Heading to the midpoint

The coffee is still draining out of me from that drive...

Our team results this past weekend were not great. I won't try to spin it or make excuses, and with all of the cyber-coverage our there its not as if there's anywhere to hide. So far this season every race has featured at least one (often two) 'best ever' performances. Our skiers are stepping it up left and right, and this young team is putting up really encouraging results.

We've had two first-year girls score NCAA points in only their first two carnivals (Sienna was 29th Saturday, Cassidy was 30th on Sunday) and another just outside (Erin was 31st, .2 seconds from 30th, in the SLU Prologue). Kelsey has stepped into the role of Senior leader, and has been hovering around the top-20 in every race so far.

Meng has been the story of calm, consistent skiing, paralleling Kelsey's results and finishing just seconds out of the top 20 in almost every race. He was our top finisher in Sunday's mass start despite losing a ski and working up from the very back of the pack. Will had the breakout race he's been heading toward all year on Saturday, skiing to 26th place in the 10k classic.

The only thing we seem to be struggling to find is a third scorer in each race. Carnival team results are based on the three top skiers in each event, and for one reason or another we've just had trouble with that third racer. Really this skier (male or female) can be anyone on the team at this point: both teams are competitive enough within themselves to produce that great third result, it's just a matter of having it all come together at once.

This weekend provides a great opportunity to head in that direction. The course at Trapps is basically 'home' for the majority of our team, and for all others, well...we raced here enough last year to have it pretty well calculated.

The SLUHaul has been a great addition, so be sure to peek in and check it out! Maybe after the races are over, as Sunday might be a wild waxing event in true East Coast style.

Don't have many pictures from these past few weekends, but here's one of Reed in Saturday's 10k classic. Skiing intervals yesterday it's clear that Reed is in great shape and is on the verge of a big race this year...