Ramsey top MWSC athlete at National Championships
RUMFORD — Welly Ramsey of New Sharon led the Maine Winter Sports Center’s cross-country squad through the final two races at the U.S. National Cross-Country Skiing Championships at Black Mountain of Maine.
Ramsey used solid classic technique and excellent mental focus to earn his first two top-15 finishes at the contest. Following the week of racing, he now sits in the top-20 on both the U.S. SuperTour sprint and distance rankings.
Photo courtesy of FlyingPointRoad.com
Welly Ramsey of the Maine Winter Sports Center relaxed and fast in qualifying at the 1.6km U.S. National Classic Sprint in Rumford last week.
In Friday’s 30km mass start classical race, Ramsey was seeded 50th in a field of nearly 100. He wasted no time in outstripping his seed. Within the first two kilometers, Ramsey had firmly established himself in the lead pack of 30 racers.
Teammate Mike Lessard of Greene also bridged the gap from the back half of the field to the top-30. As the pace heated up on the 4th and 5th of 9 laps, Lessard lost contact with the group. Ramsey, however, stepped calmly around those falling back and continued to maintain contact with the lead until just 19 racers remained. At the opening of the 7th lap, eventual winner Noah Hoffman blasted away from the pack, immediately transforming the chase into a string of racers hanging on for dear life. As competitors withered under the strain, Ramsey continued to pick his way through all the way to an eventual 14th place finish—by far his best career distance race.
In Saturday’s classical sprint, Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield led the MWSC crew in qualifying with a 16th place effort. The qualifying round marked McNamee’s personal best result in classic technique at the national level. Ramsey followed her effort up with a 21st place in qualifying. Lessard followed just 3 seconds back of Ramsey, unfortunately the effort left him just out of qualifying in 33rd place.
During the head to head heats in the afternoon, both Ramsey and McNamee finished 4th in their quarterfinals. McNamee earned a final placement of 19th on the day. Ramsey was bumped up to 14th after David Norris, the original third place finisher in Ramsey’s heat was disqualified for a technique infraction. With the eventual disqualification of Torin Koos, as well, Ramsey finished the day listed in 13th place.
