TRIPLE TREAT: Part I

This is the first of a three part series introducing the three newest additions to the men’s Nordic team: Connor Regan, Evan Dion and Nick Michaud.

Connor “Condor” Regan/ “Casual Condor”

When the sun rises over Mount David, and beams of light illuminate room 234 of 280 Hall, wakes a man. Rolling out of bed, Connor Regan completes his usual morning routine of 100 “casual” push-ups and squat thrusts. After gargling pure gasoline, the Condor slides a classy cashmere “cut-off” sweater over his burly build and heads out the door to begin his day.

Connor did not come of age like most kids. Hailing from Cumberland, Maine, nearly all hours of his days were spent in the forested region behind his home. Taking down trees, moving 400-pound rocks, and chasing rabbits and creatures alike, barefoot, became a part of Connor’s lifestyle. Separating himself from Lennie in “Of Mice and Men”, he always let the unharmed animals run free upon their capture.

No animal has ever outrun Connor. He proved this at the annual Rangeley training camp, as a pack of furious Bobcats chased him up Saddleback Mountain. Snatching the overall victory, Connor shook all his competitors’ hands displaying his “Trident-white” smile and never-before-seen level of sportsmanship. Due to Connor’s noble work ethic and innate ability to suffer copious amounts of pain, no animal ever will outrun him.

Connor is not just a titan in the world of athletics and manliness. Since his early days, he has been an academic all-star, a chivalrous companion for many lucky ladies, an outstanding family member, and a leader in the community. Some of Connor’s hobbies illustrate a more sensitive side: poetry, holding doors open for strangers, succeeding, helping elderly ladies carry groceries, and saving animals lives. Connor also has a musical gift. Teammates have described his voice as “a mixture between Fergie and Jesus,” having “the ability to make hairs stand on end,” and “wow”. A well-rounded and exceptional man, Connor’s desirable qualities are boundless.

In just a few weeks with Condor, Bates students and members of the Nordic team have been nothing short of impressed. His presence has been inspiring and uplifting. We are extremely excited to have Connor join the Bobcat squad.

Adapt and Overcome and You Will Surely See the Sights.

Day two of our Thanksgiving Training Camp dawned bright and early with a 7am trip to Commons then a 7:30 departure to…oh wait. Where are we going? We were planning on going to Mount Washington, but too much snow and ice changed those plans so we headed to a road just outside of Bethel for a classic ski up to the mountain, Old Speck, for a hike. The ski was gorgeous; it started a little chilly, but was still beautiful especially because there were very few cars. As we climbed, there was some ice on the road and snow on the sides, which reminded us that winter is coming. After passing many signs for different parking lots and waterfalls and somewhere called “Moose Cave,” we got to final destination #1. After a quick lunch, complete with sandwiches, cookies, and brownies, we got ready to hike/ run Old Speck. We were unsure if there were hunters in the area, so we tried our best to not look like deer, and avoided wearing white hats and headbands. We went up the mountain and saw some beautiful views of various mountains. The rocks started to get slippery as we went up and about an hour in, the girls turned around, but the boys were still set on their summit bid. We all reunited back in the parking lot for some more food and the trip back to Bates. Our post dinner entertainment for the evening was watching an awesome snowboard movie The Art of Flight, which probably got everyone even more pumped up for some snow!

Who needs snow in Canada? I'd rather have a double session of kicking butt and taking names.

Today turned out to be jam packed with strong racing turnouts, good mental attitudes and a serious amount of Bobcat pride. The team piled into the vans at a leisurely 8:00am this morning, headed to a skate rolle-rski sprint race against Bowdoin at Pineland Farms. The races ended up going really well, with Bates skiers stealing the top three places for both men and women. The sprints today gave everyone on the team a chance to realize how strong and competitive we’ve become in the last few months of training, as well as what things we can work on to get ready for the upcoming racing season. And as for those polar bears, I think they were reminded that a bobcat is a ferocious beast, and when you let it run free there’s no telling what it might accomplish.

