point. Aiden then secured a win. Ben L. lost his ski when he was in the final stretch for the finish line but put it right back on in a flash. But apparently putting it on so quickly he didn’t put in on tight because he was only 4 feet from the finish line when the ski came off his foot again. he then kicked the ski across the finish line but non the less he had a time of 4:29.69 while aiden eon with a time of 3:02.60.
The final results were tallied up and in first place was Luke Monier with the gold! In second place with the silver was Aiden Ahulman. And in third place with the bronze was Ben Sproul. In all, Luke took home the gold medal for the boys nordic. “I feel like he's good,” said Jake Monnier, Luke's younger brother, during an interview. That's all for this event. Thanks for reading!