Fort Kent’s Michaud 4th in Junior Olympics

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Nick Michaud, a sophomore at Fort Kent High School, placed fourth in a 1.2-kilometer classic sprint competition at last week’s Cross Country Junior Olympics at Kincaid Park, good for All-America status in his first national ski event.

Adele Espy, a junior at Waynflete of Portland, was also named an All-American for a third-place finish in the girls ages 16-17 5K freestyle race.

Michaud, who competes for the Maine Winter Sports Center, needed to be among the top 24 in the 14-15 age group after the morning individual start qualifications. He finished 12th to make it to the quarterfinal round, in which he had a top-3 finish to make it to the finals.

Once in the final round, Michaud was edged in a sprint for third place. He wound up 12.97 seconds behind winner Steve Mangan of Honeoye-Falls Nordic in New York.

Michaud, who helped the Warriors win the high school Class C state championship last month, had a solid week with a 20th-place finish in a 5K classic mass start and an 11th in the 5K freestyle. He was on a New England region relay that placed third overall in a 3-by-3K.

Joey Bard of Caribou, who also skis for MWSC, had the ninth-fastest time in the ages 16-17 qualifying round and wound up 12th.

Other sprint finishers included Espy of greater Portland’s Maine Coastal Nordic, who was 22nd overall in the 1.25K for girls ages 16-17. Espy was the Class C state cross country champion last fall.

In the mass start classic races, Espy took 12th in the girls ages 16-17 10K, in which Grace Boutot of Fort Kent and the MWSC was 41st.

Colby College of Waterville’s Peter Rummel was 42nd in a 15K race in the ages 18-19 group. Lauren Turner, who attends Carrabassett Valley Academy, was 26th in the boys ages 16-17 group. Bard was 43rd in that race.

Boutot was 15th in a 5K freestyle. Turner was 12th and Bard 57th in their 10K. Rummel placed 15th in a 10K in his age group.

In the relays, Boutot was on a fifth-place 3-by-5K team. Turner’s relay team was fourth, and Bard was on the seventh-place team. Espy’s 3-by-5K relay was fourth.