Three Bowdoin skiers competed at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks last week: Tyler, Shelby, and Jackson. We've only qualified a handful of skiers for JNs over the years, and never more than 2 in one season, so getting to the championships was a major accomplishment for these guys and a big milestone for our team. The skiing in Fairbanks was excellent, according to Jackson - "extra blue conditions under bluebird skies every day." Our crew had a challenging week leading up to the races - lots of schoolwork in the final days before Spring Break, followed by an endless series of flights to get all the way across the continent. This showed in the first race of the week, a 5/10k skate, but everyone came back strong with solid results in the 3x3k classic relay. In the skate sprint, Shelby qualified for the heats in 16th and ended up in 18th after finishing 4th in her quarterfinal. The 10/15k classic mass start was the highlight for everyone - all 3 of our skiers had outstanding races to close out the championships and the season. Overall, a great experience for the whole crew, and another reason for all of us to be excited about next year.
RESULTS
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
NCAA Recap
We had fantastic conditions at Middlebury last week as Bowdoin Nordic returned to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 16 years - a fun course, plenty of snow, and a well-organized, high-energy event. The races themselves didn't quite go as we'd planned - Kaitlynn got sick just before we left campus. We were hoping she'd be healthy by the first race, but instead things went the other direction and she ended up battling a nasty cold and fever throughout the week. We thought about having her sit out one or both races, but she decided to give both races a shot despite knowing that she was far from race ready - a courageous decision. It was equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring to see her out there fighting with nothing in the tank. I couldn't be more proud of her! Although the ending wasn't perfect, it's been a great season for Kaitlynn and a great season for our whole team. Just being at NCAAs was a major milestone for Bowdoin Nordic - hopefully this will help all of us get fired up to make next year even better.
We had great support from several ski team members and fans at the event. Here are some photos from Deb Miller:
We had great support from several ski team members and fans at the event. Here are some photos from Deb Miller:
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Rangeley Loppet 2013
Beautiful skiing at the Rangeley Loppet last weekend! A good-sized crew made the trip up to enjoy the perfect mid-winter conditions: Jordan, Alec, Riley, Hannah M, Lucy, James, and Mike in the 50k, and Abigail and Jackson in the 25k. Tyler also tagged along - he was looking for a long threshold workout, so he classic skied the 25k loop on his own. Mike upstaged the youngsters with a 4th place finish in the 50k - old man's still got it. Since the 25 & 50 started together, Jackson skied with the leaders for about 20k before taking off to post a clear victory (complete with a nice spin move to cross the line backward) - he won a nice black bear carving for his efforts. Tyler timed his threshold workout - turns out that he would have won the classic race by a good margin, which is kind of cool. Good skiing all around - everyone felt good and learned a lot about pacing and fueling. This is such a fun race for our team - always a good learning experience and confidence builder, especially for our young skiers. Looking forward to bringing a big crew back next year!
RESULTS
RESULTS
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Bates Carnival Photos
A few photos from Regionals, courtesy of Deb Aseltine:
The women's team at the Aseltine house.
Cake for the seniors on the eve of their final college race.
Emma
Hannah W.
Kaitlynn
Shelby
Tess
Eva
Lastly, a photo of the Alsobrooks from Lydia Eusden:
Always nice to have my family at a carnival.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Regionals Recap
We wrapped up the EISA season at Rumford last weekend with the Bates Carnival. Friday was a gorgeous day - blue skies and sun, with clean snow and good coverage over the whole course. With the slightly transformed, rapidly warming snow, waxing got a bit tricky - seems like we've had a lot of those this year. We got a decent klister combination dialed in for the women - a touch slow, but great kick, which was a worthwhile trade-off on the very hilly course. They responded with one of their best team performances of the season. All six of them had good or great races - how often does that happen? Kaitlynn led the way in 11th, just 18 seconds from 3rd despite not feeling great. Hannah had another outstanding classic race in 21st, and Shelby set a new PR with a 38th place finish. As a team, they finished 5th, the best single-race finish ever for the women's nordic team - outstanding! The women have consistently been finishing in the top half of the field this season - it's been exciting to see them establish themselves as a group that can challenge almost any team in the conference on any given day. The men's race was respectable, although not quite as thrilling - skis dragged a bit, which definitely held the guys back somewhat. James was his usual consistent self with a solid 34th place finish, and Jackson skied a fantastic race to set a new classic PR in 40th.
