TUPPER LAKE – Taylor Craig, daughter of 1980 Miracle on Ice goaltender Jim Craig, scored the winning goal and added four assists to lead New York City to a 5-2 victory over Saratoga in the gold medal game of the Empire State Winter Games.

Cherie Stewart added a hat trick for the winners. Kaylee McDonagh also scored for New York City.

Craig led a come-from-behind victory at the Tupper Lake Civic Center as Saratoga jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage on a pair of goals by Erin Fleury in the first period. But the skaters from the Big Apple regrouped and knotted the score at 2 entering the final period.

Saratoga was awarded the silver medal, while Adirondack defeated Central New York, 2-0, for the bronze medal. After a scoreless opening period, Alyssa Parke and Katelyn Fairfield-Dahlin staked Adirondack to the lead that would hold up the rest of the contest. Christina Emery stopped 15 shots in the victory.

Meanwhile in the 12U tournament, Potsdam spotted defending champion Hamburg an early 2-0 lead, before coming back to dethrone the 2015 ESWG champion in the gold medal game with a 3-2 win.

Kennedy Emerson scored twice in the final period, including the game-winning marker for Potsdam. Teammate Kennedy Wilson scored for the eventual gold medalists after Hamburg’s Mia Hlasnick found the net twice in the first period.

The bronze medal in the 12U division was won by Chazy, 4-2, overcoming a 59-save outing by Central New York goaltender Ashley Carr.

Perri Cronk and Madison Derry gave Central New York a 2-0 advantage after one period, but Abigael Lebrun and Taylor Heywood knotted the count heading into the final stanza. Reylen Giroux netted the deciding goal and then Lebrun finished the scoring with an empty netter.

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BIG AIR

MALONE On a night of amplitude and attitude, big air made its Empire State Winter Games debut over the weekend at Titus Mountain. It was also the coming out party for the facility as an ESWG venue, and to mark the occasion, snow crews blew some two million cubic yards of man-made snow.

With hundreds of fans gathered around the competition site and in the base lodge on an ideal winter night, skier Jake Pritchard and snowboarder Joel Massariol won their respective divisions. A total of 22 athletes stoked not only Titus Mountain’s regular Saturday night crowd, but the hundreds of additional fans that were attracted by the ESWG new-school athletes.

Pritchard, a 17-year-old from Old Forge, scored 79 points to outdistance Garrett Finn, of Andover, Massachusetts, for the gold medal. Finn had 67.75 points, with bronze medal winner Justin Pasculano, of Boston, accumulating 67 points.

Massariol, of Wakefield, Quebec, came through the competition with 74 points to best Justyn Patenaude, of Piedmont, Quebec, who had 73 Dale Mortensen, of Saranac Lake, grabbed the bronze medal with 70 points.

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LUGE

LAKE PLACID – More than 50 luge racers, ranging in age from youth to youth gone by, made the annual Empire State Winter Games pilgrimage to Mount Van Hoevenberg this weekend to tackle one of the sport’s most technically difficult tracks.

It started with youth A men where Zach DiGregorio of Medway, Massachusetts traded fast runs with Garrett Gorsch of Park City, Utah. At the end of the two legs, Gregorio emerged just 0.08 of a second faster over two runs.

The winner posted two runs totaling 1 minute, 31.125, while Gorsch, the first heat leader, took the silver medal in 1:31.206. Bronze went to Dana Kellogg of Williamsburg, Massachusetts in 1:32.345.

Emily Eckert of Jay won the youth A women’s division in a two-heat time of 1:31.829. The first run leader withstood a rally by Emily Cetin of Barre, Vermont, who closed quickly by posting the fastest second run, only to fall 0.09 of a second short in 1:31.920. Third place was taken by Camille Johnson of Columbia, Maryland, in 1:32.342.

The youth B women’s event went to Selena Jeskanen of Peru. Jeskanen had the two fastest runs of the race for a combined 1:32.997. The silver was collected by Elana Morrison, of Twin Lake, Michigan, with a time of 1:33.190, followed by Haley Powers, of Washington, D.C., in 1:34.846.

Noah Boggess raced away from the youth open men’s field with two runs that gave him nearly a one second victory. Boggess, of Montague, Michigan, registered a total of 1:32.907. Eamonn Bottger, of Burlington, Vermont, was the silver medalist in 1:33.849, followed by bronze medal winner Sam Eckert, of Jay. Among the fastest starters in the field, Eckert’s heats totaled 1:33.854.

