Middlebury Regional Championships

Middlebury Carnival- The Last One

Regional Championships

Middlebury's glorious blue and purple mountains
PC: India

When we arrived on Thursday afternoon to Rikert, the paths were sheets of ice and the trails were mashed potatoes with ice underneath them.  The S turns were pretty tricky, but we kept our heads up because we knew that the grooming before the race would be much better. And it was true! The classic race was pretty fast and the coaches nailed the wax. Thanks to Adam Terko who came and helped out on Friday!  It wasn't a great day for us as a team, but we still had some good performances.

Men's Classic RESULTS
Women's Classic RESULTS

Kate (50) followed by Dana (48) hammering it home
PC: India

Most everyone had a killer race on the last day. It tends to be that way for our team, as seen in previous years. Special shoutouts to GH for his 44th place and Lucy for her 9th place in Skate! The happy atmosphere was contagious and there were lots of hugs and smiles.  I'd say it was a pretty fun day.  Thanks to all who came and cheered us on!

Nathaniel, George, Ben, GH show off their team spirit
PC: India

Men's Skate RESULTS
Women's Skate RESULTS


Team Scores
India's videos

Gabby and Lucy 

Kate Andy lighting up the world one smile at a time
PC: India

Hugs at the finish!

Although the carnivals are over, we are still trying to get our fill of skiing and training in! We are onto Junior Nationals, some weekend races, and Spring Series! Currently there is no snow in Canton (We've been running in shorts and t-shirts), but we don't mind making the trek to Gatineau Park in Canada where the trails were awesome yesterday!

Shoutout to Tim who is in Estonia competing for USA in Biathlon! Here's his interview with Fasterskier! GO TIM!

Good Luck to Ben, Jackie, Dottie, Jordan, Eliza, Gabby, Emily, Kate, and Aliya at Junior Nationals next week in Soldier Hollow!! Have Fun!

The Last For Captain Dana

By Dana Hatton '18

The last of the last

I want to thank everyone for their hard work and dedication to this team, not just those this season, but in all of my four years with SLUSki. We wouldn't have had as much success without those who have supported and contributed to our team.  It means a lot to me; as a Senior, I feel especially grateful to have been a part of this family. There's been a lot of ups and downs, but also a lot of smiles and laughter. This sport is not easy and there are a lot of factors that play into how well we do as individuals and as a team, no matter how big or small of an impact they may have had.  I can't imagine my time on this team in any other light. It's the memories with you all that I'll cherish forever. Many thanks for being a part of that.

Girls team gathers at the end
 PC: India Harvey '18

Last one Fast one
PC: India Harvey

My last race was probably the best and will be one for the books.  I had such a good time this past weekend, and the crowds on the hills were very enthusiastic. It's awesome when all you are focused on is getting up the hill in a race, but there's so much cheering that it becomes background noise.  Usually in a ski race I tend to hear the names that people cheer for, but on this day, it was just a loud roar.  It was so cool to see and be a part of an exciting race, especially knowing when your teammates are having stellar days too.  Kate caught up to me on the second lap and we skied for the majority of the second and last laps together! It was awesome to be able to work together and then see her cruise by me into the finish.  Dottie worked her butt off and came speeding up to me and Kate in the third lap and also whizzed by us at the finish.  With both Kate and Dottie falling down, it was pretty impressive that they both held their races together and beat me! They placed 36th and 38th, respectively. I wouldn't have it any other way though. One of my goals for this season was to get into the top 35. I was in that position for awhile until a girl from Williams came out of nowhere and again passed us at the finish. I was just out of 35, but knowing I was right there is something I am proud of. (More on results and this weekend in next post)

Hugs at the finish
PC: India 

I want to thank the boys for cheering for me, and not just GH, George, Ben and Nathaniel this weekend, but all of them on all the other weekends.  It's nice to know your team supports you, and you guys rock! It was quite a surprise coming down the third finger (for those that don't know, that's what we call the third loop at Middlebury?) and seeing their shirts off with the letters of my name on their chests! I couldn't stop laughing to myself and I can't imagine what the spectators thought when I came into the stadium to go out for another lap were thinking when they saw me with a big smile on my face...in the middle of the race... maybe it was just a grimace of pain?

The best boys
PC: India

It’s with a team that becomes so close and can push each other so much that fosters an environment such as ours to develop motivated skiers like us.  It’s pretty cool to see how much everyone on this team loves skiing….and wanting to race, and wanting to be on the carnival team so badly. It truly is remarkable.  

Feeling the love, thanks girls!
PC: India

I’ll do my best to keep my word, but I'll always support SLUSki for years down the road.  It has impacted my life in ways beyond what I could have imagined.  I can’t wait to see what this team does in the future. Remember to always push a little extra over the top of each hill, and I’ll see you on the trails.

Thank You, Dana!

How could you not miss that smile? (PC: India)

It pains me to say it, but Dana finally raced in her last carnival.
So, I thought it would be an appropriate time to look back and appreciate how much she has done
for this team (and mine the blog for embarrassing photos of little-Dana :P).

This photo of Freshman Dana needed to be resurrected

Dana has raced in 23 carnivals for the Saints. That is incredible! She has come a long way since
the days of her first blog post when she introduced herself to the world as Dana (not the dining hall). She has continued to race faster and faster, laying down her best results this year. She has been through many Sunday ODs, testing weeks, freezing skis in Canada, nights at St. Patty’s in Quebec, awful condition races at Quarry Road, and team dinners. We will miss her so much.

