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The 2026 Roy Varney Hornet Classic was held on Saturday, January 11th at the Maine Outdoor Wellness Center in Turner. It was held at the venue that Roy dreamed of.
Roy passed away in 2019 and was a state champion Nordic skier at Leavitt Area High School in Turner. Roy wanted to create a space at the North Farm where he could train for Biathlons year-round.
The Roy Varney Hornet Classic is a 5K Classical race with two laps on the MOWC racecourse. This year, there were 81 girl competitors, 21 girls’ teams, 111 boy competitors, and 23 boys’ teams. There were also over 150 spectators who cheered and watched the race and visited the venue.
In the girls’ race, Clara White of Orono was the winner with a time of 16:53.6. In second place was Mallory Raymond of Gould Academy with a time of 17:38.1. In third place was Brynn Newsom of Gould Academy with a time of 19.04.0. In the boys’ race, Damon Rucci of Leavitt was the race winner with a time of 17:43.2. In second place was Daire Woodruff of Brunswick with a time of 17:51.3. In third place was Sam Morrison of Portland with a time of 18:12.7. The Gould Academy girls and the Greely boys were the team winners.
The race was organized by the Leavitt and Edward Little Nordic ski teams with over 25 parents and adults volunteering for the race. Volunteers helped with registration, the start line, the finish line, on course, stadium set-up, waxing, and clean up.
On the Tuesday night before the race, team members shoveled snow onto the course for 2 1/2 hours. There were also two big tractors with snow blowers putting snow onto the course in the fields.
It was a very successful race day thanks to the help of many. With warm air and interesting snow, it was the first time that the Saturday event was held at the MOWC.
