RESULTS: Muffin Race - over 80 juniors from age 2 to 19, most in costume!

Mon, Feb  27, 2023 - By Mariah Frye

Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for the 30th Annual Junior Muffin Race at Cross Country Ski Headquarters! Plenty of snow, corduroy skate lanes, fresh classic tracks, cool temps and sunny skies made for a perfect day of racing, and over 80 skiers from age 2 to 19 (most of them in costume) took to the race course.

Full results are here: 2023 Muffin Race Results (PDF)

The Junior Muffin Racers - age 13 to 19 - skied a Team Sprint Freestyle Relay race, with 2 skiers per relay team. Each skier skied a total of 3 laps around a roughly 2km course, handing off to their teammate between each lap, totaling 6 laps per team.

Winning the Co-Ed Division were the brother and sister team of Ella and Carter DeBruyn (Team VASA), with a time of 43:45. They were followed by fellow VASA teammates Bronwyn Shullick and Britton Wheeler, and in third was another sibling duo from Crystal Nordic, Joel and Gloria Sobkoviak.

In the Female Division, Mylie Kelly and Ella Gaylord from Crystal Nordic took first, with a time of 47:47. Emma Dykstra and Jorja Jenema from VASA took second, and Kinsey Hintz and Katie Clark from VASA took third.

Coming first in the Male Division and also first overall was VASA team of Ryan Donnell and Josh Kerr, with a time of 41:43. VASA’s Liam Wierzba and Hayden Murray came in second, followed by Petoskey’s Toby Dawson and Jack Lindwall.

There were lots of great costumes, but winners of Best Costumes went to the Milk Man and the two rats for the Junior Muffin division, and Lego Man (Graham N.) and the Sloth (Boden Wagner) won the Mini Muffin Division.

The Mini Muffin races were very well-attended, with 8 skiers competing in the 6 and under division. Sonya was the overall winner, followed by Oliver Wagner and a tie for third place between Sayla Colie and Boyd Barker.

The 7-9 Division was very competitive with 17 skiers, and they skied just under 1km around the Blizzard trail. In first place was Forrest Kramer, followed by Aaron Greenberg in second and Alana Springborn in third place.

The 10-12 Division was also composed of some very good skiers. Winning the 1.5km race was Zack Dunne. In second was Bode Dykstra, and in third was Cash Lajoie.

All racers enjoyed lunch and awards on the sun deck following the races. Junior Muffin podium finishers received handmade medals crafted by local skiers Carole Fowler. All Mini Muffin racers received a medal.

We want to give a HUGE thanks to the enthusiastic parents, grandparents, coaches, volunteers and all other supporters of these junior skiers. It takes a village to raise the next generation of skiers, and we appreciate all the time and effort given to help these skiers cultivate a lifelong love of cross country skiing!