NCAAs 2025

We wrapped up our season with the NCAA Championships at Dartmouth last week - some pretty big highs and lows!  We had good prep leading up to the event with a few good training days at Pineland after Regionals before leaving campus and settling into a nice little house in Lebanon.  We had a couple days of course preview and wax testing at the venue, and Dartmouth put on a nice opening ceremony on their campus with a marching band leading a parade of the teams - fun stuff.  The day before the 7.5k classic race, we got some rain and warm temps - not anyone's favorite conditions, but at least it was stable.  The next morning was warm and sunny - great spring skiing, and a perfect chance to break out our warm klisters after a season of racing on nothing but hardwax.  With some expert testing help from Kait Miller '14 we were able to get find some klisters that worked well, and then it was up to the athletes!  Jori started out cautiously and maintained a steady pace - this proved to be a good strategy as other athletes slowed way down after starting fast.  After one lap she was in 32nd, then 28th, and finally 23rd at the finish - her best NCAA finish ever!  Emma started out a bit hotter and was definitely feeling the effects of the fast pace and slow conditions - for a minute we thought she might blow up, but she found some reserves and finished strong in 6th place - our best NCAA finish ever!  With this race, she joined Hannah Miller '17 and Renae Anderson '21 as the third All-American in Bowdoin Nordic history.  In the men's race,  Adam came in with modest expectations after battling a cold all week - he had good skis and his technique was on point, but the energy just wasn't there and we had to settle for 40th.  Even so, this was a great day for our team - we ended the day in 12th overall and 6th place for women's nordic!  Not bad for a two-woman team.

With a day between races, the skiers were able to catch up on rest and schoolwork while the coaches pivoted to glide testing for skate.  Even better, we had some guests show up to make dinner for us!  Debbie Carlisle and the Crum family put together a great meal, and we had a really nice time without even leaving our house.

All of this put us in a good place heading into the 20k skate - the skiers had good energy, we had testing help from Kait as well as Carson Williams '24, and tons of alumni, friends, and family had come out to cheer for the team.  It seemed like we were poised for a great day - sadly, it was not to be.  Adam had made some progress with his cold, and we were hoping that he'd turned the corner, but once he got into the race he just didn't have it - the energy was there, but the breathing wasn't, and he finished last.  It's extra tough to be last in a mass start race where everything is plain to see - this was tough to watch and tougher to experience, but we're still so proud of him for doing everything he could and finishing the race.  Things didn't get much better in the women's race.  Emma started off with the leaders but struggled with the fast pace.  Her legs started cramping and she just wasn't feeling right, and things just kind of spiraled - after two laps, she pulled off to the side and it was over.  Such a heartbreaking way to end an otherwise amazing season.  Jori provided the closest thing we got to a silver lining in this race - her skis weren't great and neither was her energy, but she skied a determined, gritty race and fought her way to 34th place.  It was a great effort by our most consistent skier, and her race gave us one small thing to cheer about on an otherwise terrible day.  It was really disappointing to end the championships on a down note, especially after things had started out so well, but skiing is tough like that - sometimes you get the races you want, and sometimes you don't.  We'll grow from this and come back stronger.  Despite the tough ending, the season as a whole was fantastic - our skiers made so much progress, we posted some of our best results ever, and we had a really great time together.  There's a lot to be proud of, and a lot to look forward to.  Right now we're going to take a break and process everything - it's Spring Break, winter is ending fast, and we're all ready for a deep breath.  Before too long it'll be time to start planning for next year - can't wait to get started!