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Darien’s Scott Nelson skied to two top 10 finishes at the Sprint US Freestyle National Championships held at Stratton, Vermont VT on March 23-25. This event featured the top freestyle skiers in the country, including the US Ski Team.

Nelson placed ninth in the moguls event, which was won by US Ski Team member Jeremy Cota, who finished the year ranked third in the world. In the dual mogul event, Nelson placed seventh, losing an exciting dual to Cota in the quarterfinal round.

Scott, age 20, is a sophomore at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. He was formerly a student at Darien High School and graduated from the Holderness School in Plymouth, NH.

The event will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network on Saturday.

For more information on the event, visit www.ussa.org.

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By Dr. Robert Weiss

The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s greatest sporting events. It is far more punishing then the Olympic Marathon. The elite field has been announced for the 2012 Boston Marathon taking place on Monday, April 16 (Patriot’s Day).

As a veteran of 35 marathons, 19 of them being Boston Marathons, I’ve always found it to be the “granddaddy” of all marathons.

Marathon day goes something like this: Everyone boards buses the morning of the race bound for the small village of Hopkinton (the starting point of the race). A cannon sends the runners off the Hopkinton green at a minute past noon. All runners try to maintain a steady pace through the towns of Ashland (3 miles), Framingham (6 miles), Natick (10.5 miles), Wellesley (12 miles) where hundreds of college students cheer runners on.

It’s all been quite flat up until this point and the mind starts thinking of the famous Newton hill—Heartbreak Hill. It’s the 19-mile mark. I recall one year when a young child handed me his Coke and the sugar absorbed quickly took me out of a state of mild hypoglycemia.

At this point (20 miles out), it is where most runners “hit the wall.”  It now becomes a struggle between an exhausted body and a yet undefeated spirit. Coming up the final hill you can hear the loudspeaker announcing that it is all downhill from here on.

Continuing on Beacon Street, you make your way through Brookline (23 miles) to Kenmore Square, then on to Boylston Street turning the corner where thousands jam the streets in front of The Prudential Center.  Here is the finish line, a most spectacular sight.

Robert F. Weiss is a podiatrist specializing in foot and ankle surgery. He was a member of the Medical Advisory Committee of the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Marathon Trials. Weiss is a veteran of 35 Marathons and has a practice in Darien: The Foot & Ankle Institute of Darien For more information, visit www.therunningdoctor.net.

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Level 8 gymnast Hayley Holzinger competes on floor.

The Darien Y Gymnastics Travel Team traveled to Providence, RI for one of its most challenging meets of the season, the Ocean State Classic.

Top 10 individual finishers in Level 5 included 9-year-old Annsley Martin, who finished eighth with a 35.12 overall score and 11-year old Alexandra Nason, who finished 10th with a 33.70.

Also, in the 12-plus age group, Emma Hinton finished eighth with a 34.525 and Toni Cardini placed ninth with a 35.025.

Other contributors to the Level 5  team score included Elena Savas (highest team score on floor with an 8.825), Gianna Cardini (8.625 on vault, 8.5 on floor), Kaitlyn Moussignac (8.65 on bars), Lucy Holzinger (8.3 on bars, 8.85 on beam) and Jane Ogden (8.175 on floor).

Other notable performances included Lana Schmidt (11th on beam with an 8.85), Octavia Molkenthin (17th on beam with an 8.45), Stella Kamenski (21st on beam with an 8.4), Mackenzie Biele (20th on beam with an 8.625), Wren Stewart (10th on bars with an 8.25). Level 5 placed seventh in a field of 29 teams.

Three Level 6 gymnasts finished among the top 10 individual scorers, including 10-year-old Nicole Carlo (third with a 35.625), Kelsey Fedorko (sixth with a 35.2) and 11-year-old Kellie Arevalo (sixth with a 34.65).

Other notable performances included Isabel Hansen (fifth on beam with a 9.225), Quin Wolters (12th on beam with an 8.825), Tierney Schiff (13th on vault with an 8.5) and Charlotte Henry (fifth on floor with an 8.0). Level 6 placed eighth.

Level 7 gymnast Samantha Gunn finished third with a 34.6 overall score in the 13-14 age group, Perry Mirable placed seventh with a 33.7 and Lauren Chung placed ninth with a 32.775.  Kaly Houston had the highest team score on beam with an 8.9 as Level 7 finished 15th.

Level 8 gymnasts finished fourth overall. In the 8-11 age group, Adnerys DeJesus took second with an all-around score of 33.4. Thirteen-year old Christina Crowell finished fourth with a 34.35, while teammate Jessica Freiheit placed fifth on beam with an 8.6. Fourteen-year-old Samantha Karpenos took sixth on vault with an 8.375. Fifteen-year old Haley Holzinger, Perry Kindel, and Alissa Chan placed fifth, eighth, and tenth with scores of 32.625, 32,3 and 31.825, respectively.  Other impressive performances included MaryPat Murtagh (sixth on floor with an 8.65) and Lauren Medwid (eighth on beam with an 8.275).