After returning to campus and spending a good amount of time at lunch, luckily it was all-you –can-eat Commons day (again), it was time for a friendly game of football. In the first annual Turkey Bowl 2011, the girls stepped up their game and scored several early touchdowns. The boys ended up catching back up to us, but with a huge amount of spirit and strategic guidance from coach Dylan we held them of and the game may have ended with a tie (the results are controversial).

In the words of coaches Becky and Dylan, today the entire team showed a whole lot of heart. With times like these, who needs snow in Canada? This was an excellent start to Thanksgiving break.

T.T.F.N.

-Caroline

Go East, Young Bobcat

This weekend the team took a brief trip “down east” (I still don’t know how that makes sense) to Acadia to get away from campus for a bit and get some solid training in. Friday evening we pulled into our digs - the “Winter Haven” - with the ever-generous Milliken family waiting for us at the door. Becky and Dylan passed out goodie bags of new gear, and everyone was looking good as they tried it on before bed...that probably wasn’t just the clothes though.

Saturday morning we went for a team jog along the beach (in matching new apparel, of course) and rolled into the national park to do a skate time trial up Cadillac Mountain. It was a mere fifteen minutes into our warm-up when the law showed up to shut down our endeavor, the white park ranger Suburban screeching to a halt with lights flashing, idling during the interrogation (shouldn’t they be a little more conscientious?):

“Are you with Bates College?”

“Umm...yeah.” [Panting from an L4 warmup piece, wearing 100% new, Bates-logoed clothing]

“You know you aren’t allowed to rollerskate [not what we were doing] in the park?”

“Umm...no?”

“Your van is parked on Cadillac, right? Go back there right now.”

“Umm...okay.”

After some deft legal maneuvering by Dylan and Becky, we escaped the authorities and made our way to another road for some hard - but probably less exciting - intensity.

The afternoon consisted of wood-stacking, lobster-eating (in the “traditional” way - boiled in seawater over a wood fire on the beach and cracked with a nice-sized rock), and the Acadia Bowl, which saw the men’s team taking on the girls, who were aided by Dylan, Tucker, Tess and one-hand-touch downs. Despite this formidable opposition, the boys pulled out a win as the sun set, turning the view of the harbor orange - it coulda been a TV show.

Tired warriors were treated to a spectacular dinner and a long-rehearsed rendition of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” with Jordan on the fiddle, Dylan on the guitar and pretty much everyone on vocals.

The next morning we rose early and went for a (totally legal) OD run, starting outside of the park and hitting summits on our way in. The girls headed up and over Sergeant Peak to Penobscot Ridge and down to Jordan Pond; the guys opted to take a slightly more roundabout route, with a casual six peaks bagged on the day, including the addition of Cadillac after reaching Jordan Pond. It was gorgeous: 50 degrees, sunny, and hardly windy at all. Oh - the views were alright too.

All in all, the weekend definitely didn’t suck. ENORMOUS thanks go to Peter, Linzee, Lucas and the whole Milliken family for their incredible generosity - we can’t wait to do it again!

HALLOWINTER

The week following Rangeley we kept it rolling with another big one, replete with traditional Lost Valley Wednesday intervals and some long, cold threshold rollerski pieces Saturday at Pineland under some rather ominous clouds.

On Saturday night, as costumes were being donned about campus for the Halloween dance (the men's team all toga'd up as Greek Gods, naturally), we were blessed with a solid half-foot of snow. This meant that early Saturday morning, as the rest of campus slumbered from the night's festivities, we were up and on skis. Unfortunately there wasn't quite enough white stuff to make a trip to Pineland reasonable (but a bit too much to make it quick).

We had to "settle" for a game of skis-on speedball in lieu of our planned over-distance roll to Freeport for the 2nd Annual Fuller Family Ski'n'Shoot. Sunday is still OD day, though, so after 2.5 hours of fierce competition and no-pole skating on the baseball field, we caved to the smell of bacon wafting over from Commons - besides, Dylan had told us that it was all-you-can-eat day (Caroline was ecstatic).

