Middlebury Skate

What a day! Sunny and warm - perfect conditions for the last collegiate race of the season. The women got things started with the 15k. Hannah got herself in good position in the scramble and skied comfortably in the middle of the pack for the first several kilometers. She started moving up steadily, picking people off until she was in the mid-20s, leading a train of three other skiers. After a great effort on the final lap, she was edged out at the finish by the rest of her group, finishing 28th - her second-best finish of the year, good for a couple of NCAA points. Erin had an unfortunate stumble at the start and left the stadium in last place - she raged up the first long climb and skied her way back to the middle of the pack by the end of the first lap. The effort came at a cost and she faded a bit toward the end, but she still ended up in 42nd, one of her better finishes of the year. Elissa skied smoothly in spite of an early fall for a solid 50th place finish to close out her career - a happy and sad day. We did have one major mishap in the morning, unfortunately. The Bread Loaf trails are fun to ski but a bit narrow for a skate mass start, and there were a number of tangles. One of them involved Emma and another skier - a nasty downhill crash left her with a broken ski, and her day was over. Still, a solid performance by the women to set the tone for the men's race.

The men didn't disappoint. They'd been looking forward to this race for a long time - as a team, we've had our best success in the mass start races, and the guys were ready for this one. We started well, and at first it seemed like we'd escape without any trouble, but then Chris got tripped up and fell - like Erin, he left the stadium in last. Fortunately, the pack slowed down as the trail narrowed, and he was able to ski his way back into the race. Spencer got out to a fast start with the lead pack - I was worried that he'd gone out too hard, but he was skiing comfortably and saving energy, and he was able to stay on the train as other skiers fell off the back, hovering in the mid-teens. Close behind, Scott and Niko had established themselves in the middle of a large chase pack, and Chris worked his way up to join them. As the race wore on, Scott moved up a few places into the 20s, and Chris and Niko were just outside the top 30. Things were looking good, and I started to get nervous - was this really going to happen? Every time our guys looked ready to fall off the back, they hung in there. As the snow warmed up, skis slowed down, and the hills got churned into mashed potatoes - a tough slog, especially for such a long race. Lots of skiers were struggling and losing their form, but our guys were able to hold it together, and as skiers in front of them got tired, they gradually picked up places. As the final lap began, Spencer had moved into 13th, a bit behind 10-12 but well ahead of 14th - he just focused on skiing smoothly and staying out of trouble, and he held his place to the finish for a big PR. Meanwhile, as the pack strung out, Chris had somehow latched onto a group in the mid-20s, skiing way beyond anything he'd ever done as a college skier. He had the bit between his teeth and had clearly found another gear. It was like watching a runaway truck - there was no way he wasn't going to pass the rest of his group in the final stretch. He came flying out of the woods and up the last hill for a 23rd place finish. Seconds later, Scott emerged in 28th - a Williams skier was closing fast, but Scott held him off for a PR of his own. Niko was right behind them, locking up the top-30 finish he'd been chasing all year. Somewhat overshadowed by all this excitement were fine races by Wilson (44th) and Matt (51st) - a solid finish for Wilson and a nice PR for Matt.

All in all, an absolutely stellar effort by our team. Five skiers in the top-30 - that's never happened before. Not even close, in fact - we've never had more than 2. Also several PRs (Chris beat his best previous finish by TWENTY-FIVE places). All season long, I've known that our team had the potential for this kind of skiing, but I never dared to hope that it would all come together so well. I'm so proud of everyone - what a great way to end the season!

The day's action wasn't over after the race, though - on the way home, a few of the guys (Scott, Chris, Wilson, and Spencer) did an impromptu donut challenge. Perhaps spent from their outstanding races, none of them finished the full dozen, and Spencer had a rather spectacular flameout. Wilson ended up the victor, with almost 9 donuts finished.

So, that's it for the carnival season - it's been a good one. Most of the team will ski the Rangeley Loppet next weekend, and after that we're done for real. Hopefully we'll have some decent snow in March so people can keep skiing through Spring Break!