Sydney Axton won the junior women’s event by over 0.8 of a second. The Port Byron luge racer had the fastest runs of the event, totaling 1:31.294. Katherine Bishop, of Carlisle, Mass., was the runner-up in 1:32.130, followed by Sophie Kirkby, of Ray Brook, with the best starts, in 1:32.577.

And in the tightest race of the day, Matt Gannon raced to the top of the field in the ESWG Masters division. Gannon, of Lake Placid, edged Jim Murphy, of Brookline, N.H., by a scant 0.012 of a second over the two trips. Gannon, who is employed at the venue, clocked 1:30.832 to Murphy’s 1:30.844. The bronze medal was taken by Jeff Stratton, of Brooklyn,in a time of 1:31.009.

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BIKE CROSS

SARANAC LAKE – The second day of the Empire State Winter Games winter bike schedule produced the first-ever Bike Cross event at Mount Pisgah.

The race, a combination of boarder cross and bike riding, pitted snow bike and mountain bike riders together from across the Northeast and Canada in a fun, spectator-friendly joy-ride of a race from the top of Mount Pisgah to the bottom.

Ex-World Cup racer and Super D National Champion Seamus Powell, 26, of Round Top, and Lauren Peterson, 33, of Farmington, Connecticut, won the men’s and women’s brackets, respectively.

Both took home prize money and Cape Air round trip airline tickets from Saranac Lake to Boston.

Fans enjoyed the action of cyclists riding jumps, whoops, rolls and bank turns from the top of the course to the bottom.

“That was more fun than I can remember having on a bike,” Powell said. “I’m coming back for sure.”

Bill Colbert, of Utica, finished right behind the gold medalist, with Michael Fowler of Modena, taking the bronze medal.

Rosanne Van Dorn of Lake Placid was the silver medalist and Emily O’Mahony of Saranac Lake third to complete the podium.

The event employed the same rules as boarder cross with an open course practice, followed by one-at-a-time qualifying runs with the fastest getting to choose their lane. After being seeded in heats of four, the top two finishers in each heat moved on to the next rung.

Saranac Lake’s Grant Eckardt, 14, was one of two visible crowd favorites as four-across heat racing reduced the field from 16 down to four finalists. But in the last of his semifinal runs, Eckardt threw a chain and crashed out.

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CROSS COUNTRY BIKE

SARANAC LAKE – The Empire State Winter Games crowned its first medalists Friday in one of its new events, winter bike cross country, held at Mount Pisgah.

The small but strong field of cyclists conquered an ever-changing course that featured the best of all cross country course elements, including single-track, double-track, climbing and a speedy downhill over a five-lap, 11-mile course.

Tyler Berliner of Richmond, Vermont was the gold medalist in the open division, negotiating the layout in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 19 seconds. The silver medal went to Raymond Willard of Oneida, in 1:09.19, with the bronze medal going to Colin Delaney of Lake Placid in 1:11.15.

Rosanne Van Dorn captured the women’s Open bracket in 1:23.08, followed by Caitlin Skufca of Wilmington in 1:52.13 and Adrienne Gillespie of Rochester in 2:33.33.

A shorter course was used in the U14 category, with Grant Eckardt of Saranac Lake handling the 6.6-mile routing over three laps in 1:02.02.

Despite weather challenges leading up to race day, the well-prepped course and diversity of terrain made for a compelling ride, leaving competitors looking forward to the 2017 event and wondering how to train for it.

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SKI JUMPING

LAKE PLACID – The K Point 20 and 48 hills at the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex produced a day’s worth of action Saturday as Empire State Winter Games athletes literally set sail just outside Lake Placid.

Evan Nichols, of Lyme, New Hampshire, jumped to the U16 crown on the strength of 48 and 47.5 meter jumps on the K Point 48. The two longest jumps of the competition, with accompanying style points, gave Nichols 214.9 points and the gold medal over Aiden Cudhea, of North Thetford, Vermont, who totaled 202.3 points courtesy of a pair of 45 meter jumps. Third place went to Henry Johnstone, of Concord, New Hampshire, with 147.2 points (38.5-36 meters).