Unofficial MVP honors for the match go to Connor "Condor" Regan for his very physical head-to-head play against co-MVP Sean "Get At Me Condor!" Woods.

Unfortunately, we were so caught up in good times and the competitive instinct to catch any photos, but don't worry - the blog won't remain boring and wordy for long. This weekend we head to Acadia - thank you Milliken Family! - for some relaxation...but mostly training, including a time trial up the Cadillac Mountain access road.

Stay Tuned.
-Filly

Another one in the Books! Rangeley 2011

Believe you can and you will (quote contributed by resident inspirational speaker/BatesCollege senior Kelsey Dion). This was the theme of our five days in Rangeley, filled with epic mountain summits, gorgeous lake-side skis, uphill time trials,and PRs. Workouts were augmented by extracurricular events such as the fiercely competitive pie baking competition, where we all learned that love only gets you so far in life...I suppose the tacit understanding is hard-work gets you the rest of the way?

Of course the annual Rangeley Bowl met and, in the opinion of this commentator, exceeded expectations. The game started with Nickel Back-esque rendition of the National Anthem from first year Nick Michaud. As the light waned, the warriors battled through the white knuckle suspense of game that can only be described as coup-anti coup, with every touch-down matched with equally impressive skill; possession turning over only with points on the board. A late substitution put celebrity Broadhead in for coach Mogk. A controversial move combined with questionable time keeping placed team Milliken, Michaud, Burnham and Broadhead up as time elapsed.

Though we were on break, every day was and remains school day in Rangeley; those who weren't learning about the role of women in Nazi Germany were learning football strategy from Coach Mogk. (Expect a serious upset in the Acadia Bowl this year, folks.) Back on campus now, everyone's getting studious, getting swoll (translation: sore), and getting stoked for Sunday's ski
and shoot. Shout-out to Moogs, Ing, Natalus, Kir, Martin, and Fuller -- we missed
you guys last week. Don't worry though...Country Strong got us through.

Demsey Challenge: Not Just Good Looking, but Good People and Good Times

For those of you familiar with the hit TV series Grey's anatomy, I'm sure you are aware of the dreamy presence of Dr. Derek Shepherd as played by Patrick Dempsey. His altruism, however, extends far beyond his role in prime-time television. As a native of Maine, Dempsey has found an avenue of philanthropy that has touched the hearts of countless thousands. see link

Unsurprisingly, admits the foray of many participants you will find a significant portion of the Bates Nordic Ski Team running and cycling in the name humanitarian advancement. Taking advantage of an event that financially supports medical progress with healthy lifestyle choices, the ski team stepped out of the rigor of undergraduate academia and intersected a passion for quality of life with their own personal athletic goals. It is yet another fantastic day to be a Bobcat.

GETTING AFTER IT!

Testing week is here in a big way.

Yesterday the team put down a solid 3000m time trial: a Mr. Jay-Booty busted through the 10 minute barrier - Lucas and Sean weren't far off. Beth set a high bar for the girls, and old times got dropped like bad habits (i.e. lots o' PR's).

This morning the strength test went down promptly at 6:30am. There was lots of agony, and equally impressive numbers - as Martin Benes once said, "We're looking mad swole." The Bobcats are STRONG!

Getting out there, pushing each other, and hurting as a team: what it's all about.

The Grind

At the request of Becky, I am getting this blog rolling again (I'm on the clock as her staff assistant, so I have the dubious privilege of getting paid to write this post).

It's been a good minute since I last posted, so I'll do my best to fly through the end-of-summer/start-of-school recap:

-Trained HARD in August in Truckee. Did some big weeks and had an equal amount of fun. Received a visit from the ever-lovely Sean Woods, and went on a 16-mile run on the Pacific Crest Trail which accidentally turned into a 20-mile run.

