Team Athletic Mentors has assembled a great roster of past, present and future skiers. With the excellent snow season this year allowing for highly competitive and sometimes brutal conditions, the 2014 Nordic Ski Team has been pushing limits, reaching season goals and topping the podium.

Five athletes represent Athletic Mentors this year and each of them took top placements in pre-season events. Alex Vanias, Kaitlyn Patterson and Ryan Harris represent the future of the sport, having combined for five individual wins and one relay win so far this year. Daniel Yankus and Jon Morgan round out the team providing leadership and experience, both finishing with great results, adding a win and multiple podium places to the team’s high success. Combined, the group has reached the podium 12 times in just five races.

The official season began Jan. 18 with the prestigious Cote Dame Marie. The men competed in the 24.5 km freestyle race and the women in the 13.3 km freestyle.

As seen in the picture to the left, the start for the men was quick, fast and crowded, yielding 100 total competitors. Alex Vanias led the race and kept the pace up to eventually win in roughly 1 hour and 16 minutes. Behind him, teammate Daniel Yankus finished 2nd in a close sprint, marking a time just a minute and a half behind Vanias. Ryan Harris finished 6th, and Jon Morgan finished 14th. In the women’s freestyle, Kaitlyn Patterson kept the success theme of the day by winning a four-way battle to the line, making her the victor. Only four seconds separated places one through four. Who says slow twitch athletes can’t win a sprint?

For complete results from the Cote Dame Marie, click here.

Follow the “read more” link to see the summary results from the Cote Dame Marie and the other pre-season events. Stay tuned for more big results from Athletic Mentors’ Nordic ski team! Read the rest of this entry »