Brynn Davison of Holliston, Massachusetts took home the gold medal in the Youth B Women’s race with a total time of 1 minute, 37.970 seconds. She’s been sliding for about a year and was first introduced to luge through Slider Search, USA Luge’s official athlete recruitment program.

“It was a normal day,” she laughed. “My dad just asked if I wanted to go, and I said yeah!”

Sarah Stefanides of West Chester, Pennsylvania, walked away with the silver medal. In her two runs down the icy chute, she clocked a combined time of 1:38.938. Stephanie Hoylman of Columbus, Ohio followed with a two-heat total of 1:38.992 and won bronze.

A group of 10 athletes made up the Youth B Men’s event. Lake Placid’s Maxim Zayonc eclipsed the field with a two-run time of 1:34.420; trailed by silver-medalist William Roberts of Holliston, Massachusetts in 1:34.587. The bronze medal was captured by Colin Peterson of Columbus, Ohio, in 1:36.050.

Grace Bartlett begins her gold medal run in the Saturday mass start freestyle at Mount Van Hoevenberg during the Empire State Winter Games.(Provided photo — Jack Henry/Newhouse School)

Davison’s teammates, Alexis Mason of Lancaster, Ohio and Violet Clancy of Wayne, Pennsylvania, placed first and second in Youth A Women, tallying times of 1:35.499 and 1:37.254, respectively. The three met during last February’s USA Luge screening camp, an invitation-only event for athletes who have shown potential during the Slider Search or another recruitment event to try the sport on ice. Reilyn Bajus of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania completed the Youth A Women’s podium, with a total time of 1:40.437.

The Youth B Men’s stage consisted of Warren Briggs of Madrid, New York, Caleb Dusek of New London, Wisconsin and Landon Kozik of Norfolk, Massachusetts, who clocked times of 1:33.909, 1:34.854 and 1:38.363, respectively.

The sliders are split into groups by age — Youth A Men and Women (athletes born between 2007 and 2010), Youth B Men and Women (athletes born between 2011 and 2012).

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Moguls

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Stratton Mountain’s Reese Knight was the top female skier during Saturday’s, Feb. 1, during the moguls event, held at Whiteface Mountain.

Racing on the resort’s Lower Valley trail, Knight won both the U15 and overall women’s event when her second run was clocked on 25.43 seconds. That run down the 183.5-meter course also earned her 74.76 points from the three judges.

Moguls distinguishes itself from other Alpine skiing events, as the sport combines balance, style and speed. Athletes take two runs, with the judges taking their highest score. Competitors will take on moguls, as well as two jumps over the course of their run to hit the highest score possible.

Teammate Ella Peddie, the U15 silver medalist, came away with the women’s overall silver medal. Her best run was her first, crossing the finish line in 25.73 and picking up 69.73 points from the panel of judges.

Cassie Monteau, also of Stratton Mountain, and the U13 gold medalist, rounded out the overall top-three. She enjoyed a first run time of 27.87 and the judges awarded her 66.22 points.

Stratton Mountain skiers were just as successful on the men’s side, claiming the top three spots. Shayd Hersh claimed the U15 men’s title and overall gold medal. His second run, timed in 23.89 and 72.15 points secured him the podium’s top step.

Liam Boston won silver in the U15 and overall standings. He failed to finish his first run, but bounced back on his second, skiing down the course in 24.21 and impressing the judges enough to award him 71.80 points.

The event’s bronze medal went to Zach Monteau. The U15 bronze medalist’s best run was his first. He clocked a time of 23.99 and the judges awarded him 70.76 points.

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Nordic U10

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The 2.5K U10 Masters Mass and Dual Start Nordic races were held on the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center in Saranac Lake on Friday.

Todd Carter, 62, of Saranac Lake, took the silver medal spot in the Masters Male 60-64 category. He raced to a time of 10:56.2, just behind James Miller, Adams who took gold in 9:32.1.

William Preece has been volunteering for 21 years. When asked what the Empire State Winter Games meant to him, Preece said, “Just bringing everyone from New York up here to winter wonderland, everyone’s having fun and it’s finally winter, it’s beautiful!”