-Left Truckee with Lucas and drove across the country. Literally coast-to-coast. Spent a lot of time on my butt but saw a lot of hospitality (from Bates friends, Lucas' uncle, and the McClelland family) and a lot of windmills. Made it to Keene, NY in time to do a time trial with the Burke team. And I'm pleased to say that despite living in the same house and spending 4 days straight in a car together, Lucas and I are still friends. We're essentially finishing each others' sentences nowadays, which is a bit disconcerting (read: awesome).

-Got WFA certified (I'm confident sticking just about anyone with epinephrine now, just so you know). Led a pack of freshies into the woods of Mt. Adams on an AESOP trip - some who had never hiked before, or even slept outside. Enlightening to say the least, but a good time all around.

-Started school...but more importantly GOT THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. It's so exciting to finally be training as a team again - I was starting to get sick of all the Williams/Bowdoin/Midd shenanigans in Truckee this summer. We've got a good pack of freshmen as well, who are definitely keeping things interesting.

It's back to the grind nowadays, with essays on essays to write, testing creeping up (strength test is Monday), and the start of the official training season right around the corner. From what is being said this blog should be more regular from here on out, so keep yo eyes wide open for more (hopefully more invigorating) stuff in the next few weeks.

Jah Blessings,

-Filly (Alex)

Training in the big MT

Hello family, so this blog post will not be as epic as last summers (simply unbeatable) but now that martin is no longer patrolling the e-waves perhaps there will be a reincarnation???bwahhahahah Training in Bozeman went great, still great,training with BSF not so unbearably hot until this week, Gretch and Dan have found there ways here as well and sometimes train with me but mostly are mysterious waifs. Jealous of the snow in Truckee and can't wait to see you guys!!! Here's a picture of the marathon i did on the Rocky Mountain Ridge, the Ridge Run (7,000 ft ascent and 10,000 decent), i had to replace the bottoms of my feet, cuz i wanna look just as cool as you guys, love you all and miss you!! TWO WEEKS UNTIL REUNITION!!



ps.. WHO DID THAT LAST POST!??? who are you and where is islesbro? i know he is of the male persuasion since who else would be excited about showering with other people

call me the ISLESBRO

Ladies and Gentleman it is with great pleasure that I step back into all of your lives, with my first blog post ever on the Bates nordic blog. (I'm actually super excited). I can't wait to see all of you again come fall and get off this rock in the middle of ocean. Instead of writing up a long boring blog post about how serine and beautiful this place is, I made a little teaser video to post here on the blog. I plan to use the real footage (the good stuff) in a longer video coming up this fall. So without further ado, my summer 2011 teaser.
p.s -
i miss the shower squad

June Lake Camp 2011: A Haiku Recap

Filly and Caitlin

Coaching youngsters near Mammoth

Gnarliness ensues

Coach Ben and Kara

Shared wisdom as the bear shares

with the hungry wolf

Scait and I did our

best too, but the altitude

made it a challenge

Made the peak of Mt.

Morgan; fourteen thousand feet

means the view's O.K.

Ascended with a

watermelon, heavy but

oh so delicious

Yahtzee.

-Filly

We have had a great past week in Truckee! Lucas, Alex, Noah, Caitlan and myself started the week off with a beautiful and fun 75 mile ride around Lake Tahoe. The middle part of the week was filled with regular ski training type activities. The week ended with a wild and willy hike up Mt. Lola. The hike was filled with lots of snow and on the decent we were able to practice our glaceding (and it was my birthday hike so it was pretty yayay!) As usual it has been sunny with no clouds and nice temperatures all week, it is practically a dream living out here. We our off to our BBQ tonight at Donner lake, i am bringing corn to grill-yum summer!

General Holla'ins from California

Summer recap up to this point:
-Left Maine (duh).

-Came home briefly before going to San Diego for my grandparents' 50th anniversary, which was awesome. Additionally, got the worst sunburn I've had in as long as I can remember - punishment for leaving sunny CA to go to school in New England, I suppose.