The U12 division, also contested on the K 48, resulted in a victory for Tate Frantz, of Lake Placid, with jumps of 39.5 and 40 meters, for a total of 167.7 points. Bryce Kloc, of Clifton Park, jumped into second place with attempts of 40.5 and 40 meters – the longest of the day – good for 163.9 points. Kloc was followed by Cameron Forbush, of Norwich, Vermont, with two jump rounds of 30 meters each and 92.8 points.

Kloc turned the table on Frantz when the U 12 division moved onto the K 20 hill, with Kloc scoring the gold and Frantz the silver. Forbush took his second bronze medal of the day.

Kai McKinnon won the U12 girls meet on the K 20 hill, with jumps of 12.5 and 12 meters, totaling 56.6 points. Cayla Teig had jumps of 11 and 10.5 meters and scored 40.2 points. Both Lake Placid athletes train with the New York Ski Educational Foundation.

Ayla Weale, of Lebanon, N.H., topped Natalie Sisemore, of Sunapee, N.H., in the U12 girls event on the K 20. Weale had consecutive 14.5 meter jumps for 77.7 points, while Sisemore went 11.5 and 12 meters and collected 62.8 points.

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NORDIC – FREESTYLE

LAKE PLACID – Owen Putnam, of Round Lake, and Elizabeth Izzo, of Lake Placid, were the overall male and female winners Friday in the 2.5-kilometer cross-country freestyle race at the Empire State Winter Games.

On a course of manmade snow at the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, Putnam sprinted home in 3 minutes, 16.7 seconds, less than two seconds ahead of Aaron Huneck, of Rexford. The bronze medalist was Alex Benway, of Saratoga Springs, in 3:20.8 in a field of 45 men. Putnam and Huneck also finished 1-2 among U18 males.

Izzo topped the field of 17. She was timed in 3:40.6 and comfortably held off Alyssa Dausman, of Saratoga Springs, by 13 seconds. Emily Cromie, of Gloversville, was another 19 seconds back, and completed the course in 4:12.5.

Sylvie Linck, of Saranac Lake, won the U14 girls division in 4:26.1, just four seconds ahead of Marli Damp of Lake Placid. The bronze medalist was Anya Morgan, of Upper Jay, in 4:37.7.

James Flanigan, of Lake Placid, produced a gold medal in the U14 boys group in 3:36.9. Flanigan was followed by Kai Frantz, also of Lake Placid, with a time of 3:42.2. Adrian Hayden, of Saranac Lake, finished next in 3:52.7.

A pair of Clifton Park skiers dominated the U16 female division as Anna Weidmann posted the gold medal time of 4:24.0, with Julianne Burns taking the silver medal in 4:43.4. The third place skier was Madison McGill, of Ballston Lake, in 4:47.0.

The best among the U16 males were two Queensbury athletes. Brian Beyerbach defeated Daniel Manzella by some 10 seconds, as Beyerbach stopped the clock in 3:25.4, with Alex Fragomeni third in 3:59.8.

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BIATHLON

LAKE PLACID – With temperatures in the mid-20s, Joseph Iwan, of Garfield, won the Empire State Winter Games Grand Masters biathlon sprint race Saturday for men over the age of 50.

All biathlon and Nordic events were held at the Olympic Jumping Complex as a result of the venue’s snowmaking capability. The Olympic Regional Development Authority created a 2.5-kilometer ski loop, with athletes using targets that are typically reserved for summer training.

Iwan’s total time of 20 minutes, 5 seconds was three minutes faster than John Witmer, of Williston, with Gary Brackett, of Oneonta, another minute back in third place.

Arthur Stegen, of New Paltz, captured the gold medal among Grand Masters men over the age of 60. Stegen was clocked in 27:22. Darwin Roosa, of Altamont, was second in 28:04.

Eric Hamilton, of Clifton Park, won the Grand Masters 70-plus age category in a time of 35.58.

Eric Seyse, of Scotia,was the Senior Men (21-39) champion in 31.17; Eli Walker, of Jackson, bested Tom Moffett, of Peru, by 1:37 in the Masters Men (40-49); while Gabriella Fritelli, of Gansevoort, was the gold medal winner in the Grand Masters Women (50 plus).

Jordan Nagel took the girls 16 and under division in 25.32; Tyler Koziol, of Buskirk, was the boys 16 and under champion; and Michael Halligan, of Wilton, won in youth 16-18 years of age in 21.47.