St. Mike's Recap

This past weekend we headed out to the trails at Sleepy Hollow for the St. Michael's Carnival. On Friday, there was the individual start 10/15 km skate for women and men. On the women's side, Nat finished 17th, with Abby and Kir close behind in 20th and 21st, respectively. The men didn't have their best day, with Lucas pacing the team in 31st. Harry and Jimbo also scored for us.
The classic sprint relays on Saturday saw improvements on both sides. The men ended up 8th for scoring, with the team of Harry, Lucas, and Cooper leading the way. Harry's splits were some of the faster ones on the day. The women's team ended up 7th, with Nat, Gretch and Abby all posting fast splits. Both the men and women were just edged out by Colby in the relays, something we will turn around this upcoming weekend for the Chummy Broomhall Cup. On Sunday, both teams will compete in a 10 km skate at Rumford for the Maine State Collegiate Championships.

Nat leading out of the start in the relay.
(Lincoln Benedict '09 Photo)

SLU Carnival and Rumford Eastern Cups

We kicked off the Carnival season this weekend out in Lake Placid as St. Lawrence hosted the first races at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. On Friday we had the 5/10 km classic race on the former Olympic trails. The conditions were pretty tough out there, with changing weather and some hairy turns on the descent. The women got the Bobcats off to a good start this season with Nat finishing in 8th, Gretchen was 19th, and Abby 20th. The women ended up in 3rd on the day, just two points behind Middlebury for 2nd. On the men's side, Harry and Coop were 26th and 27th, respectively. Lucas, Dan, Danny, and Jim within 25 seconds of each other.
On Saturday, the mass start racing got underway with 15/20 km skate on the biathlon trails. The men went first, racing four laps around the 5 km loop. The men skied well, improving on their finish from Friday. Cooper was leading the race as they came through after 10 km, ultimately ending up in 10th on the day. Lucas skied up into 16th, and Harry finished in 26th again.
On the women's side, Nat had her best skate result, finishing in 9th. Abby was 24th, and Kirsten 27th, to round out the scorers. Everybody had a great day, and all are looking forward to improving their results as the season goes on.
It was a solid first Carnival, especially with a lot of people racing in their first collegiate races.

Lucas leading a train...

The men's start.

Back in Maine, Corey, Nate, and Isaac raced in the Rumford Eastern Cups. The classic sprint on Saturday saw some more tricky waxing conditions and Nate and Corey both advancing to the heats. On Sunday, the three guys skied in the mass start 15 km skate. The men's field got off to a blistering start led by US ski team's Kris Freeman. They skied solid races through less than ideal conditions, and all posted strong finishes.
Also, a HUGE THANKS this weekend to all the parents/families who helped us out! The McClelland Family for putting up most of the women's team, and also for hosting the whole team at dinner Friday night. Thanks to all the parents who provided lunch for the team on Friday and Saturday: Pooles, Knowles', Samuelsons, Tuttles, and everybody else. Also, thanks to Fullers, especially Steve for helping out with waxing for the Eastern Cups!

Happy New Year from Alaska!

Well, Gretchen, Sam, and myself (Coach Benes) have made it through the first day of racing here at U.S. Nationals in Anchorage, AK. The races are actually happening this year, which is great. The morning temps here were about 1-3 Farenheit on our way out to Kincaid Park. The trails are in good shape considering that the snow base is only a couple of inches. I tested some skis yesterday and this morning, and the waxing was pretty straightforward. About what you would expect for these conditions. The girls both skied well today, with Gretchen narrowly missing the Junior heats this afternoon. It was an extremely tight field for both the men and women today, and most of the heats were decided in the last 3oo meters or so. Tomorrow is another training day for the girls and another testing day for me. Monday is a 10 km skate race, and it looks to be warming up over the next couple of days. It could be a downright tropical 20 on Monday!