RESULTS: Ryan Harris and Deanna Spencer win fast Black Mountain Classic
Sun, Mar 2, 2025 - By Mike Muha
There were rumors in early February that the Black Mountain 30k Classic might be shortened to attract more skiers, but the race went off at it's full historical distance. Tons of snow, but warm weather caused some melting in the days leading to the race 5-10 inches of snow predicted…received 2 plus rain and then a flash freeze down to single digits. Groomers love this stuff…Not.
Some racer comments on the conditions:
- Doug Cornell: "Very cold (7°). Boiler plate trail and shallow track. Skied strong and felt good. No crashes!"
- Joel Heeres: "Tough race. pretty icy...fast downhills. Went out too fast so 5k to 15 k was rough. need to remember technique!"
- Sean Newmister: "Super fast conditions!"
There was over 1,300 feet of climbing (and descending).
2025 Black Mountain 30k Classic Results
Ryan Harris (Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop) won the 30k classic in 1:37:20, his second Michigan Cup win of the season. Harris doublepoled the entire race. Denny Paull (Grand Rapids Nordic Ski Team) was second in 1:45:07, followed by Sean Newmister (Team NordicSkiRacer) in 1:47:06.
Yvon Dufour and Drew Moore were in second and third place early in the race, but took a wrong turn and skied an extra 1.5 miles (about 11 minutes according to Strava). Both Dufour and Moore doublepoled the race as well.
Deanna Spencer (Cross Country Ski Headquarters) was masterful in her taming of the Black Mountain trails, getting her first win of the season. She beat second place Mary Schlimmer Willoughby (Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop) 2:20:26 to 2:21:21. Cross County Ski Headquarters' Mariah Frye was third in 2:28:15.
Says John Gravlin, Race Director, "It truly was an epic day and a very special thanks to groomers Bill Ahrenbers and Charlie Clark for making a respectable race course in the most challenging of conditions.
Men | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Bib | Name | Time |
| 1 | 103 | Ryan Harris | 1:37:20.0 |
| 2 | 101 | Denny Paull | 1:45:06.9 |
| 3 | 123 | Sean Newmister | 1:47:05.6 |
| 4 | 100 | John Gravlin | 1:50:43.9 |
| 5 | 107 | Allan Sorgenfrei | 1:50:52.0 |
| 6 | 135 | Andy Liebner | 1:52:52.9 |
| 7 | 105 | Drew Moore | 1:55:21.8 |
| 8 | 104 | Yvon Dufour | 1:56:21.0 |
| 9 | 106 | Glenn Goodman | 2:01:14.0 |
| 10 | 124 | Matt Meersman | 2:02:35.0 |
| 11 | 119 | Theo VonWallmenich | 2:06:22.0 |
| 12 | 118 | James Beebe | 2:13:04.0 |
| 13 | 121 | Robert Smith | 2:14:00.0 |
| 14 | 129 | Joel Heeres | 2:16:45.0 |
| 15 | 115 | Jackson Tucker | 2:19:10.0 |
| 16 | 120 | Doug Cornell | 2:23:12.0 |
| 17 | 108 | Rick Neier | 2:25:33.0 |
| 18 | 109 | Andrew Miller | 2:34:27.0 |
| 19 | 132 | Nicholas Johnson | 2:36:42.0 |
| 20 | 130 | Mike Appel | 2:37:04.0 |
| 21 | 117 | Robin Cool | 2:38:00.0 |
| 22 | 116 | Tim Spencer | 2:42:21.0 |
| 23 | 127 | Mark LaMoreaux | 2:44:18.0 |
| 24 | 126 | Tom Wernette | 2:52:55.0 |
| 128 | Devan Thiefoldt | DNF | |
Women | |||
| Place | Bib | Name | Time |
| 1 | 112 | Deanna Spencer | 2:20:26.0 |
| 2 | 111 | Mary Schlimmer Willoughby | 2:21:21.0 |
| 3 | 113 | Mariah Frye | 2:28:15.0 |
| 4 | 122 | Sarah Newmister | 2:31:00.0 |
| 5 | 133 | Fenlynn Johnson | 2:36:35.0 |
| 6 | 131 | Wendy Anderson | 2:53:25.0 |
| 7 | 110 | Katie Harris | 3:29:00.0 |
| 8 | 125 | Gwen Stevenson | 3:52:15.0 |