Bates Carnival - Sunshine and Smiles

Matt cruising in his last carnival skate race!

Well, it's that time of year again. The end of our carnival season! This always comes with a lot of bittersweet feelings. On the one hand, most of us are feeling the cumulative effects of a season of training with anywhere between 400 and 550 hours (complete with hot and humid summer bounding, windy workouts in Canton, rainy November rollerskis, and Thanksgiving ODs in the numbing cold), missing time with family and friends, sacrificing some of our freedom as we prioritize our workouts, racing for a couple months, being pent up in the van, and having a whole lot of work to catch up on. On the other hand, we get to do what we love, challenge ourselves, see hard work pay off, laugh & bop with awesome teammates, spend time outside, and get to be a part of the amazing community that is the EISA circuit. The Bates Carnival embodied all of this. We had beautiful sunny days (yes, that means sparkle and face tat tans), some ups and downs as people hit their peaks and we had wax troubles, and seniors Erin and Matt racing their last carnival.

Photos from River Valley Graphics
Thanks to Jackie for the rest of the photos!

Ian crushing!

Graham skiing in some West coast weather :) 

The first day was a skate 5k for the women. Jackie got in the top 15, which was great, but not her best. This made a lot more sense once we got back to the hotel and realized she had food poisoning... Stuff like this happens, but it is always extremely disappointing. Jackie was a trooper. Me, Steph, Kate, Jordan, and Erin followed in 31st, 37th, 45th, 55th, and 57th.

Women's 5k Skate Results

The men's team followed the women with a 10k skate. Brian cracked the top 30 again. It is awesome to see such consistently great results from him! He was followed by Tim in 44th, GH in 56th, Matt in 58th, Graham in 59th, and Ian in 61st.

Men's 10k Skate Results

The next day had a 15k classic mass start and some great results from our younger women! Steph led the team and got her first top 30 ever (28th)! Jordan also got her first top 40 (39th)! I was between them, and it was great that we all got to ski together for a few seconds on the first lap :) It was such a team effort, and on a day that wasn't my best, it was great to see all my teammate's hard work finally pay off. Kate was 47th and Erin was 50th. We all stuck around at the finish for a big group hug, and we were all so proud of Erin for what she has accomplished. Skiing for 4 years takes it out of you! She led us well and has left behind a culture of caring that won't be forgotten. We love her :)

Women's 15k Classic Results

The men's team followed with a 20k classic mass start. This started well as Brian got into the front pack! However, the weather warmed and their wax completely stopped working. It was really tough to watch good days be stymied, but it happens in ski racing, and it can happen to any team. The results don't show the determination that we all saw from our men's team! I'm not sure I could have done it. And honestly, learning how to persevere with bad wax, or in Brian's case - how to get to the lead pack of a mass start, are great things to learn that may be more valuable than a great result itself (despite how frustrating and painful it is to not reach your goals for reasons out of your control). Brian finished in 34th (not a bad result, just could have been even better!), followed by Matt in 54th, Tim in 56th, Ian in 57th, Graham in 61st, and GH in 63rd. Shout out to Ian for having his carnival best finish in such terrible conditions! It was so fun/impressive to watch him enjoying himself when it was so hot. Also, thanks to Matt for being a source of never-ending laughter and dependability (he's the only surviving member of his freshman men's class). Things just wouldn't have been the same without him, and we'll miss his dry humor and giant stack of plates at Dana :)

Men's 20k Classic Results
Team Scores

GH working the V2

Tim looking strong

It has been a season of ups and downs. I know as a team, we were hoping for more. However, I know that everyone learned a lot, some struggles were out of our control (like sickness and wax), and I think that we're getting more professional in our commitments to the sport every year. It was also one of the most successful seasons in recent history. JACKIE QUALIFIED FOR NCAAS! She is the first SLUskier to go since 2015, and the first SLUski woman since 2012. That's what I call impressive (and hard work). Keep an eye out for a blog about that, and also a blog about the last two Eastern Cups (Gabby, Emily, and Kyle raced at Middlebury alongside the carnival, and Gabby, Emily, and Steph raced in New Hampshire). Steph was a trooper to go to the last Eastern Cup for a 3rd day of racing after the Bates Carnival. She did that to qualify for New England JNs. Jordan and Jordi will also be going to Anchorage for Mid-A! So, look out for news from there as well. Thanks to everyone for supporting us all season. It's not quite over yet!

Brian hammering "High School Hill"