LINKS

This past weekend the team headed 5 hours west to Middlebury, Vermont to race at Breadloaf. Tapping on wood as we went, we knew that we typically ski well at the Middlebury Carnival. However, we didn't know that the women's team would be making a little history. Natalie Ruppertsberger clearly held nothing back in her 10k classic placing 3rd behind US SKi Team member Rosie Brennan and only 7 seconds behind recently returned World Junior competitor, Sophie Caldwell. No less impressive were finishes from Caitlin Curran and Abby Samuelson who were 13th and 14th respectively. Despite wax/ski issues with Beth, she still had yet another top-20 finish. Both Megan and Kirsten are still getting healthy, but skiing faster with each race. The women placed 2nd as a team which is the best ANY womens team has ever placed for nordic skiing at Bates. Congrats to the girls.

The guys also had an impressive weekend. The men put 4 in the top-25. Sylvan finished 6th after battling for a top-10 position after the top of the hill. Sam E.B. ended up 13th and only 14 seconds out of the top-10. Tim and Harry both skied to a 24th and 25th place respectively. Connor and Dylan described their races as good, but not where they wanted to be.

Overall our nordic team was 3rd overall behind Division I schools, Dartmotuh and UVM. We were the first Division III school in front of host college Middlebury, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, and St. Lawrence.

We have a short distance to travel for our final carnival for the season. Our regional championships at Sugarloaf, Maine. We wil have a 10k classic and a 20k mass start skate.

Make sure to take a look at Lincoln Benedict's picture and video from the races this season so far. He is from Bates and has been getting great reviews from the entire eastern ski circuit.

Also here is our most recent team picture for all those who haven't seen their child's face in awhile.

We just got done with two tough, yet successful weekends at Jackson, NH (UNH carnival) and Stowe, VT (UVM carnival/US Super Tour).

UNH (Day 1): We started off well in the classic sprint on Friday qualifying 3 men into the rounds (Connor, Sam, and Sylvan) and 4 women (Abby, Nicole, Natalie, and Caitlin). Unfortunately none of the girls made it out of the quarterfinals and the first quarterfinal for the men consisted of the three male Bobcats that qualified with only two to move on. Sam and Sylvan continued through after Connor fell back due to some questionable moves by a UVM skier. Again Sam and Sylvan were in the same semi-final heat. With a desire to get both into the A-Final, Sam ended up getting taken out after setting up perfectly for his final move for total domination in the ensuing 100m to the finish. Sylvan moved on to place 6th in the A-final while Sam was 2nd in the B-Final for a 8th place showing.

UNH (Day 2): Another beautiful day in the Mt. Washington area. Not a cloud to be found in the sky with 20-30 degree temperatures. The Lady Bobcats were led with an impressive finish from Sophie Leonard in 11th place. Open skier Beth Taylor was 15th while Abby Samuelson and Caitlin Curran rounded out the top-30 in 28th and 29th respectively. The men had a 3rd place showing on Saturday in the 10k freestyle race right behind Dartmouth and UVM. Sylvan had his first win of the season while Sam Evans-Brown was 15th. Our 3rd scorer came in 43rd.

***We were happy with the weekend considering the many illnesses that hit the team. Harry, Kirsten, Megan, and Nathan all got hit but are back at it now***

UVM (Day 1): With almost 500 races in total this weekend it was sure to be a long day. The women went off first for their 5k freestyle race. It was a beautiful day and a new homoglated course (I don't know what it means...try googling it) provided for some fast times. Beth Taylor was the first Bates skier followed closely by Kirsten Gill in 15th, Sophie 18th, and Natalie 19th. The men had their best showing of the year in second place right behind Dartmouth. Sylvan placed 2nd, Sam was 8th, and Tim Whiton in our last scoring spot in 28th.

UVM (Day 2): What a day...it went from raining when we woke up to a wintery mix down at the hotel to 30 miles per hour winds when the boys showed up for the girls race with snow blowing everywhere. Little would anyone know that 2 hours from then it would be sunny and calm in the 20 degree range. Difficult day for many people. Not traditionally where many of the skiers on the team place, but there were some very impressive results nonetheless. Natalie Ruppertberger had a her best collegiate finish in 8th place. Beth Tayler was in the mix again placing in the teens (although her place is unknown due to her "open skier" status). Sophie and Megan placed 29th and 30th. The men ended up toughing it out in the 15k with Sylvan in 4th and Connor Cushman in 31st. While the results may not be what we wanted or needed, it was still an impressive day. All of the skiers had do dig deep today and see hwat they were made of.

This past weekend was Nicole Ritchie's last with the Bates Ski Team. She will be missed every weekend but she is on to bigger and better things. We wish her luck with her rowing endeavors and hope that we'll be able to say we know "that girl" on the US Olympic boat.

Also a HUGE THANK YOU to all the parents, especially the Evans-Brown's, that came to the race and cheered and most importantly fed us so much food after the races. You are all so great and are part of the reason that this team is so close. Thank you for everything.

We'll let you know how Dartmouth goes. GO BOBCATS!!!