Exciting last couple weeks for our team! Regionals was at Middlebury this year - always fun times at Rikert and the Middlebury Inn. Day 1 was a 7.5k classic - tricky waxing with warming snow just starting to transform. We were only somewhat up to the task, with mixed results on skis - not terrible, not great. Lars made a bold call to accept less perfect kick in exchange for fast skis, and it paid off with his best distance finish ever in 20th. Will got off to a hot start before fading slightly and ending with a still-respectable 25th, and Beckett completed our scoring in 33rd. Michael also notched a nice classic PR in 40th. Emma led the women in 7th, with Jori 24th and Mirra 26th. Not a bad day, but all of us were left wanting more. We closed out the day with a fantastic dinner hosted by the parents, where we honored our seniors on the eve of their final carnival races.
We got some new snow overnight, leaving us with a slightly soft surface that nonetheless packed down well enough for the 20k skate. Ollie put himself in the mix right away, with the rest of the guys settling into the middle of the pack. As the race went on, they formed a Bowdoin train, with Will, Lars, and Henri gradually joining Ollie. Beckett kept it pretty relaxed for the first half before surging with the second fastest third lap to join the other guys. They skied together beautifully and all finished in the top 20 - Ollie 14, Will 15, Beckett 16, Lars 17, and Henri 20. This was the first time we've ever had five skiers in the top 20 - inspiring stuff, especially from a relatively young group of guys! Meanwhile, Michael had started off in the back due to a high bib number; undaunted, he methodically worked his way up, passing people one at a time and ending with a best-ever 31st - a suitable finish to a career marked by hard work and determination. On the women's side, Emma jumped in with the lead group and stayed there; when the top two skiers broke away she was the only skier able to keep it close, finishing third for her fourth podium of the year. Like Michael, Ruth had a higher start position, and she was initially left behind when the lead group broke apart early in the race. She made a gutsy move to bridge the gap and regain contact, and was able to pick off a few places to end in 22nd. Gillian completed our scoring with a solid 25th. Overall, we ended up 5th for the nordic carnival for our third straight weekend of finishing top 5.
Even with the end of the carnival season, there was still more racing in store for us - it was time to defend the Chummy Cup! This year's race was a 10k classic at Quarry Road. The three Maine teams combined forces to test waxes and figure things out on another difficult day - it was nice to be working together and sharing information to ensure that the skis would be comparable so the skiers could sort it out on the course. The women started the action with a couple tangles in the mass start - the snow was sticky and the theme of the day was klister catching, resulting in a lot of stumbles. Emma managed to avoid the worst of this - she eased away from the group, built a huge lead in the first couple kilometers, and came into the finishing stretch far enough ahead to ski across the line with the Bowdoin flag in hand. The action behind her was fast and furious - Gillian made a run at 2nd before settling for 3rd, and Ruth (5th) and Jori (6th) claimed All-State honors as well. Kira finally made a triumphant return to racing after a month of recovering from a concussion - she had a huge smile on her face the whole time and finished an outstanding 12th, just a few seconds from All-State. WOMEN'S RESULTS. The men's race was even more exciting, with a huge group in the lead pack and constant lead changes. With about 3k to go, Henri and Will started pushing the pace, and the group stretched out ever so slightly. Henri broke away up the last hill and held the lead through the long double pole section around the stadium to win the state championship - heady stuff for a first-year! Will was trailing a Colby skier heading into the final stadium, but he put in a great sprint and a well-timed lunge to earn the second step on the podium. Beckett (6th) and Ollie (7th) were close behind, and Michael continued his hot streak with a 10th place finish to lock up All-State honors. MEN'S RESULTS. The combined outcome of all this excitement was our fourth Chummy Cup win: Bowdoin 18, Colby 29, Bates 66. This was such a great team showing, with a bunch of different people stepping up to make our win happen. The energy was amazing, with every team bringing lots of noise and good vibes - just a perfect example of the magic of college skiing. Happy to have this one go our way. We're still trailing Colby (8) and Bates (6) in the all-time Chummy tally, but today we're one step closer. Very proud of this team for bringing so much heart not only to this race, but to this whole season. We've had a lot of ups and downs, but overall this was a good year, with many milestones and goals accomplished and A LOT of fun times. Although most of our skiers are done with racing for the year, it's not over yet - it's championship season, and we're looking forward to a big finish in March!
