GG Sprints

First race of the year yesterday - the Atomic Sprints at Great Glen. This is a pretty low-key event - a good way to break back into racing. A good crowd turned out, including Bates and UNH. The snow was nice and fast - pretty good coverage for this time of year. Our team showed pretty well - nothing amazing, but we held our own and looked pretty sharp for this early in the season. Several people won their first round heats, and most of the team advanced as far as the third or fourth rounds. Grace and Colman had the standout performances of the day - both made it to the semifinals.

For some great photos and video by ski team alum Ryan Triffitt '97, click here. For some less great photos by Ollie and me, keep reading.

Spencer cruising through his second round heat. He ended up in a great duel with a UNH guy in the forth round - neither advanced, but it was fun to watch them mix it up.

Colman got away quickly in his second round. Polasky is in third, duking it out with a master skier - they had some near tangles. He got pretty aggressive yesterday for such a mild-mannered guy.

Grace was burning it up in her first heat, headed for a bye to the third round, before crashing on the backstretch. She recovered and won her next heat for a trip to the semifinals.

Olivia and Maren looked solid in their first race effort of the year - they finished 2nd and 3rd in this first round heat.

Nat and Scott got out in front immediately and eased into a second round bye.

Le Monstre de Biscuit. Total domination.

Nick showing good form - nice modeling of the new unis as well. He was loving the one-lap format of the second round and won his heat easily.

Wilson looked pretty good for his first day on snow. He had the misfortune of going out in one of the early heats, before we figured out that the best strategy was to power to the front since there was no room to pass out of the course. He tucked in behind the leader and skied easily until getting squeezed out around the final turn.