Genakos Wins NENSA U16 Eastern Championships
Chittenden, VT – March 08, 2020 – Gunstock Nordic Association – Each March, New England’s top-ranked U16 skiers, along with guest skiers from outside the region, gather to compete in four races over two and a half days. This year’s races were hosted by The Mountain Top Inn & Resort in Chittenden, Vermont who set up firm and fast tracks for the weekend’s races. This year, GNA, coached by Nina Gavrylyuk, had four skiers qualify to represent team New Hampshire: Vanessa Genakos, Aiden Bondaz, William Riley, and Patrick Gandini (Gilford High School Team).
After a strong season of NENSA Eastern Cup racing and finishing as the 8th ranked NENSA U16 skier, Venessa Genakos saved her best racing for March. In the weekend’s three individual events, Genakos won both the 5km Freestyle and Classic races and took second in the sprint—netting her the U16 Girls Individual title for 2020!
Venessa Genakos on her way to winning the 5k Classic Individual Start
This year’s competition kicked off with the Girl’s 5k Freestyle Individual Start where Genakos went out strong and skied to a 7-second win out of 109 starters. In the Boy’s 5k Freestyle Individual Start race Aiden Bondaz placed 49th, Patrick Gandini placed 51st, and William Riley placed 63rd out of the 106 starters.
The following day featured 5k classic individual start races. In the girl’s event, Genakos won her second race of the weekend with a convincing 20-second victory over the second-placed finisher. On the boy’s side, Gandini placed 37th, Bondaz placed 50th, and Riley placed 60th.
Later that afternoon, GNA skiers took on the sprint races where skiers tackled a short but challenging 1.5k course. Genakos had another strong race and made the podium with a second-place finish. Bondaz placed 33rd, Gandini placed 59th, and Riley placed 69th.
Each skier’s individual results were tallied for the overall individual titles. Genakos’ consistent top placings earned her the overall NENSA U16 2020 title!
Venessa Genakos wins the overall title
The final day featured the 4x3k mixed (2 girls and 2 boys) team state relays. Genakos contributed a very fast classic leg, helping her team (team NH-1) place 2nd out of the 51 state relay teams. Gandini was paired with three other New Hampshire skiers (team NH-3) and placed 5th. Bondaz was also paired with three other New Hampshire skiers (team NH-5) and placed 26th, while Riley’s team (team NH-9) placed 42nd.
Start line from Sunday’s relays
Each skier’s results and their relay scores contributed towards the state team totals. This year, team New Hampshire finished third out of the five participating states (VT, ME, NH, and NY). Congratulations to the GNA skiers for their great performances!
Vanessa Genakos 2020 U16 Champion
2020 Team New Hampshire