SLU Carnival Day 1

5/10k classic at the SLU Carnival today. The event is doubling as a SuperTour, so there was a good crowd of fast skiers on hand. Due to low snow at Mt. Van Hovenburg, the race was held on a 2k loop at the ski jumps - a very challenging loop with lots of climbing. We had a decent opening to the carnival season - results weren't amazing, but people looked solid. Wilson and James led the men - 37 & 38 for EISA skiers, separated by a few tenths - while Kaitlynn was our top woman (39th EISA). Riley had the race of the day, though - he skied smoothly and looked fantastic through the whole race, ending up in 44th, just a few seconds behind Spencer. A great start to his college career - hopefully there's more where that came from! It'll take a little more racing before most of our skiers are ready to put up the results that I know we're capable of, but today was a good start. Another highlight of the day was Walt's work on the wax bench - he's joined us as a volunteer assistant this season. We've never had a 3rd wax tech before - it makes a huge difference! Quicker waxing and more productive testing helped us get the wax dialed in pretty well today. We'll have better skis every race thanks to his efforts. Thanks also to the Kenneys and Longwells for braving the cold to help feed the team post-race - much appreciated after a long, tough day!