Team Post: Gramps reports on the weekend

By Kyle Curry '16

On Saturday nine of us departed Canton for Climb to the Castle-- An annual roller ski race that takes racers up the backside of Whiteface Mtn. via the toll road in Wilmington, N.Y. We left Canton at 5:30 a.m. in order to allow for a warmup before the 8:00 a.m. (women) and 8:10 a.m. (men) start times. When we left it was raining, making the potential for a soggy ski seem real. Luckily, the rain stopped, and held off for the entire race.

Women started first at 8:00 a.m. Erin Perryman (13) and Lizzy Landry (21) duked it out with with members of the U.S. Ski Team and other top athletes from around the country. (Terko Photo)

Climb to the Castle provides a great opportunity for junior and collegiate skiers alike to battle it out with some of the best in the country in a low-stakes 'fun' race. Climb to the Castle marks the end of a camp held by the US Ski Team. As a result, many of the top skiers are present from current World Cup athletes like Tim Burke and Liz Stephen to club powerhouses like Ben Lustgarten and Caitlin Gregg. 

The men started shortly after the women. 

Austin Meng (65) and Kyle Curry (63) chase down B. Lustgarden (67) and C. Smith. (NNF Photo)

There has been talk that the Toll Rd. had been getting a facelift, including fresh pavement, over the summer. Many of us were expecting new pavement from top to bottom. 

(Barb Beall photo) 

However, that was not the case. By Saturday's race only a few portions had been capped with new pavement. Those sections that were recently paved were as good as they get for roller skiing- The dry-land equivalent of fresh tracks on an extra blue day! 

  (Barb Beall photo)

Towards the top of the course the wind picked up and summit was concealed in a dense fog / mist. For the last few hundred meters of the race visibility was only a few feet. 

The group together at the finish. (Barb Beall photo)

Highlights of the day included Coach Adam and Kyle both finding a way into their respective age group podiums. 

Adam and the rest of the SR podium: L-R Adam, Simi Hamilton and Leif Nordgren (Barb Beall photo)

Kyle and the U23 podium: L-R Kyle, Ben Saxton and Ben Lustgarten (Barb Beall photo)

Both men's and women's results can be found here. 

On the way back to school the traditional post-race stop at the Lake View Deli in Saranac Lake, N.Y. is always welcome. 

Phil, Calvin, Austin, and Erin decide what to order at the Lake View Deli. 

The race was pretty taxing. Those not driving took advantage to the hour+ drive back to campus to get some sleep. 

Freshman Isaac W. and Drew H. down for the count on the way back to school. 

 Sunday consisted of an easy 2.5 hr trail run for both the men and women. We ran the Stone Valley and Ledges trail systems along the majestic Raquette River.

Heading out onto the trail 

The mighty Raquette River

Will and Calvin check out the river. 

Winding our way through the pine forests. 

Team Post: Captain Kate weighs in

By Kate Mulcahy '15

With the start of a new school year we’ve gotten a little over a week now to get to know our new freshman. On the Men’s side, Drew Houx, joins us from Holderness and has proven to be an awesome ultimate Frisbee player, possibly giving notorious ultimate player (and senior) Austin Meng a run for his money. Isaac Wright, a fiery redhead and last year's VT State Champ, was getting after the strength early this week and could be pumping out a high score for the upcoming Canadian Strength Test. After taking a post-grad year, our third male recruit, Sean Delaney, becomes the new representative of CVU, our Assistant Coach Adam’s oft-praised high school alma mater. 

For the Women, we also gained three new teammates. Dana Hatton hails from Cape Elizabeth, Maine and follows two older siblings onto the EISA circuit. She comes across pretty shy but had a lot of comments yesterday about Carni-Crush, so EISA men take note! Emma Greenough, joining us from junior Erin’s former high school in Lebanon, New Hampshire, encourages everyone to “EAT MORE KALE,” and is looking to get involved with multiple singing groups on campus, and is one of the most eager to improve technique. Lizzy Landry aka Slizzzerd, another Maine athlete, gets her nickname not from illicit activities but because it was felt she needed a more unique nickname than the generic Lizzy moniker “Lizard”. Plus, “Like a G6” is a team favorite warmup song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4s6H4ku6ZY

We kicked off the training year by running the Annual Alumni Race for the Cross-Country team. Having two options of 6 and 5K courses, the guys added the extra kilometer while the girls stuck with the traditional 5K. The course is right on campus and begins on about 200 meters of a grass field before looping around to take two laps through the wooded trails. And the team posted some impressive results: both the men’s and women’s ski team beat the alumni runners in the team score, much to the alum’s displeasure. Individually, we also saw exciting improvement, particularly by juniors Kyle Curry and Taren McGray. Taren knocked off nearly TWO MINUTES from her time last fall and Kyle intimidated all with his prominent six-pack.

(Sophomore Calvin Swomley in navy shorts and freshman Drew Houx in green surrounded by current and former members of the Cross Country team).

After the race we got a chance to meet Ethan’s new baby girl Maya Luna Townsend, or BabyTown, who was less than a week old. Ethan’s parents were also at the event, cheering us on as always and Jenny, Ethan’s wife, was out and about and recovering well. Ethan sat the race out this year, much to the relief of the men’s team because despite his goofy run technique E-Town has some serious speed. The team then took the annual post-race run down to the rope swing for a swim in the Grasse River, with some tree-tipping along the way.

BabyTown working on her "Here we go, Saints!" cheer

We’ll follow-up a great first weekend with an arguably better second: Climb to the Castle. The team will be sure to post some killer results as they power up the five miles of the toll road representing the scarlet and brown!