The Skier of Two States

By Nathaniel Perkins '21

Hi, my name is Nathaniel Perkins. I am a freshman here at SLU. When not at school, I reside in Concord, MA, also known as the "land of poor roller skiing". However, I am lucky enough to do most of my summer training in Dartmouth, MA. 

I spent my high school years at Proctor Academy in Andover, NH. Proctor was lucky enough to not only boast great coaches, (yes, I am talking to you Sean Woods) but also about an exceptional ski area with FIS homologation and snow making right on campus.  My time so far at SLU has been awesome; the team works really hard. OD days have been the best, unless it involves running in which case no, thank you. My favorite color is blue and my favorite T.V. channel is for sure the Oprah Winfrey Network, because, why not? I enjoy country music a lot, and I dabble with basically everything else. I drive a Toyota Highlander and yes, I have slept on the roof. I also leave it unlocked, so if you see it in the parking lot, take what you need. A highlight of my career was definitely skiing with pro skier Sean Woods on the Proctor trails. That guy is the real deal folks; hit him up on Instagram: @swoods2.

In the summer, I interned for a realtor, and I gained some great job experience. I fit in my training around that and felt pretty strong. Since I have been at SLU, I already have gained some great memories. I hope we head into the carnival season strong and get some good results. These kids seem to know how it’s done. Here We Go Saints!

-Nathaniel '21

Climb to the Castle 2017!

By Kate Andy '20

This past weekend Saints skiers survived another Climb to Castle race. In preparation for the first official practice this Tuesday, several skiers entered themselves in a rollerski race UP Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid. For those who were don't know, the morning started at 4am. The early morning wakeup was the least of our concerns, because we still had a 5 mile climb ahead of us with an incline averaging at 8% grade.

Racers L-R: Matt '19, Eliza '21, Lucy '20, Kate '20, Matt '21, Tim '21 (Missing from photo: Ben '21 and Jackie '20)

Nevertheless, the skiers rose to the occasion and put out some solid performances, greatly due to the awesome support group of our fellow teammates who came out to cheer! As tough as the race was, it was a ton of fun and a great motivator for the season to come.

Racers with their teammates support! 

NYSEF website

More Pictures here

Fasterskier article w/ video

Female Results

Male Results


Cheers to those who did it again this year! Here is a side by side comparison of their results: well done!  They all did better this year, which gives a sneak preview into their future results!

Lucy '20 top in her age group!

6. Hochschartner, Lucy U20 SLU 59:23.1 (2016)
8. Hochschartner, Lucy U23 SLU 59:12.3 (2017)

11. Andy, Kate U20 SLU 1:04:15.4 (2016)
9. Andy, Kate U20 SLU 1:01:36.2 (2017)

20. Thomas, Eliza U18 MNC 1:10:08.7 (2016)
17. Thomas, Eliza U20 SLU 1:07.22.2 (2017)

Great job to everyone who raced and thank you to all the supporters- way to represent SLU! Next on to official practices, starting with testing today! More on that to come...so far so good!

~Kate ‘20

Gabby's Report

By Gabby Wangler '21

Hi all!

My name is Gabrielle (Gabby) Wangler! I am a freshman and I reside from Honeoye Falls, New York. I am a triplet with one sister at St. Bonaventure University and the other sister attending Clarkson University (who is also Nordic skiing for them!). I was first introduced to Nordic skiing as a freshman and raced with my high school team, HFL Nordic, as well as a summer training program RNR (Rochester Nordic Racing).

This summer, I worked as a lifeguard at a local pool teaching swim lessons; aka putting band aids on scraped knees and yelling at speedsters to slow down…Just kidding!! It was a great experience working with kids and some great coworkers. My summer training mostly revolved around this, as it was pretty time consuming, and included running, rollerskiing, biking and swimming. My highlights had to be cycling with my dad (which I just picked up this summer…so cool!) and long runs on our family’s vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. The ocean views and the beautiful weather made it very enjoyable!

Jordan #2 and I on a sunny ski!

View from the trails at Higley State Park

Skiing with Dana, our Captain!

These past two weeks have been captain’s practices, and we’ve been to some pretty neat places. Although the pavement may not be in the best condition, the locations definitely are! The foliage is just starting to turn up here, so we’re all praying for colder weather to follow instead of more summer heat. The team is a mix of half upperclassmen and the other half all freshmen, and it’s been great training with such a dedicated group of skiers. Just like them, I can’t wait for this season to start! Here we go Saints!

See you on the trails, Gabby ‘21