Catching back up with blog. A couple weeks ago, we had the Middlebury Carnival. It was nice to have a bit shorter drive and mid-semester break. On Thursday, we got to Rikert nice and early and were some of the first out to ski the course. It was sunny and the snow was beautiful. There were also some great fireworks that we could see from the hotel that night! The weekend turned out to be tough, but at least there were lots of personal bests, as it was our first closed carnival (so for freshmen that was there first time in the smaller field).
On Friday, we had a classic 10/15k mass start. Unfortunately, a couple of things did not go as planned. It was a tricky wax day, and no team could get it quite right, so it was a bit of a slippery/sticky/slushy slog for all. Secondly, the whole women's team (except for Jordan who quarantined herself!) had gotten whatever I had gotten at the beginning of the week, a nasty cold and cough. It also appeared to have gone through the whole EISA circuit, hence the diagnosis of EISA-itis. I decided to skip the race that day to cheer and get healthy for Saturday and the Bates carnival. Jackie was pulled out by ETown mid-race when it looked like she was digging herself in a hole. Let's just say, no one was quite at 100%.
Steph, Kate, and Erin battled through their sickness to finish great despite the circumstances, but not where they wanted to be. Jordan actually had a great race, leading the team in 43rd, matching her best finish ever! The other problem was that it was a tricky wax day, and no team could get it right.
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| Nathaniel gliding by |
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| Brian lapping through |
The men's team wasn't sick, which was great, but it wasn't quite anyone's day. Everyone put forward a great effort and battled tough conditions, though. Brian led the team in 37th, followed by Nathaniel in 47th, and GH in 61st. Ian notched a new personal carnival best in 63rd.
Saturday was definitely a bit better without the tough conditions and shorter races (5/10k skate). Steph led the women's team in 32nd, which was a new personal best! Shout out to Erin who also had her best carnival finish ever, coming in 43rd!! This was so impressive considering that neither of them were healthy. Jackie was unfortunately still too sick to race, but she was great moral support.
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| Erin leading a pack |
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| Ian looking speedy |
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| Jordan thriving in those distance classic races |
The men's team also rallied for day two. Brian crushed it, coming in 26th! He was followed by Tim in 51st and GH in 55th. Its great to see when everyone can put together some good races on the same day. I think that is an underestimated skill in this sport. You can have a team of fantastic skiers, but if they are all good at different events or peak at different times the team score will suffer. The women's team has struggled with this a lot this year. I know everyone is wanting more, but we're getting there. EISA-itis certainly didn't help, but there were a lot of bright spots with personal bests and some great performances all around. Thanks for reading, enjoy the pictures (thanks to my dad for those), and check back soon!
Results
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| Steffi battling the EISA-itis (and winning) |
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