Colby Carnival 2014

We've jumped quickly into the busiest part of the season. It feels like we just got back from Waterville and already the wheels are spinning toward Jackson...weather forecasts, wax preparation, departure organization, etc...not much to do other than race one day and begin prep for the next.

The Meng Dynasty is hungry for some serious climbs at Jackson this weekend

I think overall we are happy to be in that situation. From an team-wide perspective the Colby Carnival was not a particularly strong weekend for us. What probably stung the most was that we had rested and raced a good deal more than usual prior to these races in order to really come out swinging. Who knows why that didn't necessarily work out in this case, but there's no time to waste worrying over it; the training has been the best it's ever been and we are confident that soon enough the results will be as well. The less-than-stellar overall performances, however, shouldn't overshadow some excellent individual performances and several big breakthroughs.

FRIDAY

Slush, ice and klister was the theme of the 5 and 10k classic races. Returning from a semester studying and training in British Columbia, Eric proved he is back to his consistent form in the classic technique. His 21st place was his best distance race performance since his 2012 season and it was great to see him skiing so relaxed and in the groove.

First Carnival race, and Chumley does Bib #1 proud with a 41st place finish

Another great showing came from the freshman duo of Calvin "Chumley" Swomley and Blaine Ayotte, who both cracked the top-50 in their first Carnivals ever. Being in the 40s as a first-year racer is a great accomplishment. In fact, we had 7 men finish in the top 50 places...that is a good sign of depth in a field of nearly 100 racers.

Kate rippin' some turns on Saturday on some excellent new skis

SATURDAY

A fast course and many laps made for a very spectator-friendly skate race. The big breakthrough (perhaps the top story of the weekend?) came from Erin, who paced her effort perfectly in order to negative-split her way to her first top-30 race. What was most impressive was watching her hang with Annie Hart on the last lap, and move alongside to nearly outsprint her to the line. It was a great one to watch!

Erin: Great pacing, great placing, great racing. Once you taste those first NCAA points it only gets faster from there!

Our men struggled with the technical course a bit, and had an off day. Meng was the only scoring member in 23rd place, looking relaxed but missing the top speed and tempo to up the pace. The delayed return from altitude and some sickness last weekend is probably playing a part. The men are certainly looking forward to the brutal hills of Jackson to showcase their incredible aerobic abilities.

SUNDAY

We weren't quite done racing after the Carnival...our young men's team has high Junior National ambitions, and nearby Rumford was hosting an Eastern Cup right around the corner. Morgan, Matt, Chumley, Blaine and I all jumped in the 10k classic. Chumley and Blaine again posted solid results and points that should help them along the way to Stowe this spring, and Matt looked and skied much faster than both previous days of Carnival racing. For those guys it was 35k of hard racing all in one weekend, but a great display of fitness and determination.

Weather is looking to be cold but beautiful in Jackson, NH this weekend, so come watch the whole SLUSKI crew in action this Friday and Saturday!

Thanks to Joe Ayotte for these excellent photos!