Battling St. Regis in the snow

She's had her share of tough times

And great times

So, thanks to Dana for welcoming us all to the team and sticking it out for the long haul.
Dana is the only one from her freshman class to stay with the team, and as a junior and senior captain
she has piloted SLUSKI through some rebuilding years (there are only 3 non sophomore/freshman on
the team). She has shown us what it means to be a Saint, and she loves skiing more than anyone.
Her passion for this team has helped us all through the rough times and has led the Women’s team to
its best results in years.

She likes to have fun :P (PC: India)

Dana left me in control of making sure the blog lives on, and so I thought I would start
before she has even left :) I hope that this team continues to give her as much joy as as she has brought
to the team.

I'll miss my Noogin (PC: India)

And the guys will miss their men's team captain!

In the tradition of Dana, an acrostic poem :)

D - Dedicated

A - Amazing skier

N - Needs her GF food

A - Always just a little sassy

We love you 💛

Dana and her team :)

Williams Carnival

Second to Last Carnival (It's gone by toooo fast!)

Day 1: 

A Sonnet-14 lines abab, abab, cde, cde

Foggy, Wet Mist

Warm, Mushy Snow

Made the Williams coaches pissed

Since the course took a hard blow

Hard, Slick Ice

Rutty, Caked Mud

Around the ski loop twice

Many skiers fell with a thud  (shoutout to Jackie who kept skiing in pain after a fall and ended up going to the ER to make sure she didn't fracture a Rib)

Hard, challenging waxing

Slow, grind skiing

Lucy and George were top for SLU

Racing is so taxing

But we love how it's so freeing

And we sure can't wait for Middlebury, as it's been fun through and through

Women's Classic RESULTS

Men's Classic RESULTS

Lucy '21 PC: India (Blazing Pines)

Day 2:

A Haiku- 

Sunny and warm out

A 3.8k sprint race

Firm, flat, fast ski course

Another Haiku-

There were no sprint heats

Only one big hill

Lucy and Dottie did well

Women's Skate RESULTS

Men's Skate RESULTS

Team Scores

GH '21  PC: India (Blazing Pines)

Matt M '21 PC: India (Blazing Pines)

Erin Waters '19 PC: India (Blazing Pines)

One more Carnival weekend to go! It's been an exciting, challenging, fun, season this far and we can't thank our fans, followers, alumni, parents, family members, and coaches enough for all of your support and efforts to help us along the way! We look forward to seeing you for one more weekend at Rikert in Middlebury, VT! 

PS. If any Alums out there read this and would like to contribute to a post, we would love to see what you are up to! Email Dana '18 at dhatt14@stlawu.edu

Van ride back to SLU on Saturday afternoon-
Featuring: back- Aliya '21 and Waters '19, middle- Kate '20 and Lucy '20, front- Dana '18

Dartmouth Carnival (Carni-Crush Weekend)

Carni-Crush Weekend

Dartmouth Carnival

Blazing Pines Video

Hi everyone!

Gabby Wangler here. This past weekend the Saints traveled up to Hanover, New Hampshire for some woodsy skiing. It was my first time being in such a cute town with a great race course and it proved to be a really fun weekend.

Driving up to the course on Thursday was more of a race against the sun; the course for the first day was a 10k loop that wound through the woods and eventually made its way back to the stadium, and it was around 5:00 pm when we arrived. No lights, no problems…right??  Well, not really.  I was constantly reminded of a quote by Henry David Thoreau that reads, “These woods are lovely, dark and deep…” as the disappearing light gave way to a shadowed forest.  By the time we were done, the stars were out, and our vans were basically the only ones left in the parking lot.  At least our classic skiing made for some really good agility practice when we hit the “S” turns!

Then we hopped in the vans and drove to Tim’s house, where his family graciously hosted us for dinner with lots of yummy food. (Thank you again, Cunningham’s!)

The first day was a 10k classic individual start for both the men and women, and the men started first. The course consisted of rolling uphills for about 8k, and then descended the final 2k with some “S” turns thrown in.  And for most of the woods part, it’s just you, your equipment, and your determination.  As compared to our skate races, our classic races didn’t seem to be as strong for both the men and women’s teams, but we took this in stride the following day.

GH '21- 116th place Skate Race

On Saturday, it was the final EISA/Eastern Cup race so there were a lot of other skiers present.  The men raced first in a skate 10k individual start that looped into a field and connected back into the first day’s course.  It was warm, so some hills turned into mashed potatoes, but we had some great performances.  Highlights include Timothy Cunningham (’21) who made a powerful performance for 55^th place, Jackie Garso (’20) who had a stellar day by finishing 25^th, and Lucy Hochschartner who blazed her way to 36^th place.  It’s safe to say that both teams finished higher than the previous day, and everyone had improved! (Plus it’s always a fun day when you can race in a tee shirt).

Kate '20- 60th place

And by keeping tradition, we also participated in Carni Crush.  The boys made a poem for the Laval women, and the SLU women may or may not go down in history for the greatest Carni Crush for the UVM men.  Just saying.  

…and that’s it on my end! Stay tuned as the Saints travel to Prospect (fingers crossed!) for the Williams Carnival this weekend!

-Gabby Wangler (’21)

Friday:
Women Classic RESULTS
Men Classic RESULTS

Saturday:
Women Skate RESULTS
Men Skate RESULTS

5K/10K Skate Race Pictures from Bob Townsend:

Tim '21- 55th place

George '21- 92nd place

Jackie '20 pursuing GMVS skier, Rena Schwartz-  25th place

Eliza '21

GH '21 (again)- 116th place

Dottie '21- 63rd place

Emily '20- 120th place

George '21 (again)- 92nd place

Matt Young '19- 136th place

Lucy '20- 36th place

Dana '18- 77th place