Toasting by the Pacific

-Returned to Truckee just in time for the glorious arrival of "CAP'N" LUCAS MILLIKEN AND NOAH BRAUTIGAM (of Middlebury skiing fame), who are living in my crib this summer. Having a Midd kid around means that we are playing lots of pickup B-ball, and Lukie and I are totally getting our skillz on point and soon (key word) will be unstoppable.

-SKIED. ON SNOW. Since we got here, Auburn Ski Club has been grooming every weekend. We're talking full coverage, clean snow, and cold nights making for bulletproof tracks in the morning yielding to soft corn later in the day. It's like glacier camp...but there's no glacier, just stupid doo doo dumb amounts of snow. Lucas described it just right in his post: perfect. Myself, Lucas and Bowdoin skier Spencer Eusden even got out to a sweet backcountry spot in my neighborhood the other week and earned some turns; so sweet.

Lucas did a casual double backflip off the cornice in the background, no biggie.

Truckee Sucks.



Home Sweet Home: Auburn Ski Club

-Besides being on snow, we've done some extreme dryland stuff: rollerskiing, running, biking, and training with the junior teams.

Captain Beth, DOINGIT (photo shamelessly stolen from Mark Nadell's MacBeth Graphics)

With summer starting for real yesterday (happy solstice everybody!), things are just getting rolling, and the Bates contingent here - myself, Lucas, Beth, Gretchen and Andrea - will do our best to keep everyone updated from the deep west. Shoutouts to Bill Clark for grooming, everyone who is housing a skier, and ASC and Sugar Bowl Academy coaches Ben Grasseschi and Jeff Schloss, respectively...not to mention the legendary Coach Martin Benes. INTOIT.

Truckee: Where Winter goes for the Summer

Beth, Gretchen and I have all been in Truckee, CA for at least a week now. Andrea is coming out soon. We are all spending the summer in Truckee and training with Martin as part of Auburn Ski Club. This morning we skied ON SNOW. Yesterday we skied on snow! The weather here also happens to be just about perfect. Every day it has been sunny and warm, and every night it gets cold enough to make the snow firm again.
We also have a great crew to train with. Noah Brautigam and I are living at Alex Hamilton's house, Spencer Eusden is staying at Alex's friend's house, Kelsey is here when she is not rafting, Caitlin Curran is living with Beth and Casey and Phil from Williams are here as well. All in All it is lining up to be a great summer.

Quick NCAA Recap and What Lies Ahead

The NCAA Crew

We had a good week last week in Stowe, VT for the NCAA Championships. Really good, in fact. Though the trip over was rainy, we got several feet of fresh snow through the week and some great results from our girls. On Wednesday, the girls competed in the 5 km skate race, held up at Trapps. Both Natalie and Kirsten skied well and finished in 32nd and 33rd. The conditions were great, with the crew out at Trapp's doing a tremendous job with the snow they got. The tracks were fast and firm, and with the sun out, it was a great day for spectating.
On Friday, we turned our attention to the 15 km classic race. Rain was falling steadily from early that morning on through the races. We dialed in a good klister combo for the girls and went out to watch the race. Both Kir and Nat skied great races, mixing it up in a good pack for most of the race. Things broke apart early on, and they skied smart, putting themselves in good spots. Nat was 24th and Kir was 28th on the day. Two great races.
For the week as a whole, we had some really strong skiing from our Alpine side, and ended up 11th as a team. It was the best finish we've had since 1998, a pretty big accomplishment.
It seems like were always moving forward though, and its on to some more racing for our skiers. A small crew will head over to Craftsbury this weekend for the Spring Tour. It looks like a fun event, and it will be a good opportunity to keep the racing going. Also, a few racers will head up to Sugarloaf for the marathon events out there. Its been a good season, and its good that we're keeping it going.
Some pics from the freestyle day at NCAAs:

End of Carnival Season...

