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The 46th Annual Crystal River Race took place May 7th & 8th in Carbondale, CO. Hosted by the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, this race is considered one of the oldest of the school’s traditions, and we eagerly anticipated having our friends come and enjoy the river that literally runs through our backyard. Although open to all, this race served as the final event of the High School Whitewater Cup Series, and at the end of the weekend the Colorado High School “River Miester” and “River Miestra” were crowned based on their overall combined results in the disciplines of freestyle, downriver, and slalom. The High School Whitewater Cup Series was designed to encourage juniors in developing well rounded river skills (thus all 3 disciplines are encouraged), camaraderie, and friendly competition. The Downriver Race was held from the bridge at River Valley Ranch to the spectator-friendly bridge at CRMS. With lower water this year, many of the beginning kayak students from CRMS decided to join in the fun and tried their very first downriver race after only 3 weeks of kayak instruction. Not at all sure what she was actually getting herself into, Florentina Arthuber of Germany, was bravely willing to try both downriver and slalom, and we hope she continues in the sport even after she returns back home. The other beginners also successfully completed their race runs, and we look forward to seeing them continue to grow in the sport and perhaps even become a future River Miester! Impressively, cadet kayaker, Cully Brown, turned in the fastest downriver time of the entire competition, completing the shallow course in only 12:22! In the Jr Women’s class, Lauren Buress (Team Buress) continued her winning streak, followed by strong runs from 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Sammi Cole-Johnson & Sarah Niemeyer, both representing the Dawson School. JP Griffith (Dawson School) put the hammer down in the Jr Men’s class, turning in a time of 13:58, minutes ahead of the others. 2nd place went to Nico Tonozzi of Glenwood Springs High School with a time of 17:37. The race for 3rd was closely contested, with Ethan Cranmer edging out Paul Struempler (both of CRMS) by only 4 seconds. In a class all by himself as a Jr C-1, but with a time fast enough to beat all of the Sr Men as well, Charlie Kieft (Dawson) came across the finish line at 17:21. Nate Lord, head coach of the Dawson team, took an easy win in the Men’s Wildwater C-1. The Sr Women had a very tight & exciting competition for the top spots, with the top 3 finishers all turning in times within 16 seconds of each other. At the end of the weekend, for their overall consistently strong performances in all disciplines, Cully Brown and Lauren Buress were crowned 2010 Colorado River Miester and Miestra. Notably, Cully & Lauren both won every downriver event of the series. We look forward to hosting the various Colorado teams again next year. Many thanks go out to Peter Benedict for all of his time and effort in making the Crystal River Race happen. Thanks also to the high school head coaches Nate, Peter, Denny, Nic, and the many others that help teach, chaperon, and give up weekends of their spring for junior level paddlers, making the High School Whitewater Series possible. Results - May 8, 2010
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