UNH Carnival 2014

Men's start Saturday (photo: Ian Nesbitt)

Another weekend in the books and overall results have begun to take an upward trend for SLUSKI. Alum Eric Wolcott put it simply in the team meeting Friday night: SLU gets faster every weekend as others get less consistent. It certainly seems like things are headed in the right direction. Some chaos, falls and mishaps led to a few wacky results in the skate races, but Friday's classic event showcased the potential for this team in a big way. 

We were led by 3 men in the top 30, Austin (19th), Eric (25th) and Will (28th). The guys were only 5 points shy of a 5th place team finish. The fitness for a single-digit individual race is certainly there for the Meng Dynasty (it has been all fall) and in each race the form, tempo, pace and snappiness get better and better. For Will it was the first of many top-30 results this season, while Eric continued his great classic run. He is getting checked out for some shin problems (cross your fingers against Compartment Syndrome) that has been plaguing his skating for a while now. 

Eric and Taren in Friday's classic race (photos: Ian Nesbitt for EISA)

Blaine picked up his first top-40 result in 39th place, with Calvin not far behind. These two freshmen are great training partners and they have raced exceptionally well in only their first season on the circuit.

Erin picked up her best classic race by about 20 places, finishing just outside the points in 32nd. She was nearly matched by Kate, who picked up her best race ever in 34th. Both of them skied the course very well, managing effort out of the gate and not blowing up on the big hill right our of the stadium. Instead, they moved fast through the technical sections and went fast on the big hill to the high point of the course, which we (accurately) predicted would be the "make-or-break" section for much of the field. For Kate and Erin it was definitely on the "make" side of things!

Saturday began with the men's mass start event. A huge field and fast conditions made for an exciting race. Meng led the men in 17th, just on the losing end of the sprint for 14th. The biggest news of the day, however, was Calvin Swomley. Chumley had a great start, tactically moving up early. He held his position, even when skiing alone in the final kilometers, and held off a big charging pack to maintain 34th position. Because of the Canadian racers in front of him, Chumley was actually awarded the NCAA points for 29th place! A great finish for only his fourth race. Kyle capped the scoring and is improving with each effort. 

Excellent photo of the men's race from Leah Hart '12. Will, Chumley, Blaine and Kyle all making an appearance

Chumley races into the NCAA points in the 20k skate!

The goal for the women was to move up early with a fast start, then settle in to the pace of the top 30. Erin hung around the low 30s before dropping back slightly, while Kate charged from bib 77 all the way to 40th place! While they were certainly hindered by their starting spots (all 50th or higher) the girls team moved up and will be in much better positions next race. 

Kate in the skate race. Leading the group and moving up (photo: Ian Nesbitt)

Everyone is excited to keep the momentum going and the results on the upward swing this weekend in Stowe. This UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup is one of the biggest and most exciting events of the year and everyone will be in attendance!

Special thanks to all the parents, friends, alumni and supporters who have joined us to cheer, make delicious food and help out this season!

Colby Carnival 2014

We've jumped quickly into the busiest part of the season. It feels like we just got back from Waterville and already the wheels are spinning toward Jackson...weather forecasts, wax preparation, departure organization, etc...not much to do other than race one day and begin prep for the next.

The Meng Dynasty is hungry for some serious climbs at Jackson this weekend

I think overall we are happy to be in that situation. From an team-wide perspective the Colby Carnival was not a particularly strong weekend for us. What probably stung the most was that we had rested and raced a good deal more than usual prior to these races in order to really come out swinging. Who knows why that didn't necessarily work out in this case, but there's no time to waste worrying over it; the training has been the best it's ever been and we are confident that soon enough the results will be as well. The less-than-stellar overall performances, however, shouldn't overshadow some excellent individual performances and several big breakthroughs.

FRIDAY

Slush, ice and klister was the theme of the 5 and 10k classic races. Returning from a semester studying and training in British Columbia, Eric proved he is back to his consistent form in the classic technique. His 21st place was his best distance race performance since his 2012 season and it was great to see him skiing so relaxed and in the groove.