Saturday was overcast with flurries, with nice fast snow after Friday's warm weather. Kaitlynn hung in there for 18th place - she was obviously tired, but showed great tenacity to stick with her group when it would have been easy to fade back into the middle of the pack. Tess was the biggest hero of the day - she found a spark and showed great fire throughout the race, finishing 44th for her best performance of the year. She's struggled to find her form this season after a big increase in training, and it was great to see her close out the season with a great race. The seniors wrapped up their careers with strong races as well - Hannah 33rd and Emma 53rd, perhaps her best skate race ever. Both seniors have made impressive comebacks to have outstanding seasons - Hannah worked incredibly hard to rehab her ACL injury, while Emma bounced back from a year abroad with no skiing. They've both come a long, long way since they arrived at Bowdoin, and I couldn't be more proud. We'll miss them both so much next year.
The men's race was a grueling slog - the course was even hillier than the classic course, and the hills had gotten chopped up and sloppy. Although these are the worst possible conditions for a big strong guy, James toughed it out for another 34th place finish, with Jackson right behind in 35th. Both of them have been remarkably consistent this year regardless of technique, distance, or conditions - a great sign of not just versatility, but also excellent mental focus. Riley also had an outstanding race, finishing 49th for his best performance of the season - an encouraging sign as we look ahead to his senior year.
As usual, we had great support from the team parents this weekend. We were fortunate to have the women's team hosted by the Aseltines and the men hosted by the Lessards - it was great to have the skiers staying in quiet, peaceful places closer to the race venue. We also had a strong turnout of fans from campus - our non-carnival skiers showed up to cheer, along with several former team members. Lastly, Sierra and Scott provided excellent waxing assistance throughout the weekend. Thanks to all of you for your support last weekend and all season!
So, the regular season is over, but we're not done yet. Kaitlynn has qualified for the NCAA Championships at Middlebury next week - our first NCAA qualifier since Nicole Robillard '97 qualified three times from 1995-97. Jackson, Tyler, and Shelby are all headed to Fairbanks for JNs in a couple weeks, and several of our skiers will be racing in various marathons and citizen races over the next few weeks, starting with the Rangeley Lakes Loppet this weekend. We'll keep you posted on how everything goes.
Saturday was overcast with flurries, with nice fast snow after Friday's warm weather. Kaitlynn hung in there for 18th place - she was obviously tired, but showed great tenacity to stick with her group when it would have been easy to fade back into the middle of the pack. Tess was the biggest hero of the day - she found a spark and showed great fire throughout the race, finishing 44th for her best performance of the year. She's struggled to find her form this season after a big increase in training, and it was great to see her close out the season with a great race. The seniors wrapped up their careers with strong races as well - Hannah 33rd and Emma 53rd, perhaps her best skate race ever. Both seniors have made impressive comebacks to have outstanding seasons - Hannah worked incredibly hard to rehab her ACL injury, while Emma bounced back from a year abroad with no skiing. They've both come a long, long way since they arrived at Bowdoin, and I couldn't be more proud. We'll miss them both so much next year.
The men's race was a grueling slog - the course was even hillier than the classic course, and the hills had gotten chopped up and sloppy. Although these are the worst possible conditions for a big strong guy, James toughed it out for another 34th place finish, with Jackson right behind in 35th. Both of them have been remarkably consistent this year regardless of technique, distance, or conditions - a great sign of not just versatility, but also excellent mental focus. Riley also had an outstanding race, finishing 49th for his best performance of the season - an encouraging sign as we look ahead to his senior year.