Level 9 gymnast Stephanie Klokiw finished fourth overall with a 32.2, and Katherine Mosher excelled on floor with an 8.0.

The Darien Y Travel Team will compete next at the Starlight Invitational in Cambridge, MA.

Level 5 gymnast Lucy Holzinger competes on floor.

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Darien YMCA Level 4 gymnasts salute after receiving their second place team trophy at the 2012 Judges Cup meet in New Milford.

The Darien YMCA Level 4 travel and house team gymnasts competed in the 2012 Ro Carlucci Memorial Judges Cup USAG gymnastics meet in New Milford on Sunday, March 18th.The girls put in an outstanding performance at the circus-themed meet to capture the second place team trophy. Medals were also awarded by age groups for each apparatus and all-around (AA).

The 8 and under age group was dominated by travel team gymnast Christina Pizzani, who won first place in all four events and captured the all-around title with a stellar 37.45 score.

Elizabeth Canelli placed third on vault and bars and fourth AA. Katie Asness tied for fifth on vault with house team gymnast Montana Osinski, who also placed fifth on bars.

Travel team member Juliana Jordao was Darien’s sole competitor in the 9-year-old group, placing second on bars with a 9.4. Jordao was also was second on floor and fourth AA with a score of 36.8.

In the 10-11 age group, house team gymnast Kerry McDermott place third on bars and sixth on vault scoring 9.2 in each event and eighth AA. Lily Fairleigh placed sixth on floor with a 9.1, and Charlotte Juan placed eighth on beam.

Caroline Kiesling swept second place in the 12 and up age group with a 34.45 AA.

Contributing to the team’s success with terrific overall performances in the meet were Sophia Font, Hannah Knight, Tam Hao Nguyen and Devon Schiff.

Darien YMCA Level 4 travel team gymnast Christina Pizzani swept the medals in her age group at the 2012 Judges Cup meet in New Milford, winning all four events and the all-around title with a score of 37.45.

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The Mid Fairfield Connecticut Stars girls’ ice hockey team won the New England Regional 14-and-under Tier 1 Championship over the weekend.

The Mid Fairfield Connecticut Stars girls’ ice hockey team won the New England Regional 14-and-under Tier 1 Championship this past weekend.

The victory earns the Stars a birth in the 2012 USA Hockey National Championships, being held this month in Marlborough, MA.  Players on the team include local residents and eight graders Finley Frechette (Darien), an, Paige Lewis (New Canaan), Meghan Halloran (Darien) and Claire Marshall (New Canaan).

The New England Regional Tournament, hosted in Exeter, NH, fielded the top teams from the New England Region. In addition to the Mid Fairfield CT Stars, participants included the Vermont Stars, the Rhode Island Selects, the New Hampshire Avalanche, the NH Cyclones, and the Stars’ cross-state rivals the CT Northern Lights.

After being crowned the U14 Tier 1 Connecticut State Champions in February, the Stars set their sights on the Regional title and did not disappoint.

The girls went 5-0 this weekend, outscoring their opponents 27-2. They bested the Rhode Island Selects 13-0 in the opening round. They faced the New Hampshire State Champion Avalanche team in the semifinal game and dominated the game from the opening faceoff, winning the game 3-0. The team defeated the Vermont Stars in a comeback win 4-2.

The MF CT Stars will represent New England as the New England No. 1 team and be one of 12 teams from across the country competing for the U14 Tier 1 USA Hockey National Title. ‘Tier 1’ represents the highest level of youth hockey, where top players across the country compete.

The Stars (40-7-3) are currently ranked fifth in the country, according to myhockeyrankings.com.

The Stars represent the girls’ program of the Darien-based Mid Fairfield Youth Hockey Association, practicing at both the Darien and Shelton Ice Rinks. The team is coached by Kevin Cunningham (Middletown) and Stephanie Boulay (Middletown).

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The New Canaan Women’s Golf League (NCWGL) is getting ready for another fun season of golf.

The NCWGL offers an 18-Hole and a 9-Hole group accommodating all levels of play, and is open to residents of New Canaan as well as surrounding towns. From mid-April through mid-October, NCWGL members will tee off every Tuesday morning at the Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course in Fairfield.

Members can play as many or as few weeks as they choose. Last year’s members and anyone interested in learning more about the NCWGL and the upcoming golf season are invited to come to the 2012 Season Kick-Off Coffee on Tuesday, April 10, from 9:30–11 a.m. at the Waveny Park Paddle Tennis Lodge.

Please respond by email to Anne Trinklein at atrinklein@optonline.net.