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| Photo by India Harvey '18 |
What a weekend! After an admittedly
tough classic day at UNH last week, the team resolved to turn things around. We managed to get some positive momentum last
Saturday and built on that this week to do some big things!
On Thursday we hopped in the trusty
Transit and van to head to Stowe. It took a little longer than expected, and so
we got right to skiing when we arrived. Dusk was setting in, but we were
excited nonetheless. The snow was
perfectly groomed and very cold. Many of
us felt nostalgic for either the last time we got to ski at Trapps (a few years
ago as they could not host last year due to low snow) or for the winters when
perfect conditions were the norm. The
team put aside the nostalgia though to get through our pre-race routines, get
back in the van, and head to dinner.
Dinner was at The Best Western
where we had an incredibly nice server. According to him, Lucy put down more of
the turkey potpie than anyone he had ever seen… apparently he hasn’t met many skiers. After that it was motivational talks with
ETown, Liz, and Bob. Then, it was
bedtime.
Sprint Race Day
Sprint days are long. This is true for athletes, but even more so for coaches. I (Lucy) got up at 6:30, but the coaches were up even earlier, heading out to prep and test skis. Thanks to them, we had a fantastic day. The girls got ready for the race by covering their faces in sparkles (a new team tradition, YAY!!) and putting on face tats. The boys apparently have some sort of secret that makes them fast other than sparkles (though we would be happy to share if they want some!). Whatever it is, it worked.
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| Emily Sprinting - Photo by India |
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| Kate sprinting hard - Photo by India |
The sprint course at Trapps starts
with a swooping downhill turn, a quick hill, a little down-up-down, a long
straightaway, and then a monster climb. The
saints worked their way up though, both on the hill and the results page. Both Lucy ’20 and Dustin ’19 qualified for
heats.
In case you didn’t know, this is the thought process of
making heats. “I made heats!” You are so excited, so happy to have proved that
despite feeling a little awkward and crazy on your skis, you somehow moved your
arms and legs fast enough to make it into the top 30. Then, “Oh gosh… That means I have to do that
AGAIN?” You have to put on a good face
because you really are so excited and you love ski racing, but wow, that hill
is REALLY big. Later, you convince
yourself that you are just going to go out there and tear it up. So, off you go to warm up again.
From the second you hear the gun go
off, you have to be ready. To do this on
a sprint day, you need to convince yourself of two things that cannot both be
true. 1) You will make it to the final and win! 2) You don’t ever need to ski up this big hill
again.
It was an exciting time out on the
course for heats. Quarterfinals went off
and Lucy advanced. Dustin hammered up
the hill and had a truly incredible sprint to the line that ended in a photo
finish. He ended up 4th in
his heat to end the day in 18th, his best finish ever! Lucy’s semifinal was a real struggle as she
kept finding herself boxed in. Well,
that’s part of sprint racing, and you have to make the best of it. So, she tried to put in a big burst of speed
on the hill, and thanks to the insanely loud and motivational cheering of
parents and teammates, she made it to the final where she placed 4th.
It was a complete team effort that made
the day happen, from the superb wax and advice from coaches, the excellent
snacks from parents, the best cheering squad, and awesome performances all
around. These stellar races proved how
deep our team can be and earned the women a 6th place finish and the
men a 9th place finish. Here
we go Saints!
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| Jackie and Dani - Photo by India |
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| Coach Liz contemplating life - Photo by India |
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| Emily, Jackie, and Dani - Photo by India |
After a long day, we made our way
to dinner. It may have been an
interesting parking spot, but we didn’t get towed! I thought dinner was great at the restaurant in
Waterbury called “The Reservoir”, but the décor was especially fitting. I’m not superstitious about most things, but
with skiing I might have a few quirks. I
mean what would I do without sparkles, ribbon hair ties, and my favorite race
shirt? Anyway, what could be better luck than these license plates up on the
wall?!
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| License Plates on the wall- Photo by Lucy |
Distance Day
The coaches once again were up
really early, but this time they found that the wax was… could it be?...
really?... NOT KLISTER! Trapps amazed us
with mountain views as gorgeous as the wind was freezing. It was definitely a chilly day to stand in the
start gate.
Once out of the start gate, things
actually seemed to look up. That would
be because the first kilometer is all downhill… You think, “Hey, I’m racing,
and it’s not that hard!” Then you hit
the uphill. The course at Stowe is very
well designed, with numerous tough but stride-able ups and wide roller-coaster
downhills. Both the men and the women did two laps, and I think everyone
finished the first one thinking, “Really? Again?” We gutted it out though. The women strung together some of our best
classic races ever to keep the momentum going, but the real excitement came
from the men’s side.
Since there was a long break
between races, the women were able to get out and cheer. Sadly, on our cool down we saw that our once
perfect tracks were going to be full of windblown snow for the men. The skiing Saints made the best of it though! It was inspiring to watch the guys absolutely
leave it all out on the course. Calvin ‘17 had a crazy double pole sprint
finish where he earned 18th place, his best result ever! That was so cool to see, since we all know how
hard he has worked for so long. The team
packed up, tired from some long days in biting cold and wind, but happy with a
solid weekend of racing. As someone this
weekend said, the UNH Carnival is the Voldemort of ski racing
(He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named). We have all
moved on as a team though, gotten back into the right tracks, and are headed up
the hill. Of course, there are always
some disappointments out on the course, but everyone this weekend, regardless
of their own result made something amazing happen. Those of us who had some of our best races
ever know just how many people it took to get us there, and are ready to wait
at the finish line cheering, when those of us who might be a little
disappointed right now will get out there and crush it next week at the
Dartmouth carnival!
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| Dana - Photo by India |
Finally, although the team
obviously deserves some thanking for being made up of wonderful (very speedy)
people; there are plenty of others who deserve thanks as well! Thank you to the Trapp Family Lodge, UVM, and
Barttiming for putting together a flawless weekend. Thank you to the parents, friends, and casual
readers of the blog who support us physically (when we are too tired to stand
up after races) mentally (when it gets hard to balance life and skiing- or are
they the same?), emotionally (when we get down after some tough races), and
gastronomically (honestly the food table might be the best part of collegiate
racing). Thank you to the coaches for
doing everything and more each day to get us to the finish.
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| Jackie and her Dad - Photo by India |
P.S. Keep an eye out for more blog, Facebook, and Instagram
posts as we head into the second half of the season. Also, India ’18 has been
using her pro videographer skills this season to make video recaps of all the
EISA carnivals! Check out her channel here and the most recent video here!
-Lucy H. '20 and SLUSKI
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| Girl's Team - Photo by India Back L-R: Liz P, Dani, Lucy, Dana, Emily, and Kate Front: Jackie and Jordan Team Photo taken at the SLU carnival:  |
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