Another deep freeze at the Midd Carnival last weekend. With a scary-sounding forecast (subzero temps and high winds) Friday's classic was pre-emptively delayed until early afternoon, and we went to bed wondering if we'd even get to race. Fortunately, the winds held off, the sun came out, and we ended up with a beautiful day. It was super cold, but the bright sun and dry air made it feel quite pleasant - almost like a bluebird day out west when you end up shedding layers and running around without gloves despite the temps. Our races weren't as amazing as the conditions, unfortunately, but it wasn't a bad day. H. Miller posted a solid 18th place finish to lead the team, and Shelby and Jake had strong races as well. The team regrouped with some foolishness at the venerable Middlebury Inn that evening - hide and seek throughout the Porter Mansion and a vaguely suspicious sounding activity called Piggly Wiggly. This must have fired everyone up, because Saturday's skate was much better. Jake in particular looked feisty, posting a PR of 46th - good to see him skiing with fire after slogging through several low-energy weeks. Hannah Miller showed some grit with another top-10 finish despite feeling pretty terrible - a race to be proud of. Thanks to the team parents for coming out to cheer on a frigid weekend! Thanks in particular to Meg & Laurie Groves, who hosted the team for a fantastic dinner on Thursday night, and to Everett Marshall for shooting some great race footage (which I will try to post soon).
Once again, there was Eastern Cup action happening alongside the carnival (not at the same venue this time, unfortunately). After the Midd classic race, Sarah took Ellie and Mac over to NH in a final push for Junior National qualifying. Both of them skied well - Ellie crushed the skate race. Mac had a great classic day, and both ended up earning spots on the JN team. New England is the most competitive region in the country with regard to JN qualifying, so this was a major accomplishment. Congratulations to Mac and Ellie for achieving a season-long goal! Very satisfying to see hard work pay off. They'll be headed to Truckee in early March - looking forward to seeing what they can do against the best juniors in the country.
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