In the 100 meters, Caz Couble had the fastest men’s time of the day, finishing in 15.5 seconds to win the 15 to 19 age class, followed closely behind by Carson Wohlers in 15.6 seconds to win gold in the 20 to 29 category. For the women, Brooklynn Shumway and fellow PSC runner Olivia Bobbie crossed the tape in 18.0 in separate heats to record the fastest 100-meter women’s times. Bobbie won gold in the 20 to 29 class, while Shumway won her second gold medal of the day in the 15 to 19 category for the 100 meters.

Brooklynn Shumway again topped the women’s field in the 400 meters for a three-event sweep on Saturday taking the gold medal in a time of 1 minute, 40 seconds. Teammate Chloe Freund had the second fastest 400-meter time of the day with a time of 1:47 to earn her third silver medal in the 15 to 19 age category.

Wes Burkit won gold with a time of 1:25 in the 400 meters for the men in the 20 to 29 category. Given the extremely cold temperatures and below-zero windchill, the three sprint distances were conducted in rapid succession at the soccer field. Although this didn’t allow much time for recovery from the previous events, it completed the morning events quicker so the athletes were able to get indoors and back into warm, dry clothing.

Eliot Soderholm continued his undefeated snowshoe racing season with a superior performance over the Empire State Games 5K course on the FIS-caliber Paul Smith’s College Biathlon and Nordic Ski Center with a winning time of 19:20. The extremely hilly terrain was groomed to perfection. Although the temperatures had not risen throughout the day, the runners overcame the challenges of the rolling steep hill climbs with strong performances. Soderholm won the men’s 15 to 19 age class, while Wes Burkit won the 20 to 29 age class in 23:39 to place second overall for the men.

Snowshoers take off at the start of the Empire State WInter Games 5K race at the Paul Smith’s College Biathlon and Nordic Training Center trails on Saturday. (Provided photo)

Ellie Bryant, 12, from Mexico, New York had a blistering time of 27:39 to top the women’s field in the 5K. Ellie is a strong runner for Mexico Academy and will be a force on the trails for years to come. Ellen Haas of Paul Smith’s was the second woman to cross the finish line in 29:18 to win the women’s 20 to 29 age class.

There was very little rest for Paul Smith’s College snowshoe team as they competed in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival 2K event held at the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center in Saranac Lake on Monday. This was also a hilly course, but the temperatures were about 30 degrees warmer than on Saturday.