St. Mike's Carnival 2018

We blew up the St. Mike’s Carnival!  Best ever Bowdoin Nordic finish in an EISA carnival – 4^th place!  Here’s how it happened:

Snow was thin at Sleepy Hollow, so Saturday’s 5/10k classic was held on a shortened loop with gently rolling terrain.  It was definitely easy enough for just about any collegiate skier to double pole, but not so easy that it was a clear-cut decision.  In the end, everyone on our team decided to go with kick wax – although we knew that many or most of the other skiers would choose DP, we decided that having a little kick would give us the best of both worlds.  It turned out to be a pretty good decision.  Waxing was a bit tricky, but we found a good option and went light and tight with the kick zones – just enough to allow the skiers to do a little stride or kick DP, but not so much that it would slow the skis down noticeably.  This was a situation where application really mattered, and I was super proud of our skiers for being confident enough to choose light kick and accept an occasional slip for the sake of fast skis.  The men got the day started with an excellent showing – four skiers in the top 30!  Elliot 10^th, Christian 19^th, Russell 23^rd, and Orion 29^th.  This alone would have been a great day, but it was quickly overshadowed by what came next – three women in the top 15, and another in the top 30!  Lily 11^th, Renae 13^th, Gabby 14^th, and Ellie 29^th.  Fiona also scored a big PR in 41^st.  Absolutely shocking – I knew these guys were capable of fast skiing, but I never saw this coming.  When the women were out on course, some of the guys told me that we had 3 in the top 10, and I didn’t believe them.  Happy to be wrong!  This was a day where the whole team contributed, not only with good skiing but also good energy.  Sara deserves a lot of credit for the team’s success as well – she was a huge help with wax testing and application.  Kick waxing for 18 skiers is a big job, and we couldn’t have done it without her help.

The next day’s skate race was on a full 5k loop with some bigger hills.  Since it was a no fluoro day, we tested for the HF layer and structure to make sure we had the best possible skis.  Applying race paraffin is more time-consuming than fluoro application, and normally we don’t have time for this on the morning of the race – another thing that wouldn’t have been possible without Sara’s help.  Ian, Sara, and I turned out to be a very compatible testing team, with 100% agreement on everything we tested – that never happens!  We got the skis dialed in and let the skiers do the rest.  The men came out flying – Elliot outdid himself with an 8^th place finish, which ties the best ever result from a Bowdoin Nordic first-year (Hannah Miller ‘17, Midd Carnival 2014), and Christian upped his game as well, finishing 14^th!  Sean capped the scoring in 28^th, with Sam and Jake just outside the top 30 and Cirque (43^rd) and Luca (47^th) scoring big PRs.  The women again rose to the occasion – Renae 16^th, Ellie 26^th, and Gabby 34^th, with the men providing a fantastic cheering tunnel on the final climb.  It was an incredibly successful weekend, with everyone making progress and showing encouraging signs for the future.  The team parents also contributed mightily, with a great spread both days to keep the skiers happy and well-fed.

Everyone’s combined efforts put the team in 4^th place overall (for the nordic portion of the carnival) – our best carnival finish ever!  It’s hard for me to express what a big deal this is for our team.  I’m in my 11^th year as head coach of this program, and the progress has been steady but so painfully slow.  Two steps forward, one step back, for years and years.  We’ve had so many hard-working skiers come through the program, pouring themselves into Bowdoin Nordic and pushing the stone up the hill, and yet as a team we’ve always found ourselves in 9^th or 10^th, sometimes 8^th on a good weekend.  Seeing ourselves up in 4^th is somewhat surreal but incredibly gratifying.  I don’t know what the rest of the season holds or if we can replicate this result, but every single person on this team is ready to try.  Can’t wait for next weekend.