UVM Day 2

Another cold day at the races, this time with wind and some light snow. Our big highlight was a huge race from Spencer - he finished 17th for a big PR and our best result in 2 years. We've been waiting for the real Spencer to show up all season - he's been tired and borderline sick - so this was a relief. It was fun to watch him racing - he latched onto the skier who started behind him and drafted for the better part of the race before passing him back in the last kilometer. "I just looked at a spot on his bib and focused on good technique," Spencer told me after the race. Perfect. Elissa also had a solid comeback race after fighting illness for most of January - she was 46th for EISA skiers. Several others had good races, and the team as a whole hung in there nicely in spite of a general "flat" feeling - school and travel are catching up to these guys, and we'll need to get some quality rest this week.
EISA Results
Overall Results
Lots of great photos from this weekend - I'll post a bunch of them tomorrow. For now, here's one of Spencer and Wilson from Kurt Kenney:

Thanks to the team parents for another weekend of great support. Photos, food, waxing, cheering - you guys did it all!

UVM Carnival Day 1

5/10k classic at Trapps today - a combined carnival & Eastern Cup race. Another clear and cold day - great for racing. We had a decent showing - not amazing, but some solid performances. Emma had a PR (52nd for EISA), and Niko and Scott were both on today. Rainer had perhaps the race of the day - he was skiing with a lot of snap, and has made noticeable technique improvements in the last few weeks. I was really pleased with how the team looked today - everyone's skiing really well. When things come together, we'll see some great results. Thanks to the parents for another amazing post-race spread - just what the team needed after a cold, hard day of racing. Particular thanks to Kathy Sanville and Walt, who jumped in to serve as wax techs - they were a huge help, and allowed us to stay on top of the waxing for a big group of athletes.

Overall Results
EISA Results

Broomhall Cup 2010

Beautiful day at Black Mountain for the 4th Annual Broomhall Cup - cold and sunny with hard, fast snow. The Chisholm Ski Club crew always does a great job of getting the course ready, and today was no exception - aside from occasional bits of debris in the trail, you'd never know that we lost almost all of our snow last week.

Great effort all around from our team. Hannah led the way for women - she settled into the chase pack and skied patiently until the last big climb, where she made a strong move to break things up. She dropped all but one of the pack - together they caught a Bates skier and had a three-way sprint for 4th - she was edged out by a few tenths and settled for a very strong 5th. Erin in 13th and Jess in 17th rounded out the scoring - both skied smart, relaxed races, moving up steadily throughout the race and finishing strong. This was easily Jess' best race of the season - she's really found her form in these last couple week.

On the men's side, Scott got tangled up at the start and found himself well back in the field - eerily similar to the SLU race. Fortunately, Scott seems to thrive on skiing from the back - he recovered quickly and started picking people off, working his way into the top 10. He finished as the 6th college skier, just missing 5th when he got cut off in the finishing sprint - a remarkable display of perseverance and focus. Spencer and Niko put themselves in great position after the start, but the effort cost them - nonetheless, they showed a lot of toughness to hang in for 7th and 8th. Chris also moved up well and was just behind in 9th. Jeff had an outstanding race as well, finishing 18th - probably the best race I've seen from him so far.

As a team, we ended up in third again, behind Colby and Bates. We're making progress, though - we had more skiers in the top 10 than ever, and Hannah's 5th is our best Broomhall Cup result ever. Hannah earned First Team All-State honors, with Scott, Spencer, Niko, and Chris named to the Second Team. Overall, a great way for our team to close out the first month of the season - we have a lot to look forward to in February!

The Maine parents were out in force today, and they brought an amazing array of foods - so good. Thanks for all of your support and hard work!

Also of note: Walt (along with several other MWSC skiers) joined us for the race - he skied strongly near the front and ended up 4th overall. It was fun to see him race - he's looking smooth, and he should be poised for some good results in various domestic races these next few weeks.

Full Results (these results include the MWSC guest skiers, who were not included in the team scoring or the All-State teams).

