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...