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.

SLU Skate & Rumford EC

Saturday's skate race was one of the best performances by our team in a long time - every single athlete raced well. Hannah led the way with a 22nd place finish, the best result I can recall by a Bowdoin first-year woman. Niko was our top male skier in 34th, just 4 seconds from the top 30 - nice PR for him. Both Niko and Hannah skied smart races, conserving energy in the pack and gradually moving up throughout the race. Actually, pretty much everyone on the team skied a smart race - I was amazed to see how relaxed everyone was, even while racing hard. It's incredibly gratifying to see how thoroughly they've absorbed my nagging. A couple folks had some bad breaks - Sanville had a big crash and a broken pole, while Scott had a pair of pole mishaps as well. Nonetheless, both gave a great effort to ski their way back into the race and end with respectable finishes. Sanville, Wilson, Matt, and Polasky all ended up with PRs, and Maren also skied her best college race by far. A great day - I wish they could all be this good. I'm confident that we'll have a few more like that before the season's over.

We also had 3 skiers racing in the Rumford Eastern Cups - Jeff, Erin, and Spencer. Saturday's classic sprint was tough - weird conditions and tricky waxing. Like the carnival team, they bounced back with decent results in Sunday's skate race. Erin had the race of the day, finishing 24th among a strong group of juniors and some fast seniors. Full results from the weekend here.

Here's a photo of Erin from Steve Fuller at Flying Point Road.

Hannah and Emma went up to Rumford yesterday to cheer on both their teammates and their younger sisters.

SLU Classic

The start of this year looked a lot like the end of last year - very messy classic waxing conditions. We had beautiful hard wax conditions yesterday and beautiful klister conditions this morning after last night's rain. Things didn't get weird until the race was about to start - perfect! Warming, then cooling; raining, then snowing, then not snowing, then snowing again... very challenging. Finding a wax combo that worked on all parts of the course was rough - it was slick down low, sticky up high, and constantly changing. Once again, zero/multi skis were the ticket, and most of the top finishers used them. Like most teams, we had limited success with the waxing - lots of clumping. A difficult day for athletes and coaches alike. Nonetheless, there were some bright spots - Matty and Dan had perhaps their best college races ever, and Scott and Wilson were solid on their multi skis. Hannah posted one of our best women's finishes of the last few years in spite of struggling with the same wax issues as most of our skiers - 37th EISA skier (we had a lot of guest skiers today). The team did a great job of staying positive, and we're all eager to get back at it tomorrow.

Lake Placid

After much driving, we're in Lake Placid now - season starts tomorrow with the SLU Carnival. Today was gorgeous and the conditions are perfect! The team is in good health and looking fit - I can't wait to see what these guys can do.

Here are the ladies in the stadium at Mt. Van Hovenburg:

Weekend Racing

Lots of racing this weekend - the last chance for a tune-up before the start of the college season. We had a number of people in various races - highlights were Spencer's 7th place finish at the Jackson Crit and Hannah's 9th at the Bogburn (just 3 seconds from a pair of the coveted Bogburn tights), both against competitive fields with a lot of college racers. Here are some links to results:

Bogburn - Hannah and Rainer

Jackson Collegiate Weekend - Spencer, Erin, and Grace

City of Lakes Pre-Loppet - Niko and Jeff. There's a nice set of photos for this race - check out #86 for a picture of Timmy Piehler '01 in the most horrifically bad race suit ever made, the late 90s Bowdoin race uni.

The real thing starts this weekend with the SLU Carnival at Lake Placid - stay tuned!

Olympic Trials - IBU Cup

This morning was the second race of the Olympic trials, a 10k sprint in Altenburg, Germany. Conditions were rough - windy with several inches of fresh snow on the course. Walt was the 4th American and 69th overall - results here. Not a bad place in a competitive international field, but not quite enough to qualify for the pursuit tomorrow (top 60). His skiing was pretty strong, but ironically it was his shooting that was just a bit off (along with half the field - it was a terrible day for shooting). Without another shot at racing tomorrow, Walt won't have another chance to improve his standings among the US Olympic contenders - sadly, this looks like the end of the road, although no final decisions have been made. The team selections will be announced in the next couple days. I talked to Walt today - he's disappointed by the sudden and somewhat anticlimactic ending to his Olympic quest, but he's coming to grips with it. He trained both hard and smart this year, and he's in the best shape of his life at exactly the right time. "I did everything I could," he said. "In the end, it just wasn't enough." That's tough to accept, but there's also a certain comfort in knowing that you gave your best. There's nothing to regret, and that's a good way to go out. We're all so proud of you, Walt!

Biathlon Trials - First Race

The Olympic Trials got underway today with a 10k time trial - results here. Walt ended up 5th - not a great day. Looks like his skiing and shooting wasn't bad, but the guys ahead of him were just a bit sharper - not much room for error at this level. Selections are based on the best 2 of 3 races, so he'll have a chance to get back into it this weekend.

Biathlon Olympic Trials This Week

Walt has been in Germany for the past couple weeks getting ready for the final round of the Olympic Trials, which start tomorrow. This MWSC press release gives a full description of the trials process. I'll post updates as soon as I know anything - for now, nothing to do but cross our fingers. Good luck Walt!

Sanville Crash

A few of our Minnesotans raced in the Twin Cities Championships last weekend. Chris was involved in a spectacular crash at the start of Saturday's 10k classic (I know what you're thinking, but no, it wasn't his fault). Here's a link to some great photos - watch and enjoy. To find Chris amidst the blizzard of gear and bodies, look for the red boots. Remarkably, he recovered for a half-decent result and then had a great finish in Sunday's skate. Jeff and Dan raced the skate as well - results here.

Hannah also had a good race this weekend at the Mt. Hor Hop - sparsely attended but competitive. Results here.

Happy New Year!

2010 is off to a good start here in Brunswick - we're getting a nice snowstorm as I write this. The early forecasts were pretty exciting - STORM OF THE CENTURY! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!! Not surprisingly, this turned out to be hyperbole, but we're getting snow, and that's good. Modest snowfall so far, but it's starting to pile up - here's the view from my front door:

It's supposed to snow throughout the rest of the weekend, and temps should stay cold next week. Pineland is in great shape, and it'll be even better by the time the storm's over - things are looking good for the team's return to campus on the 11th. In the meantime, there's plenty of training and racing to be done in the last few days of break. I'll post reports when I get them.