After the races, a few of us headed over to Sunday River for the end-of-season awards ceremony. Kaitlynn was named to the All-East Second Team - the first time ever that we've had a skier earn All-East honors. We also had seven skiers earn EISA All-Academic honors - James, Hannah, Emma, Jackson, Tyler, Eva, and Tess. I'm constantly impressed by how all of our skiers are able to maintain excellent grades while also spending countless hours on training, racing, and travel for skiing. They're a truly talented and hard-working group, and I'm really proud of them. Congratulations to all of you!
So, the regular season is over, but we're not done yet. Kaitlynn has qualified for the NCAA Championships at Middlebury next week - our first NCAA qualifier since Nicole Robillard '97 qualified three times from 1995-97. Jackson, Tyler, and Shelby are all headed to Fairbanks for JNs in a couple weeks, and several of our skiers will be racing in various marathons and citizen races over the next few weeks, starting with the Rangeley Lakes Loppet this weekend. We'll keep you posted on how everything goes.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Recent Races and Photos
Catching up on some non-carnival racing from the last couple weeks. Last weekend, we had a small crew at the Eastern Cup Finals in Waterville - the last chance to score points for JN qualifying. Our big highlights were Jackson crushing the 15k classic mass start and Shelby burning up the 5k skate after a strong classic race the day before. Both of them have qualified for JNs in Fairbanks - a huge accomplishment in the toughest division in the country. Congratulations Jackson and Shelby! Tyler is still in the running as well - we'll know for sure after this weekend.
Eastern Cup Results
The week before, several skiers headed up to Rumford for the John Roderick Memorial Race, which took place just after the blizzard. Mike stole the show by winning the 15k, and the rest of the crew also skied well despite having to plow through the soft, fresh snow.
John Roderick Results
Here are some photos from the John Roderick race, courtesy of Becky Webber:
Lastly, a pair of Bowdoin Nordic alums ran into each other at the Boulder Mountain Tour in Idaho a couple weeks ago - Spencer Eusden '12 and Angus Badger '89. I'm happy to report that Angus won his wave - he's still got it!
Eastern Cup Results
The week before, several skiers headed up to Rumford for the John Roderick Memorial Race, which took place just after the blizzard. Mike stole the show by winning the 15k, and the rest of the crew also skied well despite having to plow through the soft, fresh snow.
John Roderick Results
Here are some photos from the John Roderick race, courtesy of Becky Webber:
Lastly, a pair of Bowdoin Nordic alums ran into each other at the Boulder Mountain Tour in Idaho a couple weeks ago - Spencer Eusden '12 and Angus Badger '89. I'm happy to report that Angus won his wave - he's still got it!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Middlebury Carnival Recap
Middlebury is one of our favorite race destinations on the EISA circuit - fun trails, beautiful setting, cool lodging, and great donuts. Perhaps because of this, we generally race well at the Midd Carnival. Despite some mishaps, we continued that trend this weekend. We had some messy conditions for the 5/10k classic - icy, transformed snow, with just enough wet, fresh snow on top to make it sticky. For the women's race, zeroes were working OK but not great, and we only had 2 pairs available anyway, so we had to scramble to figure out the wax. Our klister/hardwax combination worked as well as anything out there - a bit slow, but good enough to give our skiers a chance to be competitive. Hannah had the race of the day, a career best 18th (16th for EISA skiers). She's had a fantastic season so far, making an impressive comeback from her ACL injury, and this was the icing on the cake. Kaitlynn led the team in 8th, despite so-so kick on her zeroes, and Emma had one of her best races of the season to finish 46th. On the men's side, James skied extremely well to finish 33rd despite slightly draggy skis, and Kevin was solid in 41st, his best classic race of the season.