Well, the last couple of weeks have gone by pretty fast. We had the Middlebury Carnival and then Bates Carnival, doubling as Eastern Regionals, to close out our "regular season". In between the two it was nice to have our February break, seemingly perfect timing going into the final races.
We've had some great results over the past two weekends, and the team really left everything out there this season. Out at Middlebury, we had some tough luck on the women's side, with Nat being sick, and Kir breaking her binding/ski during Friday's skate race. That said, Beth had a great race, ending up in 12th on the day. The guys had a tough day on Friday, but rebounded well and skied to a season-best 5th place finish on Saturday during the sprint relay. It was fun to watch the guys be in the mix all the way through, and it was a good confidence boost moving forward.
After the races, everyone went their separate ways for break, reconvening at Rumford last Wednesday to preview the courses for Eastern Regionals. We headed up for good on Friday, during some heavy snow, to Rumford, and to the Bethel Inn. Saturday were the 5/10 km skate races. The women started things off strongly, as they've done all season. Kir lead the way with a 7th place finish, her 3rd top-10 of the season. Beth was next in 14th, followed closely by Megan in 15th. Nat, coming of her sickness, came in 20th, and Gretch was 31st. Andrea, who has been sick all week, skied a tough race to finish 40th. The team ended up in 4th on the day.
On the men's side Jordan had his best distance race of the season and a 15th place finish to show for it. Lucas and Alex rounded out the scorers in 39th and 42nd place. Sean had a solid race as well, coming in at 45th.
Sunday, the men kicked things off with the 20 km mass start classic. Conditions were a little slow, and the tracks disappeared pretty quickly in several spots. Every guy skied a tough race on Sunday, with Jordan leading the way again. Jordan finished in 32nd, Pete was close behind in 36th, a season-best placing for him. Sean was our third guy in 44th, Lucas right behind him in 45th. The women went off at noon. Nat put herself in it from the start skiing with the lead group, as she's done all season. Kir, Beth, and Megan all were in the mix of the top-20. Nat had a one of her strongest outings of the year, and ended up in 8th place. Kir wasn't far behind in 12th. Megan and Beth came across in 21st and 24th, respectively. The team scores were good enough for 3rd-place on the day. Beth skied a tough race, needing a top-14 to qualify for NCAAs, and ending up one spot out. That part was, and is, tough, but she still had her strongest season to date. This is definitely deepest the women's field has been for some time, and our team has been part of that every single day. Kirsten and Nat both qualified for the Championships next week, and it will be great to see how they stack up against the rest of the country.
There is still some racing to be done for a lot of people on the team, with Alex headed out to Junior Nationals this week in Minneapolis, representing Far West. Some people will be doing the Ski to the Clouds this weekend, and probably a crew will head over to Craftsbury for the Spring Tour in a few weeks. We have plenty of snow left for training, and some more racing on the calendar.
Thanks to everyone who helped out this past weekend: parents, families, friends, team members, alums, etc. Our home carnival went smoothly, and it was group effort. It was nice to host the final weekend of eastern racing. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for updates from NCAAs, JNs, and more...

Dartmouth Carnival

The Bates Nordic crew had a solid weekend out at Dartmouth's Oak Hill in Hanover, NH. On Friday, the men kicked things off with the 10 km skate. The snow and trail conditions were some of the best they've ever been, and cold temps on Thursday night ensured for good skiing on Friday morning. Jordan put together another strong race, despite some pole trouble, and ended up in 27th place. Lucas and A-Ham were the next two finishers, with Sean close behind. On Saturday, the men lined up for the 20 km mass start classic race. It featured two trips up the switchbacks, and two trips down through the s-turns. Jordan and Lucas once again lead the way in 34th and 35th, respectively. Alex was the next finisher, and final scorer for the Bobcats on the day.
On the women's side, it was another very strong weekend. On Friday, Kirsten lead the way with a breakthrough race, finishing 4th. Natalie finished in 10th, and Megan was close behind in 13th, a career-best skate result. The three scores were good enough for 3rd on the day, the women's first podium trip this season. On Saturday, the women had the 15 km mass start classic. Nat got off to a great start and lead the race on her home course for the first 6 km. It was fun to watch her set the pace for the women's field. She had another good race coming across the line in 8th place. Megan was next in 20th, followed by Kir in 23rd. Andrea had a breakthrough day, and her first trip to the top-25, finishing in 24th.
There are only two carnivals left now, Middlebury this coming weekend, followed by Eastern Regionals, hosted by Bates. Hopefully we can everyone healthy and ready for these final two weeks. Things seem to be coming together for everyone right now though, and we have our break coming up next week.
This past weekend, a huge thank you to the Taylor's for hosting the team and serving us dinner on Thursday night. Also to the Ruppertsberger's for feeding us on Friday night. And of course, a big thank you to all the parents and families who brought food to our athletes on both days.

