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. It was a 5K Classical race with two laps on the MOWC race course. There were 81 girl competitors, 21 girls teams, 111 boys competitors, and 23 boys teams. There were also over 150 spectators who cheered and watched the race and visited the venue. 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. We also had two big tractors with snowblowers 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. 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.
