FAST Rocks at Senior Nationals

David was the talk of the Nordic nation with his 4th place finish in the 30K classic race yesterday. After his convincing win a couple weeks ago at Besh Cup in Eagle River, I knew he was ready for a good one. He's been top 15 as 17 and 18 year old at Distance Nationals. So top 10, maybe, in the pressure packed Olympic Trials was possible. No pressure actually - he'd already made the World Juniors team, so this was more of a hmm, let's see what we can do. And did he ever!

Kudos to great young skier, hard worker, and a gentleman to boot.

Likewise, Reese (who has all of those attributes as well) taking 9th!!!??? If anything that was more of a surprise. While stronger at classic skiing, Reese has been more of a sprinter. A great breakthrough for Reese, now on his way to the U23 championships.

Not to be left out, Logan, just 16 scored a top 30 in the sprint, race competitively against his peers in the J1 division with a 2nd and 3rd in the 15 skate and 10K classic races to nab a spot on the "Scando" team.

I have been with FAST for only a few months and can lay no claim to their development. Nevertheless it's been fun to watch them grow from promising youngsters to powerful young stars on the circuit. The next decade will be great to see.

Also wonderful to see Tyler Kornfield of UAF break through with a 4th in the sprint, while unheralded Tad Elliot from Colorado copped a 2nd in the 15 K.

Meanwhile, the community has some other youngsters coming up, and the performance of their elder peers this year will certainly be an inspiration for years.