Meng, Lustgarten Shine at 2012 Junior Nationals
by:
Nancie BattagliaAustin Meng '15 competed in four races at the USSA Jr. Nationals.
Mar. 19: St. Lawrence University Nordic skiers Austin Meng and Eric Lustgarten competed in four events total at the 2012 USSA Junior National Championships from March 5 - 10 at Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT.
Meng had a superb week at the competition including two top-10 finishes in the 15k Free and 10k Classic. The Truckee, CA native raced the freestyle race in 42:58.3 for eighth place overall and followed with a sixth place finish, a mere .3 seconds out of the top-5, in the classic.
Lustgarten, who won the sprint competition to begin the week, continued to impress with two top-16 showings in both the 15k Free and 10k Classic.
Both Meng and Lustgarten also competed on their respective relay teams for their region in the 3 x 3 Free Relay to close the event. Lustgarten's team, representing New England, finished in fourth place overall while Meng's trio was ninth from the far west region.
"It's really good to have both Eric and Austin at the junior national championships representing St. Lawrence skiing," said head coach Ethan Townsend. "They both skied exceptionally well and it was a great way to cap off their seasons."