Cully Brown won his Junior division in the Classic Sprint and finished third in a Freestyle race and Wiley Corra won both competitions in his Youth division to lead finishers for the Durango Nordic Ski Club at the recent Western Super Qualifier in Midway, Utah.

The two-day competition Jan. 27-28 is the largest junior cross-country ski event in the nation – more than 650 racers competed, including 31 from Durango Nordic ages 6 to 17. It was held on the 2002 Olympic ski trails at Soldier Hollow.

“We were very excited to be there racing at Soldier Hollow again this year,” said coach Josh Dalley. “It is always the best venue we attend each year as well as the largest and most competitive fields. This year, there is an added bonus to the race, as we will be back here in March for Junior Nationals.”

Brown was the top qualifier and won all of his elimination heats on the first day to capture the 1.2-kilometer Sprint in the Junior 2 Division for 14-15-year-old males. He was third the next day in a 5K Freestyle race.

Six Durango Nordic racers were among the top 30 who advanced out of qualifying to the elimination heats in the Junior divisions of the Sprint on Day 1. In addition to Brown, Haakon Sigurslid finished sixth overall in the male J1/Older Junior (ages 16-19) division. Rachel Hampton and Amy Katz in J1 and Charlie Greenberg and Hannah Peterson in J2 made it to the quarterfinals of the elimination heats.

Other top finishers in the Junior Freestyle events on Day 2 included: Hampton, seventh, J1/OJ females; and Hannah Peterson, 10th, J2 females.

Corra paced Durango Nordic in the Youth divisions with victories in both the J5 (ages 8-9) boys Sprint and Freestyle.

Jordan Taylor finished second in both races among J5 (8-9) girls, and Ruby May was third in both races among J6 (6-7) girls.

Other top Youth finishers for the team in the Sprint included: Cobe Freeburn, ninth, J4 boys; Ethan Craig, ninth, J5 boys; and Mason James, 10th, J5 boys.

In the Freestyle races, Durango Nordic’s other top finishers were: Katja Freeburn, eighth, J3 girls; and Quincy Buickerood, 10th, J5 boys.

“This weekend was a huge success for us as a club.” Dalley said. “Not only did we show our strength among the top competitors in the nation, but we also proved that we have serious racers in the middle who are moving up in their standings as the season goes on. And we have this amazing group of young superstars who are going to be following right in their tracks.”

Other Durango Nordic Club members competing in Utah were Sepp Kuss, Levi Kurlander, John Rhoades, Abe Ott, Gordon Gianniny, Amy Katz, Kaylee Blevins, Lily Oswald, Ethan Craig, Mason James, Wyatt Gober, Carter Kileen, Dylan Williamson, Stanton Ott, Leo Bruell, Perrin Kileen, Marit May, Maggie Wigton and Camryn Sippy.