Temps cooled off nicely for Saturday's skate, leaving us with fast snow. Unfortunately, the thin coverage meant that the many winding downhill turns (really fun, by the way) quickly got skied off down to ice. This led to some excitement in both mass starts. Kevin and James both got into good position out of the start before running into trouble. Kevin got taken out when a skier in front of him crashed; he later fell again and actually hit his head on an exposed snowmaking pipe - tough way to start a race. For a while, he seemed to be skiing in a daze, but he pulled it together and went charging through the field. By the end of the race, he'd worked himself up to 30th - a remarkable performance. It's always frustrating to look at a race like this and wonder what might have been, but it's also important to accept the occasional moral victory and just be proud of the effort, even if the result wasn't what it could have been. James had some mishaps of his own, taking his equipment breakage misfortunes to an absurd level. Shortly after the start, the binding plate on one of his skis broke when another skier stepped on it, leaving him scootering into the stadium on one ski. Wilson happened to be on hand to give him a replacement, and he started working his way back up just like Kevin. Unfortunately, a few kilometers later he broke the binding on his other ski - what are the chances? At this point, he was pretty far out in the woods, and there wasn't much to do but drop out. Throughout all of the chaos, Riley was able to stay out of trouble - he skied smoothly throughout the race to finish 46th, one of his best results of the season. The women's start was a bit cleaner - no major trouble as far as I could tell - but things got hairy on some of the technical turns. I was near one turn around the 2k mark, and the carnage was impressive - wave after wave of skiers skidding on the ice trying frantically to avoid a big tree on the outside of the turn, with several sliding off the trail into the woods and often taking out others in the process. I was both proud and relieved that all of our skiers made it through on their feet. Kaitlynn started out in a decent position in the teens, but she looked tired from the start, and I was worried that she'd fade back into the middle of the pack. She pushed hard and found the energy to hold her position, finishing 12th for EISA - not her best result, but a great effort. Hannah had another fine race, skiing conservatively at the start and steadily picking off skiers to end up in 28th. Eva skied steadily as well to finish 34th. One thing that was fun to see was that Hannah M and Lucy were able to get into a battle with a group of St. Mike's skiers. Younger developing skiers often end up skiing alone in these long races, but these two were able to find some competitors out there and push each other to the finish - a great learning experience.
RESULTS
Here are some photos from the skate race, courtesy of Cathy Hoose:
Temps cooled off nicely for Saturday's skate, leaving us with fast snow. Unfortunately, the thin coverage meant that the many winding downhill turns (really fun, by the way) quickly got skied off down to ice. This led to some excitement in both mass starts. Kevin and James both got into good position out of the start before running into trouble. Kevin got taken out when a skier in front of him crashed; he later fell again and actually hit his head on an exposed snowmaking pipe - tough way to start a race. For a while, he seemed to be skiing in a daze, but he pulled it together and went charging through the field. By the end of the race, he'd worked himself up to 30th - a remarkable performance. It's always frustrating to look at a race like this and wonder what might have been, but it's also important to accept the occasional moral victory and just be proud of the effort, even if the result wasn't what it could have been. James had some mishaps of his own, taking his equipment breakage misfortunes to an absurd level. Shortly after the start, the binding plate on one of his skis broke when another skier stepped on it, leaving him scootering into the stadium on one ski. Wilson happened to be on hand to give him a replacement, and he started working his way back up just like Kevin. Unfortunately, a few kilometers later he broke the binding on his other ski - what are the chances? At this point, he was pretty far out in the woods, and there wasn't much to do but drop out. Throughout all of the chaos, Riley was able to stay out of trouble - he skied smoothly throughout the race to finish 46th, one of his best results of the season. The women's start was a bit cleaner - no major trouble as far as I could tell - but things got hairy on some of the technical turns. I was near one turn around the 2k mark, and the carnage was impressive - wave after wave of skiers skidding on the ice trying frantically to avoid a big tree on the outside of the turn, with several sliding off the trail into the woods and often taking out others in the process. I was both proud and relieved that all of our skiers made it through on their feet. Kaitlynn started out in a decent position in the teens, but she looked tired from the start, and I was worried that she'd fade back into the middle of the pack. She pushed hard and found the energy to hold her position, finishing 12th for EISA - not her best result, but a great effort. Hannah had another fine race, skiing conservatively at the start and steadily picking off skiers to end up in 28th. Eva skied steadily as well to finish 34th. One thing that was fun to see was that Hannah M and Lucy were able to get into a battle with a group of St. Mike's skiers. Younger developing skiers often end up skiing alone in these long races, but these two were able to find some competitors out there and push each other to the finish - a great learning experience.
RESULTS
Here are some photos from the skate race, courtesy of Cathy Hoose:
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