Team NordicSkiRacer maintains Brumbaugh Cup lead after Larry Kanaby Memorial

Wed, Feb  8, 2023 - By Ernie Brumbaugh

Back on the roller coaster again – Following the Frosty Festival. The Cote Dame Marie and Boyne Vistas races were cancelled due to lack of snow and the Noquemanon Ski Marathon is not a Brumbaugh Cup race. So, three weeks later the Larry Kanaby Memorial Classic was the next Rumbaugh Cup race. Larry was a cornerstone in the Cross Country Ski Headquarters team for many years He was a perennial top twenty Michigan Cup skiers always besting his rivals with a smile. He lost a long-term battle with cancer a couple of years ago.

Sunday opened around 32F and cloudy for the 12.6 K Classic ski race. Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop left no doubt as to their intentions to maintain possession of the Brumbaugh Cup, putting three skiers in the top five men, Jorden Wakeley, Mike Davis and John Gravlin, and three women in the top seven, Rebecca Davis, Mandy Paull and Heather Compton, winning the race with 48 points.

Likewise, Team Nordic Ski Racer show up in force to defend its lead. Led by Yvon Dufor and Ellen Thompson they finished a strong second on the day with 75 points. Grand Rapids Nordic Ski Team’s Jordyn Ross won the women’s race with Denny Paull and Eric Parrott finishing 2nd and fourth, handily pulling GRNST into third place on the day with 79 points. Vasa Ski Club, Cross Country Ski Headquarters and the University of Michigan Ski Club we fourth, fifth and sixth respectively with 118, 119 and 164 points respectively.

Team standings after three races in the Brumbaugh Cup are:

Brumbaugh Cup Team Scoring 2023

With the cancellation of the Lombard Loppet on Sunday, the Brumbaugh Cup resumes racing in two weeks with the Forbush Freestyle and Hanson Hills Classic followed by the Black Mountain Classic and Freestyle two weeks after that. Needless to say it looks to be a very exciting race to the finish of the Brumbaugh Cup.