His son, Will Preece, of Lake Placid, won gold in the men’s U14 category with a time of 8:35.5, defending his title from last year.

Landon Kinal of Albany won the men’s U18 race in 7:22.1. Nathaniel Burke of Altamont took silver with the time of 7:29.8, followed by Keaton Daley of Saranac Lake, placing bronze.

Grace Bartlett of Old Forge claimed the gold medal in the female U14 category, defending her title from the previous year. Cora Hinsdill of Remsen won the U18 category with an impressive time of 8:02. Emma Murray of Gansevoort. took silver with a time of 8:31.6 and Marianne Spyra from Rochester took bronze.

Spyra’s older sister Gabrielle Spyra competed on behalf of McGill University of Montreal and took silver medal in the U20 category behind Abigail Van Dorn who took home gold.

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Nordic 14U

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Firm snow and cold temperatures made for a fast course during Saturday’s Nordic races at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid.

The U14 male 5K freestyle mass start event came down to a photo finish, just four-tenths of a second separated the top three skiers. Will Preece of Lake Placid won the 3.1-mile race in 17:28.3 seconds. That was only .1-seconds ahead of Collin Bellizzi of Honeoye Falls. Henry Hann of Saranac Lake completed the race’s podium, in a time of 17:28.7, .3-second behind Bellizzi and .4-seconds in back of Preece.

“It feels really good afterwards, after you give it your all, it really pays off,” said Preece when asked about how the race went for him.

Cora Hinsdill of Remsen showed grit and determination, winning gold in the U18 10K freestyle mass start race. She covered the 6.2-miles in a time of 30:17.2.

“Just keep at it and make sure to keep it fun” said Hinsdill, the 2024 New York State Nordic ski champion, when asked what advice she had for the younger generation of skiers.

Hinsdill was followed by Kai McKinnon of Lake Placid in the silver spot, racing to a time of 30:35.4, while Raquelle Landa of Clifton earned bronze, in a time of 32:56.2.

Landon Kinal, Schenectady who took gold in the male 2.5k freestyle race Friday night, returned to the stage to claim gold in Saturday night’s U18 10K freestyle mass start. His winning time was 29:01, while Nathaniel Burke of Altamont took silver in 30:24.6. Filppos Kogiantis of New York City skied to bronze finishing in 30:42.8.

Brayden Ashby of Richland earned the gold medal in the male U16 5k race. His time was clocked in 15:27.8. The race’s silver medalist was Liam Stoddard, Saranac Lake who crossed the finish line in 16:24.4, while Will Dziedzic of Fairport finished in 16:33.9 and grabbed the bronze medal.

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Ski orienteering

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Defending his title Robert Graham, from Ottawa, Ontario, claimed first place in the men’s, 21-plus ski orienteering race, held at the Scott’s Cobble Nordic Center, in Lake Placid. Graham finished with 1,420 points and the fastest time, 34:58, claiming gold.

Ski Orienteering is a cross-country skiing event. Athletes navigate with just a compass and a map looking for checkpoints throughout the course. The further away the skier is from the starting gate the more points are earned. The skier with the fastest time and the most points wins gold.

Friday’s race took place in the evening as skiers wore headlamps to navigate the course. The terrain changes from event to event which makes it the biggest challenge. Skiers had an hour to complete this event. Beyond that, penalty time is added.

Graham has been involved in Orienteering his whole life thanks to his parents for getting him involved, “Both of them were actually on the Canadian National team at one point.”

He claims his success comes from, “Staying focused, because you are moving so fast, you have to stay in contact with the map and know where you are and always anticipate your next routes.”

Lake Placid native David Hunter, the director of Ski Orienteering for the Empire State Winter Games, described this sport as, “Going out and finding control points in the forest or whatever as fast as you can, using a map and a compass.”

Adrian Owens of Craftsbury, Vermont claimed the silver medal with a time of 42.03 and 1,420 points, while Eric Kemp, of Ottawa, Ontario finished third. He crossed the finish line in 46.09 and also finished with 1,420 points.