Stratton Mountain School Wins Hotly-Contested Team Relay

Stratton Mountain School skied to gold in the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships relay Sunday at Craftsbury Common, Vt. Stratton successfully defended its 2017 title in a rematch with Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center, which took silver. Craftsbury Project Green Racing won bronze in the mixed gender, mixed technique event.

Last year Stratton upset APU in Fairbanks, Alaska with a close win. Sunday, Olympic champion Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) was matched up against PyeongChang teammate Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) on the final leg with Diggins leading Stratton to a 13-second victory.

On the opening leg, Stratton’s Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and APU’s Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) were in a dead heat. In lap two, APU’s Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) pulled out to a seven-second advantage over Stratton’s Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.).

On leg three, APU’s Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) put his team back in front over Stratton’s Paddy Caldwell (Lyme Center, N.H.). On the final leg, Randall and Diggins went head-to-head Diggins gaining the advantage and leading Stratton to the win.

“We knew it was going to be tough going against Stratton today based on how they were skiing all week and we knew it would be key getting a little time going into that last leg,” said Randall. “Scott gave us the gap and I was hopeful going into the last lap. I tried to put the pressure on, but Jessie caught me at about 2.5k. She had a bit more and pulled away to take the win. The team relay is such a great event and having three clubs on the podium just shows the depth of the team.”

The back-and-forth between APU and Stratton, with Craftsbury lurking, made for an exciting race for fans and the live streaming broadcast audience.

“We knew that APU and Craftbury were going to be tough,” said Caldwell. “Our goal was to keep it as close as possible for Jessie because we knew we had a really strong anchor leg. We are psyched.”

Recent snow, strong spectator crowds, and excellent courses have made it an important weekend of racing with more to come at Craftsbury. “The course here is amazing, they do such a great job here at Craftbury,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Coach Bryan Fish. “It is so exciting to get our World Cup athletes here racing head-to-head with everybody. It was a super competitive race and great fun to watch.”

Both U.S. and SuperTour titles will be on the line Tuesday and Wednesday with long distance races of L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships. The women’s race 30k classic on Tuesday with men going 50k on Wednesday. Streaming broadcasts begin at 8:45 a.m. EDT each day.

RESULTS
L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships - Relays

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
8:45 a.m. EDT - Streaming begins
9:00 a.m. EDT - Women's 30k classic mass start - national championship

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
8:45 a.m. EDT - Streaming begins
9:00 a.m. EDT - Men's 50k classic mass start - national championship

Streaming Locations
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Facebook
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Website