Morgan had a great Eastern Cup in Waterville Valley!
Well, we almost made it a full season with regular updates along the way! Sorry for the lack of pictures and stories here; the final uptick of activity at the end of the season has left little room for the blog!
WILLIAMS CARNIVAL
Let's start things off with Williams Carnival, where we had somewhat uneventful relays: the women were boxed out on some downhills despite Erin's quick speed out of the gate in the mass start. Kate proceeded to rock the 16th fastest relay split in the whole field, skiing the soft snow really well to glide to that great result.
Erin had a great start in the relay but was boxed out and lost some places on the downhills
The men's race was marred by crashes from team 1, with Eric, Will and Meng each taking diggers at various points in their laps. Eric suffered the worst fate, crashing early and then getting stabbed by a ski tip as another competitor fell onto him; he spent the rest of the race skiing with one arm while clutching his side with the other. Meng was in position to fend off Middlebury's team 1 before he too went down on the bermed-up S-turn before the final few hundred meters.
The men's second team was very competitive, with Kyle, Matt and Phil fighting not far behind SLU team 1 the entire way. Great racing from those guys!
The classic day on Saturday showcased another great classic effort by Eric in 19th, while Will used the power of some stiffer test skis to glide to a top-30 result. Kate and Erin continued posting results in the 30's in their weaker discipline, showing a big step forward with consistency.
Phil picked up his first top-40 in the Williams classic race
While the classic races were happening at Prospect, I loaded up a van with Blaine and Morgan to head to Eastern Cup Finals in NH with hopes of nailing down spots on the New England team for Junior Nationals.
EASTERN CUP FINALS
These were some great races thanks to the big storm and great courses. Blaine and Morgan had solid races on Saturday in the skate at Waterville Valley. I got to race too, my first time racing those trails since the 1999 Bill Koch Festival!
The points were good and Morgan skied to his best Eastern Cup result ever in 28th, with Blaine just ahead in 25th.
Blaine chasing down some competition at Waterville
The final day of competition at Holderness was absolutely perfect: sunny skies, narrow winding woods trails and a distance classic interval-start. Blaine was on the bubble for qualification and, instead of letting that pressure get to him, he took it as motivation to rocket to one of his best races ever. He nabbed 16th place and a coveted spot on the New England team!
Morgan had another solid race but was unfortunately on the outside of qualifying.
With the team named and official, I am proud to announce that we will be sending 3 athletes to represent Team New England: Erin Perryman, Calvin Swomley and Blaine Ayotte. Congrats to these guys for having great seasons and capping it with more success!
MIDDLEBURY CARNIVAL
Midd carnival is always a great time: fun trails and amazing grooming make for excellent competition.
Kate had been chasing her first top-30 all season and had been finishing tantalizingly close multiple times. She put all the questions to rest this weekend with back-to-back top-30 races of 30th and 25th to end her solid season on a high note!
Eric matched his career-best distance race of 14th on Friday, and followed it up with his second-best skate finish to cap an incredible career as a Saint. Four-year scoring member, top-15 carnival competitor, double Junior National Champion in 2012 and just an overall standout dude. Way to go Eric!!!
Meng and Kate say a few words and give Eric a photo signed by the team. Champagne also involved for a big toast!
WHAT'S NEXT?
While writing about the end of the season it's impossible not to mention the elephant in the wax room: NCAA Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah.
With all the dust of qualification settled Austin was 3 or 4 spots away from earning a trip to the Big Show, and it definitely stings to not have any representation. We went into the season with the goal of having multiple guys make the team, with maybe an outside chance at one of the women going as well. Many factors play into a great season, and I think that 2014 was still up there in terms of being great. The simple fact, however, is that our top men did not perform in a way that represented their efforts, preparation and early results from summer and fall training.
The younger men on the team impressed and scored big with Junior Nationals, but the upperclassmen were left searching much of the season for the form and fitness that was shown this fall. Like Arnold, THEY WILL BE BACK
Part physical? Part mental? Part emotional? Who can say, but probably a combination of these went into having a somewhat lackluster season compared to the aspirations we laid out earlier this year for the veterans on the men's side. Lessons are still being learned, review will be conducted and, rest assured, we will all be learning from the lows in order to make the highs higher next season.
Small girl's team doesn't mean lackluster girl's team! These four had a great season
On that note, you can't talk about the low points without mentioning the great aspects of the season. The women's team really came into its own this year. Erin, Kate, Laurel and Taren used their small team size to their advantage, becoming a great group of friends that really raced well above expectations. They raced fast and in many ways demonstrated just how well a team can come together despite big differences in age and experience.
So with that recap in the books, we look forward to some great spring adventures. Stay tuned for more from Junior Nationals!
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