RIPTON — Top-10 finishes by seniors Mac Groves and Lydia Allen highlighted the efforts by the Middlebury Union High School Nordic ski team in cold conditions on Monday, when the Tigers hosted the Middlebury Classic at Ripton’s Rikert Nordic Center.
Groves took third in the boys’ 5-kilometer classic race in 17:23, 26 seconds behind the winner, Rutland’s Issac Wright (16:57). Champlain Valley’s Forrest Hamilton took second in 17:01. Junior Max Livingstone-Peters was the next Tiger across the finish line, taking 21st in 20:07.
Allen claimed ninth in the girls’ 5K in 22:30. In that event, CVU’s Taylor Spillane outdueled Rutland’s Chloe Evans for first by three seconds, 19:36-19:39. Tiger freshman Sophie Hodges was 11th in 22:34, four seconds out of the top 10.
The CVU teams won both the boys’ and girls’ races. Spillane led a dominant CVU performance on the girls’ side, as the Redhawks’ 16-point total left Mount Anthony (54), Fairfax (66), MUHS (78), St. Albans (123) and Rutland (126) far behind.
On the boys’ side, CVU edged MAU, 35-37, in a two-way race for first, with MUHS in third at 94. Brattleboro (100), Fairfax (132), St. Albans (152), Rutland (153) and South Burlington (176) trailed.
The small Otter Valley squad sent three boys and one girl and did not score as a team. OV’s top finisher was junior Nate Mylott, 46th in 23:42, and OV senior Louisa Jerome took 45th in 28:36 in the girls’ event.
BOYS’ RESULTS
The local finishers in the boys’ race were:
3.  Groves, MUHS, 17:23.
21.     Livingstone-Peters, MUHS, 20:07.
31.     Senior Micah Lynch, MUHS, 21:34.
40.     Sophomore Oliver Clark, MUHS, 22:58.
43.     Senior Ronnie Metcalf, MUHS, 23:19.
46.     Mylott, OV, 23:42.
53.     Senior George Mulcahy, MUHS, 25:02.
54.     Sophomore Isaac Roberts, OV, 25:28.
71.     Senior Elyas O’Classen, OV, 35:49.
GIRLS’ RESULTS
The local finishers in the girls’ race were:
9.  Allen, MUHS, 22:33.
11.     Hodges, MUHS, 22:34.
25.     Sophomore Dorothy Punderson, MUHS, 25:12.
33.     Junior Kate DaPolito, MUHS, 26:35.
34.     Junior Nathalie Ingersoll, MUHS, 26:51.
38.     Sophomore Emily Kiernan, MUHS, 27:45.
41.     Sophomore Julia Rosenberg, MUHS, 28:07.
45.     Jerome, OV, 28:36. 
The Rikert Nordic Center early next month will host a snowshoe race that is open to the public.