John Henry Paluszek and Catherine Stow Win NH Eastern Cup Races while Tyler Watt and Aiden Bondaz Score U16 Podiums
Dublin / Holderness, NH – February 21, 2021 – Gunstock Nordic Association – GNA skiers John Henry Paluszek and Catherine Stow scored significant wins at this past weekend’s NH Eastern Cup races. In Saturday’s races, Paluszek took top honors in the Dublin Freestyle Sprints. On Sunday, Stow had her best classic race of the year and won the Cheri Walsh Memorial women’s 5-kilometer race over some of the region’s top collegiate women. In the U16 races, Tyler Watt placed second in Saturday’s sprints and Aiden Bondaz placed second in Sunday’s 5-kilometer event.
Catherine Stow on her way to winning the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup and John Henry Paluszek during his winning run at the Dublin Sprints.
View More Weekend Race Photos Below
In Saturday’s sprint races, Paluszek utilized quick cornering and technical skiing on the fast and challenging Dublin course. The race required a full-gas effort coupled with clean skiing, as his win was by a very tight margin of only forty-nine hundredths of a second!
On Sunday, the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup was held, which is one of the staple races on the Eastern Cup circuit and often draws the region’s top classic skiers. With COVID cancelling many collegiate races this season, several college skiers (who are normally away racing NCAA events) took part in the race, adding to an already competitive field. Stow attacked the course straight out of the gate and won the women’s event by a six-second margin. “I had perfect wax and adrenaline on my side, which made for a speedy day,” said Stow.
Behind every top performance is a strong team. Prior to Sunday’s races, John Henry Paluszek worked closely with GNA Head Coach Nina Gavrylyuk testing various combinations of kick wax. After testing many wax options with Paluszek, coach Gavrylyuk found the perfect combination of klisters, which allowed for solid grip on the climbs and fast gliding skis for all of GNA’s racers. Sunday’s fast skis yielded a win by Stow and three top-five performances from Bondaz, Paluszek, and Watt.
Notable performances from the Eastern Cup weekend include:
U16 Girls Dublin Freestyle Sprints
- Georgia Eckhardt, 12th
U16 Boys Dublin Freestyle Sprints
- Tyler Watt, 2nd
- Aiden Bondaz, 6th
- Henry Stow, 17th
- Alden Townsend, 20th
- Ian Lofblad, 22nd
Women Dublin Freestyle Sprints
- Catherine Stow, 6th
- Katie Watt, 10th
- Mathea Graham, 36th
- Marcella De Nitto, 44th
Men Dublin Freestyle Sprints
- John Henry Paluszek, 1st
- Mitchell Townsend, 22th
- William Riley, 41st
U16 Girls Cheri Walsh Memorial
- Georgia Eckhardt, 17th
- Maria Tilley, 23rd
U16 Boys Cheri Walsh Memorial
- Aiden Bondaz, 2nd
- Tyler Watt, 4th
- Henry Stow, 14th
- Alden Townsend, 16th
- Ian Lofblad, 22nd
- Scott Kulcsar, 24th
- Timothy Craddock, 27th (4th U14 skier)
Womens Cheri Walsh Memorial
- Catherine Stow, 1st
- Katie Watt, 12th
- Marcella De Nitto, 42nd
- Mathea Graham, 35th
Mens Cheri Walsh Memorial
- John Henry Paluszek, 3rd
- Mitchell Townsend, 15th
- William Riley, 27nd
Aiden Bondaz on his during the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup where he placed second and Tyler Watt taking a fast corner at the Dublin Sprints where he placed second on the day.
John Henry Paluszek during the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup in Holderness NH, he placed third on the day.
Mitch Townsend during the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup in Holderness NH, he placed fifteenth on the day.
Will Riley during the Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup in Holderness NH, he placed twenty-seventh on the day.
About NENSA’s Eastern Cup Races
The Eastern Cup Series has been on the New England Nordic race calendar since the early years of NENSA and is considered NENSA’s signature race series, offering competition for BKL, Junior, Senior, and Master skiers. Eastern Cup events also serve as the Junior National Qualifier races for the New England Junior National Team.