Technical Difficulties

This past weekend started off fairly well with a tie for 5th on the mens side for the 10K free and a 6th place finish with another top 10 result for Leah on the womens side. I would say we were looking pretty good going into day two a 15K/20K classic mass start on one of the most challenging courses the east has to offer. It is unique in that is starts with a very fast downhill out of the mass start area which exciting to watch but rather nerve racking for some competitors, especially for a mass start where you are really at the mercy of those around you, no one ever falls alone on this start. For anyone that thinks cross country skiing is for the timid they should check out the video of the mens start that I posted below, sorry I did not get the womens.

Our womens team was out one of our regular top 3 as Caroline bowed out due to illness. Leah (14th) was feeling very confident however, as was Sophie (42). This course was real eye opener for our freshmen in terms of the downhills but I think Amy (54) and Amanda (44) faired well for their first weekend at Oak Hill. Kelsey (45) was coming off of being sick so hoping for some better results this coming weekend. I think our kick waxing was right on for this race but the snow just did not warm up and our glide was was a bit to warm, easy to see in a mass start as we tended to close on the uphills but dropped a lot of time on the downs.

The mens race was low lighted by a binding malfunction for Adam (left the stadium last and had to switch skis) and a crash and pole break on the first downhill for Zach. Both worked hard together throughout the race to get back into 32/33rd. Had they not had problems in the start I think we could have had 3 in the top 25. Steve had a career best 23rd place finish, just and awesome performance as he closed strong in the second 20K to move up from 28th, great to see. Looking forward to races at Middlebury this weekend, should be fun with the sprint relay on day two.