Downhill Position

Here's a photo that some of our skiers can learn a thing or two from:

Good basic body position is crucial for skiing downhills effectively. It's simple: knees bent, hands forward, outside hand pointed into the turn, skis edged into the turn. Move your feet. That's it! Marty is 74 years old. You can do this, people.

Still Skiing

Like most of New England, we had a monsoon on Monday and temps in the 40s all week, but we're still skiing. We had to sit tight yesterday while the snow drained, but we were back in business today. Pineland is in surprisingly good shape - the trails are well-maintained in the off-season, so it doesn't take much snow for good skiing. The Oak Hill section in particular holds the snow remarkably well - we had about 4k of nice spring skiing there today. Temps will be dropping for the near future, so it looks like we made it through the thaw - we should be fine until the next storm comes along.

SMC Carnival

St. Mike's Carnival at Sleepy Hollow this past weekend. We were lucky to have 2 beautiful days with stable conditions - clear and cold. Sleepy Hollow is a fun place to ski - classic Vermont, with winding trails, hard climbs, and technical downhills, as well as some gorgeous views. Friday's skate course was one of the more challenging courses I've seen on the EISA circuit. Scott had a breakout race, finishing 29th to score his first NCAA points ever, and Hannah led the women in 37th. Good consistent skiing from a number of other people as well - Wilson scored a PR and Erin had one of her best skate races ever. I think some of our skiers were a bit timid on the downhills, which cost us some places - still a work in progress. Saturday's classic sprint relay was just plain fun (for me, at least - sounds like the skiers enjoyed it too). I was thrilled with how everyone skied - strong and springy and right in the mix with the other teams. The women in particular went after it more aggressively than we've seen in the past, which is really encouraging.

We had great support from a number of people this weekend. Several parents put together a vast spread for us on both days, including DONUTS and other tasty stuff (carrot quiche - almost enough to turn Matty vegetarian). Polasky was sadly unable to race due to a flare-up of his shoulder injury, but he was a tireless wax tech on Saturday. Classic sprint relays are pretty hands-on with regard to waxing, since you have the opportunity to re-wax people's skis after each leg if necessary, and I'm not sure how we could have weathered the madness without Dan's help. Wilson also came up big, jumping in immediately after his race was over to help us catch up on the women's skis. Thanks to all for a great weekend!

Here are a few photos courtesy of Kurt Kenney:

Jeff on one of the many long grinding climbs.

Emma out of the gate.

Maren sporting the Hattonwear.

You can always count on Matt for two things: smooth skiing and interesting facial hair.

Wilson is making a nice comeback from a few months in Peru.

Scott - spent at the end of a great effort.

Jess - always smiling.

The men enjoying a great day at the races.

NE vs. World and Great Snow!

With the number of Maine skiers on our team dwindling, we had to modify our January competition slightly - New England vs. World. Team World got off to a good start with a win in the agility course last week, but New England evened the score by taking the baking competition on the strength of a molten chocolate cake, apple turnovers, and a repeat of the show-stopping carrot cake from fall camp. World's entries - brownies, donuts, and key lime pie - were very well-recieved and certainly would have gotten my vote, but ultimately New England prevailed. World bounced back quickly to dominate Bowling Night, led by Matty B's high score of 174. That left them with an opportunity to clinch the title at today's sprint relay. It was close until the end, but Team World would not be denied. Congratulations to the victors! We still have the scavenger hunt coming up - I've been slacking and haven't organized the challenges yet - so New England will have a chance to salvage some pride and build confidence for next year.

In other news, we have a ton of snow! It's been snowing steadily for the last 3 days, and the skiing is stellar. We should be set up for a while now - kind of sad that we have to leave tomorrow for Vermont, where the snow is much thinner, but at least we have something to look forward to when we come home.

Campus Loop - looking good.

Walt is back in Maine - we ran into him on the trails today. He has some big race plans for the next couple months. He'll be hard to beat with that snappy attire - word is that he has matching turquoise pants to go with the jacket. Never let it be said that biathletes don't have good taste.