Weekend in Stowe

This past weekend we had three races up at the Stowe nordic center. On Thursday, we drove over to Stowe with the Carnival crew. We were able to ski the course on Thursday evening before settling in at the Town & Country.
On Friday morning, the girls kicked things off with the 15 km mass start classic. All the girls put themselves in it early and skied to strong finishes. Nat lead the way with a 10th place finish. Kir came next in 15th, followed by Beth in 23rd. Megan skied well ending up in 26th. The scorers skied well enough for a 4th place finish on the day.
The men went off next, in the 20 km mass start classic. They skied well, with Jordan posting a season-best 23rd. Lucas continued his return with a solid 42nd, followed by Pete and Sean in 46th and 47th, respectively.
On Saturday, we were joined by the Eastern Cup crew for the 5/10 km skate races. For the college racers, the girls had yet another strong day, putting four skiers in the top-20. Kir, Nat, Beth, and Megan all had good races finishing 11th, 12th, 14th, and 17th. It was good to see all of them ski so strongly, and we are definitely excited about what they can do over the final few weeks of the season. The guys also skied well, with Jordan improving on his previous season-best (from Friday) with a 21st place finish. Lucas and Sean were our next two scorers. Sean was skiing a great race, but had some bad luck with breaking a pole. After the races on Saturday, the carnival crew headed back to Bates, and did their OD down at Pineland yesterday.
A small crew stayed on at the Kuzio's in Vermont and jumped in the race on Sunday. Kelsey and Caroline skied in the 10 km classic race, and had good races. Danny had a strong race in the 15 km classic. Many thanks to the Kuzio's for hosting the team (again) and also to Cory and the UNH crew for letting us share their waxing space on Sunday.
Overall it was a really solid weekend for the Bobcats, and it just made us more excited about the last three weeks of the Carnival season. The team is skiing well right now, and things are starting to come together on all fronts. Thanks again to all the friends and families who came out to cheer on and feed the team!! We've got the Dartmouth Carnival coming up this weekend as well as a crew heading up to Bethel to ski the Flying Moose Classic. Stay tuned!

Chummy Broomhall Cup

Natalie out in front early

This past week we've had great skiing at both Lost Valley and Pineland. We were able to get a few good sessions in at each, including some fun downhill practice at Lost Valley. Yesterday, we headed up to Rumford for the annual Chummy Broomhall Cup, the Maine State Collegiate Championships. This year's events were two 10 km mass start classic races. The women went off first at 11 AM. Natalie took the lead from the start and never relinquished it, bringing home the individual State crown. Kirsten had yet another strong race and came in 2nd. Andrea had a great race and ended up sixth, with Megan also in the top ten with an 8th place. As a team, the girls came in first by ten points.
The men's race went off at noon, with the same format. The guys didn't have their strongest outing, with Jordan leading the way with a 10th place finish. Jimmy was close behind in 11th, and Pete rounded out the scoring in 14th. Alex also snuck into the top-15.
Here are some pics from the day....

Megan and Andrea

Caroline in a pack

Sam

1st...

2nd

Start of the men's race

Filly

Lucas is back to racing

Chummy...

Thanks to all our supporters who came out to cheer and provide food for our athletes!!