But racing is racing, and snow is snow, and racing fast in lots of snow is just as sweet. The heavy snow made the going slow and arduous...Meng continued his impressive roll in the 10k classic, taking 12th place for his 3rd top-12 in a row. The big performances didn't stop there, however, as Will and Kyle also took home the best races of their seasons thus far. While skiing and discussing the course beforehand I brought up a specific point (the "Coach's Corner" hill at 9k) where I said that everyone should be blacking out from pushing so hard. Will and Kyle certainly took this to heart: on his second lap I watched Will switch into a stride from the herringbone section and stop for a brief second...it looked like he was about to fall over right there and actually pass out, but instead he kept hammering. 22nd place, 5 second from the top 20! Here's a shot of Will at that exact black-out spot, 4k and 9k into the race. I think you'll see what I mean...
This is what racing is all about! You can ski smooth and smart for a time, but eventually when the time comes to make it hurt you've gotta do whatever it takes
Kyle "Gramps" Curry skied a similar race, turning himself inside out to grab 36th place. Races like these remind me of our mountain running TT at St. Regis...when the conditions are slow and thick, it takes a different kind of 'speed' to do well. Meng, Will and Kyle went 1-2-3 at St. Regis this year, and it's no surprise to see them doing well in a "pain race" like this 10k was.
The men's team finished 6th in the team standings, the best result so far this year!
The girls team faced a different kind of struggle, as a sickness was rapidly spreading through the group. Despite their best efforts I think all were racing a bit under the weather. Sienna still continued to show solid consistency in her first year, notching another top-40 in 38th place. Kelsey was questioning racing at all but jumped in last minute and decided to start slow and see how it went. The sickness may have held her back but she still finished competitively within the field, so her top shape is still impressive.
Here's a shot of Kate in the classic race. Kate must have a lot of fans because this picture has more 'likes' than any other photo on the team Facebook page, so I figured it deserved a spot here as well!
Saturday's relay was another great day for the men's team. Meng skied scramble leg and tagged off in 6th place out of 20 teams . Will and Kyle then skied with the Williams and Bates teams for the majority of the race, in a 3-way battle for spots 4-6 in the team score. They ended in 6th for the second straight day to cap a strong weekend. Meng (18th) Gramps (24th) and Will (30th) all had splits within the top 30 of all racers!
The women's team was feeling the sickness even more, as Kelsey and Cassidy opted to sit out the day. Erin skied a really strong anchor leg, hanging with the lead pack for her whole leg and tagging off in 11th out of 20 women's teams (34th fastest split!). Sienna and Kate skied strong legs as well to bring the team home in 13th.
Sienna in the women's relay Saturday
We were greeted back in Canton by tons of snow, even more than Craftsbury got! Because of the SLUBonic Plague crippling the women's team our OD on Sunday featured a small crew, but everyone had a blast classic skiing in the soft powder at Higley!
Snow galore at Higley Flow!
We have so much snow I had to drive the campus snowmobile around without any groomer attached, just to pack the stuff down enough to set a skate lane. I'm usually not a fan of snowmobilers, but I have to say that ripping around the open fields in 3 feet of fluffy powder at sunset wasn't a bad way to spend my Sunday evening...
For those into the social-networking game, be sure to 'like' the team facebook page HERE. You'll find more photos and much more up-to-date info on the latest SLUSKI happenings!
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