GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Quarry Road Ski Club teammates Ellis Slover and Emma Charles both finished in 12th place of their respective age groups on Monday, the first day of the Junior National Cross-Country Ski Championships held just outside of Minneapolis.

Slover, an Edward Little High School sophomore, completed two laps of the 2.5-kilometer course in 14:09.3, which was 31.22 seconds behind the leader. That placed Slover 12th out of 75 finishers in the under-16 freestyle race.

Mt. Blue senior Charles was 12th in the under-18 division and 16th in the under-18/under-20 combined standings. She finished the 5-kilometer race in 15:54.5, more than a minute behind leader Ava Thurston (14:18.9) of Mansfield Nordic Club based out of Vermont. Thurston’s time was more than 54 seconds faster than the runner-up.

Charles’ and Slover’s Quarry Roads teammate, Caden Cote from Messalonskee, was 34th in the boys under-18 division and 52nd in the combined u18/u20 standings. Gould Academy’s Nate Livingood was 19th and 35th respectively after that same race.

The championships continue Wednesday with the Classic Sprint event.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
CMCC PLAYERS EARN USCAA HONORS: The United States Collegiate Athletic Association unveiled its basketball All-American awards Sunday night during a virtual banquet, and players from both the men’s and women’s teams at Central Maine Community College earned national honors.

On the women’s side, Emily Strachan, a Lewiston native, was named a Division II first-team All-American, while Safena Te Nana-Williams was placed on the second team. Oxford Hills grad Jade Smedberg, along with Kierstyn Lyons and Sarah Poli, all earned Academic All-American honors.

For the CMCC men, Corey David was named both a second-team All-American and an Academic All-American.

COLLEGE INDOOR TRACK
BATES SENDING PAIR TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: Elise Lambert and Jordan Wilson will be representing the Bates College women’s indoor track team at this coming weekend’s NCAA Division III Championships in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Lambert qualified in the 800-meter run as the No. 5 seed. The senior also qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2020 before that meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wilson, a junior, qualified in the mile run with as the No. 18 seed.

COLLEGE SWIMMING
BATES SENDING RECORD CONTINGENT TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The baker’s dozen swimmers that Bates College is sending to the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships is the largest group of participants the Bobcats have ever sent.

The women’s team is sending 11 swimmers, matching its record total from two years ago. Among them is Durham native Marjorie McLeod.

Augusta native Nathan Berry and senior Andrew Hall will be representing the Bates men’s team.

The NCAA Championships are slated for March 16-20 in Indianapolis, Indiana.