Williams Carnival

Lots going on last weekend - Williams Carnival and a pair of Eastern Cup races in New Hampshire. One post won't do justice to everything - for starters, here's a wrap-up of Williams:

Prospect Mountain was in good shape - they seem to have their own little climate up there, because there was plenty of snow even though most of New England was (and is) warm and bare. Friday's classic race was pretty forgettable - strong races for Jess, Erin, and Emma, and Chris' best classic effort of the season, but otherwise nothing to get excited about. Ok, I take that back - the parents provided an amazing lunch, which was pretty exciting. Here's Chris looking very pleased with himself, probably because he scored the best seat in the house (ie, closest to the donuts).

Saturday's skate was a whole different story. As a team, we've been skating really well all year, and this race was no exception. Spencer led the way in 20th - he's come on strong after a flat January. Big PRs for Erin (37th) and Jess (46th), and the team as a whole was very solid. The race of the day belonged to Wilson - he was absolutely on fire. Huge PR of 32nd, just a few seconds from a top-30. This was exciting to see - we were expecting this season to be a chance for him to ease back into racing after a difficult 2009 season and a semester in Peru, so it was a very welcome surprise to see him break out like this. All in all, a great day that gives us some nice momentum heading into Middlebury.

Here are some photos from the classic race, courtesy of the Kenneys:

Wilson

Spencer - the hair is the result of a lost pepper bet.

Scott

Niko

Maren

Jeff

Jess was crushing it this weekend. I've noticed a trend - we have to get her parents to come to every carnival.

Hannah - get that head up!

Erin

Chris - two solid races for his best carnival of the season.

Emma
Elissa - very focused.

Dartmouth Wrap Up

What's more fun than a 3x5 relay? Hint: nothing. It's hard to tell if it was more fun to watch or to race, but a good time was had by all. Spencer got the men off to a good start - he stayed close to the top skiers and came into the exchange in the midst of a cluster of teams in the chase pack. Niko stayed on the train for about half a lap and tagged off to Scott in 11th, who battled with UVM's second team and was able to hold our place with a strong push in the last kilometer. Our second team gave a great effort and almost tracked down Colby's second team. Wilson pulled off one of the great blunders in team history by racing on someone's warmup skis by accident. This is right up there with Niko's extra sprint lap - it'll be a while (ie, never) before he lives this one down.

On the women's side, Hannah put the women right in the mix out of the scramble, and Erin and Elissa kept them close. Elissa seemed to be fading late in the race, but she found some extra willpower and was able to outsprint the anchor for Midd's second team. Jess anchored the second team and put in a huge surge of her own to keep them close. All in all, a fun day of racing with good skiing all around.

Carni crushes closed out the day - no pictures, unfortunately, but our team had its moments (most of which I didn't witness, fortunately). I'm told that Bowers might never be allowed to attend another Dartmouth Carnival - good thing he's graduating.

Here's a batch of photos from the classic race, courtesy of Sharron and Kurt Kenney:

Maren
Jess was very happy during this race.

Hannah

Erin

Elissa
Emma

Wilson

Spencer, with Tim shouting encouragement.

Niko
Scott

Chris

Matt, with Elissa in the lovely pink suit.

Dartmouth Day 1

Decent start to the Dartmouth Carnival for us. Today was a 15/20k mass start classic - a tough race on any course, and certainly on this one. As a whole, the team skied well - our best classic performance of the season. Spencer and Hannah led the way in 32nd and 36th, respectively - classic PRs for both of them. Everyone was pretty wiped out after the race, but we're fired up for the skate relay tomorrow.

Lots of photos from Kurt and Sharron Kenney - here's one of Maren: More coming after the weekend.

Athlete of the Week

In all the excitement of last weekend, I forgot to mention that Hannah was named Athlete of the Week by the Orient last week. Here's the article.

UVM Photos

Here's an assortment of photos from last weekend from Kurt Kenney and Andy Shepard:

Great carnival for Rainer - his two best races of the season. He was feeling very patriotic last weekend.

A semester in Peru didn't hurt Wilson's technique - this photo could be from the World Cup.

Saturday ended up being cold and sunny - perfect for racing. Here's Niko stretching it out.

Matt got some nice comments on his technique last weekend.

Maren toughing it out on a cold and windy Sunday.

Mr. Dragonwulf taking the kids to school.

Erin battling Dartmouth skier Ida Sargent.

Emma - get your arms out in front!

Hannah on one of the many long climbs at Trapps.

Sunday was a good day to have a tent. Ours ended up blowing away briefly as we were packing up.

Chris building speed heading into a downhill.

UVM Day 2

Another cold day at the races, this time with wind and some light snow. Our big highlight was a huge race from Spencer - he finished 17th for a big PR and our best result in 2 years. We've been waiting for the real Spencer to show up all season - he's been tired and borderline sick - so this was a relief. It was fun to watch him racing - he latched onto the skier who started behind him and drafted for the better part of the race before passing him back in the last kilometer. "I just looked at a spot on his bib and focused on good technique," Spencer told me after the race. Perfect. Elissa also had a solid comeback race after fighting illness for most of January - she was 46th for EISA skiers. Several others had good races, and the team as a whole hung in there nicely in spite of a general "flat" feeling - school and travel are catching up to these guys, and we'll need to get some quality rest this week.
EISA Results
Overall Results
Lots of great photos from this weekend - I'll post a bunch of them tomorrow. For now, here's one of Spencer and Wilson from Kurt Kenney:

Thanks to the team parents for another weekend of great support. Photos, food, waxing, cheering - you guys did it all!

UVM Carnival Day 1

5/10k classic at Trapps today - a combined carnival & Eastern Cup race. Another clear and cold day - great for racing. We had a decent showing - not amazing, but some solid performances. Emma had a PR (52nd for EISA), and Niko and Scott were both on today. Rainer had perhaps the race of the day - he was skiing with a lot of snap, and has made noticeable technique improvements in the last few weeks. I was really pleased with how the team looked today - everyone's skiing really well. When things come together, we'll see some great results. Thanks to the parents for another amazing post-race spread - just what the team needed after a cold, hard day of racing. Particular thanks to Kathy Sanville and Walt, who jumped in to serve as wax techs - they were a huge help, and allowed us to stay on top of the waxing for a big group of athletes.

Overall Results
EISA Results