First Carnival race, and Chumley does Bib #1 proud with a 41st place finish

Another great showing came from the freshman duo of Calvin "Chumley" Swomley and Blaine Ayotte, who both cracked the top-50 in their first Carnivals ever. Being in the 40s as a first-year racer is a great accomplishment. In fact, we had 7 men finish in the top 50 places...that is a good sign of depth in a field of nearly 100 racers.

Kate rippin' some turns on Saturday on some excellent new skis

SATURDAY

A fast course and many laps made for a very spectator-friendly skate race. The big breakthrough (perhaps the top story of the weekend?) came from Erin, who paced her effort perfectly in order to negative-split her way to her first top-30 race. What was most impressive was watching her hang with Annie Hart on the last lap, and move alongside to nearly outsprint her to the line. It was a great one to watch!

Erin: Great pacing, great placing, great racing. Once you taste those first NCAA points it only gets faster from there!

Our men struggled with the technical course a bit, and had an off day. Meng was the only scoring member in 23rd place, looking relaxed but missing the top speed and tempo to up the pace. The delayed return from altitude and some sickness last weekend is probably playing a part. The men are certainly looking forward to the brutal hills of Jackson to showcase their incredible aerobic abilities.

SUNDAY

We weren't quite done racing after the Carnival...our young men's team has high Junior National ambitions, and nearby Rumford was hosting an Eastern Cup right around the corner. Morgan, Matt, Chumley, Blaine and I all jumped in the 10k classic. Chumley and Blaine again posted solid results and points that should help them along the way to Stowe this spring, and Matt looked and skied much faster than both previous days of Carnival racing. For those guys it was 35k of hard racing all in one weekend, but a great display of fitness and determination.

Weather is looking to be cold but beautiful in Jackson, NH this weekend, so come watch the whole SLUSKI crew in action this Friday and Saturday!

Thanks to Joe Ayotte for these excellent photos!

Tuning up

The team is in the process of gradually arriving at the High Peaks houses in downtown Lake Placid as we begin our final training camp before the Carnival Season. Our winter break saw decent snow across New England, though Austin and Cassidy were experiencing a terrible California snow-drought in the Sierra's.

A big goal this year was for everyone to get racing in. We want to come into this season a little bit hotter than last year, and that means putting on more bibs and getting race starts more often. 

On the 4th and 5th of January I went over to Old Forge with Kyle, Will and Kate to jump in some Mid-A Junior National qualifier races. The local ski area, McCauley Mountain, was blasted with lake effect snow...it was the most snow I've seen in one place in a number of years! That made for soft conditions during Saturday's skate race, but excellent classic skiing on blue and purple kick for the following day's classic event. 

Victory for the coach! Still planning my Holly Brooks-esque comeback...

Kyle hammering out a hill. There was so much snow you had to duck in places on the course from the combination on tall snowpack and low-hanging, snow-covered tree branches.

Will came over Saturday afternoon and proceeded to crush Sunday's classic race by a wide margin. Will struggled a bit in the early-season racing but he "got his mojo back" as he put it. It wasn't hard to see the difference: when Will really gets his classic striding going in a race it is a sight to behold

Equally impressive was Kate, who also took the women's victory by a big wad of time. She really hammered the flats with her new strength gains (pull-ups!) and it looked like the fastest she has ever been.

Old Forge is an awesome little town...the nordic race trail goes right by the top of an old little alpine area which we of course checked out per my interest in old ski lore. I then talked to Ax in the parking lot who casually mentioned that he cut most of the trails in the town back in the 1950s...talk about SLU legacy in the area! Here's Kate, Kyle and Will atop the old ski tow:

Other notable winter break racing results:

Erin 1st in Mt. Hor Hop

Calvin "Chumley" Swomley 2nd in Mr. Hor Hop

Blaine 4th in Bogburn

Morgan 7th in Bogburn

We will be in Lake Placid until next week when me move to Waterville to prepare for the Colby Carnival!