Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs skier Jessica Philip led the Winter Sports Club's nordic team at a sprint meet in Aspen last Friday.

Philip placed second in a skate sprint event that pitted skiers against one another in a head-to-head competition.

"The format was something new," Winter Sports Club coach Brian Tate said. "It's different than what we normally do."

The skiers took part in three heats, with the top-4 finishers advancing to the finals.

"There were three heats including the finals," Tate said.

Other top finishers included Austin Ross, who finished third in the J-2 boys division. Steamboat racers also fared well in the J-3 boys division, where Justine Kraus placed third and Paul Rose took sixth.

The J-3 girls were led by Korie Steitz, who earned a fifth-place finish, and Sarah MacCarthy, who finished sixth.

Mary Rose took first place for the J-5 girls and was followed by teammates Emily Stout in fifth and Molly Newman in sixth.

On Saturday, the cross-country team moved to Carbondale for a classic race at Spring Gultch.

The older skiers took part in a 5-kilometer race and the younger skiers raced shorter-distance courses.

Philip collected her second second-place finish of the weekend by finishing the course in a time of 27 minutes and 7 seconds. Tammy Kochen of Boulder won the race with a time of 25:38.

Other top Steamboat finishes included Ross, who finished fouth with a time of 25:05 in the J-2 boys division.

Kraus was second in the J-3 boys division, which raced on a shorter 3-kilometer course, with a time of 14:20. Rose was ninth at 15:46 and Mark Cooper was 10th at 15:55.

The J-3 girls division was led by Steitz, who finished the course in a time of 14:35. MacCarthy was fourth at 16:12.

Melissa Kraus was third in the J-4 division. Emily Metcher was eigth and Ariel Tredway was 10th. Margo Buchan was 11th and Michelle Lichtenfels was 12th.

Bridger Root was seventh in the J-4 boys and Sean Batson was 15th.

Mary Rose was second in the J-5 girls race, which covered 1 kilometer.

Emily Stout was third and Molly Newman was fifth. In the J-5 class, Galen Batson was fourth.