Ok, 2026 has been a lot so far. We started off in Lake Placid for US Nationals - four races in six days. After a couple days of travel, course preview, and testing, we jumped into the races with a 10k classic. Emma picked up where she left off last year, finishing on the EISA podium in 2nd (11th overall). Gillian posted a career-best 12th, with Ruth starting her college career strong in 23rd. Keira, Kira, and Jori were all just outside the top 30. Will led the men in 22nd - he was on pace for a top 10 finish when a broken pole strap cost him several spots in a very closely contested race. Ollie earned his first-ever top 30 finish in 25th, and Beckett (32nd) and Henri (43rd) kept up the first-year momentum with solid races.
Next up was the skate sprint. Beckett broke into the top 30 in 29th, with Eli (33rd) and Ollie (38th) close behind. Emma finished 9th and Ruth continued her hot start in 11th, with Keira rounding out the scoring in 27th. Although we didn't have anyone qualify for the open heats, the youngsters provided some excitement in the junior heats. Ruth stormed through the first two rounds, winning decisively, before settling for a close 3rd in the final. Keira finished 5th in her heat, improving her 27th seed to 25th. Ollie barely sneaked into the heats as the 30th seed, but he skied a smart quarterfinal - he waited patiently at the back of the group before moving up to 2nd on the final climb with a powerful V2 and then outsprinting everyone in the finishing stretch to take the heat win. He used the same tactics in the semifinal and put himself in great position but couldn't quite get past enough people at the finish, finishing 4th in the heat and just missing a lucky loser spot. He ended the day in 8th for the junior heats. Beckett used the same strategy as Ollie and was in great position around the final turn, but a missed pole plant cost him just enough momentum to leave him in 3rd; his final place was 15th after qualifying in 23rd. Overall, a fantastic showing by our juniors - the Bowdoin Nordic sprint future looks bright! The sprint race concluded the St. Lawrence Carnival component of Nationals - as a team, we finished 6th in the nordic scoring. Not a bad start to our carnival season, especially considering that we're rarely at our best in early January. We celebrated that evening with a get-together with some alumni who were in town as either racers or coaches: Jake Adicoff '18 (racing with Sun Valley), Rachel Zafren '18 (coaching at Dartmouth), Lily Johnston '20 (coaching with BSF), Renae Anderson '21 (racing with APU), and Morgan Richter '24 (racing with Team Birkie). We also got to see Aggie Macy '24 a few times during the week. Such a pleasure to catch up with these great people and introduce them to the next generation of Bowdoin Nordic!
After a day off, we were back at it with the 20k skate for big kids and the 10k skate for juniors. In the 20k, Jori led the women in 56th and Will was our top man 46th. Michael lost a pole early in the race and was pretty far back, but he stayed calm and skied an exceptional race, moving up to 86th by the finish. The rest of the men had excellent races as well - Sawyer 96th, Caleb 98th, Lars 107th, and Eli 113th. They were very competitive in the EISA field - with several long skate races on the schedule, this bodes well for our season. In the junior races, Gillian finished 13th and Ruth 20th for women. Ollie (44th) and Beckett (55th) raced in the men's A flight, with Henri (6th) and Ian (28th) posting strong times in the men's B flight. That night, we enjoyed a fantastic taco dinner courtesy of Brenda Hedges, one of many parents who provided a ton of support for our team all week.
By the time we got to the classic sprint, we were all pretty tired, and we had a smaller crew racing. The conditions were tricky, with untransformed snow rapidly warming and rain threatening - fortunately, another superstar alum, Noah Eckstein '21, stopped by to help with waxing and helped us get competitive skis. Emma (31st) and Jori (49th) were our top women's finishers, and Eli (132nd) and Will (140th) for men. That was enough racing for us - time to pack up and go home for some rest and training. Overall, a fun week and a great way to get sharp for the season. Many thanks to the army of parents who showed up to support our team - the Nationals experience wouldn't have been the same without you! Thanks also to Ethan - our hard-working student assistant coach really proved his worth on this trip, with exceptional work on testing and application.
After a few days of recovery, training, and Maine vs World challenges, we took a small crew up to Quarry Road for the Roy Varney Memorial Eastern Cup. After an intense week in Lake Placid, it was so nice to get back to one of our favorite venues for a relatively low-stress event (at least for us). Beckett (9th), Henri (15th), Lars (20th), Francie (17th), and Natalie (37th) shook off the Nationals fatigue to post solid races in the 7.5k skate. The next day was a 10k classic mass start. Henri was our only men's racer - he skied in the lead pack the whole way and ended up 4th, just five seconds from the win. As the 3rd place junior, he took home a lovely piece of cheese. The women's race broke up more quickly, but Francie kept herself within sight of the podium, showing some of her best skiing ever to finish 5th. Natalie continued her post-abroad journey with another strong step forward, finishing 21st. Once again, Ethan did a fantastic job of testing to help us get good skis all weekend.
After all this excitement, it was time to get back to reality and start the semester. We've got great snow at Pineland for training, and with a few days of classes under our belts we're looking forward to another trip to Quarry Road for the Colby Carnival. Stay tuned for more updates!
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