Becky Woods

HEAD COACH NORDIC SKIING
Becky Woods

A two-time EISA Coach of the Year, Becky Woods '89 has been the head Nordic skiing coach at Bates since 1994. A native of Auburn, Maine, she has coached four All-America winners, including Sylvan Ellefson '09, who was fourth in the 10K freestyle at the 2008 NCAA Championships.

During her collegiate career at Bates, she was a two-time captain, participated in three NCAA Championships and was a member of the All-East team. Woods received the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame President's Award in 1996 and has served on the NCAA skiing rules comittee since 1998.

Email: rwoods@bates.edu

Office Phone: 207.786.6339

Martin Benes

ASSISTANT COACH NORDIC SKIING
Martin Benes

Martin Benes '07 returns to Bates, where he was a four-year member of the team and served as co-captain his senior year. After departing Bates with a B.A. in Classical and Medieval Studies, he returned to his home club in California where he coached junior skiers at the regional and national levels.

Last winter Martin returned to New England as an assistant with the Dartmouth College Ski Team. He returned to California this past summer to continue working with the juniors he has coached through two Junior Nationals.

Martin is glad to rejoin the Bates team and is looking forward to working with a talented group of athletes this winter. Off the trails, Martin will be helping out Coach Flynn on the links as the Golf team assistant.

Email: mbenes@bates.edu

Office Phone: 207.755.5954

Bob Flynn

ASSISTANT COACH NORDIC SKIING
Bob Flynn

Coach Flynn posesses a impressive history in the Bates Athletics department through his continuous, untiring involvement for more than 40 years.

He was head skiing coach at Bates from 1968 to 1990 and was instrumental in the program's move to Division I competition in 1972, and in bringing the 1976 NCAA Skiing Championships to Bates. Flynn was also head baseball coach from 1991 to 1999. He is a member of the Lewiston-Auburn Sports Hall of Fame, the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame and the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.

In addition to Skiing and Baseball, in 2008 Flynn also returned to the helm as the Head Coach of Men's and Women's Golf, a position he held previously from 1990 to 1998.

Email: rflynn@bates.edu

Office Phone: 207.786.6441

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BATES NORDIC BLOG

Monday, March 8, 2010

Goggles On

Another great day of training at Lost Valley...

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Midd Carnival

Last weekend marked the final Carnival of the year, also serving as the Eastern Regional Championships. Due to some unpredictable weather last week, the racing was postponed to Saturday and Sunday. On Friday morning we headed over to Middlebury, stopping to ski at Rikert before settling in.
On Friday night, we had our banquet, and everyone was looking pretty classy due to the "business casual" dress code. The Academic All-Americans were announced, with a strong crew from Bates Nordic represented. Nat, Abby, Cooper, Smeltzer, Corey, and Lucas all garnered the honors.
Saturday saw the 10/5 km Classic races. The weather conditions were all over the place, and most of our team ended up going on zeroes. They weren' t awesome, but they were the most consistent and predictable. Ultimately, it was a very good day. Beth posted a career-best finish with 9th place on the day, which was awesome to see. Nat continued her strong season with 13th. Kir rounded out the scoring in 23rd. Behind those three, the women skied to a 4th place finish on the day. On the men's side, Senior Cooper lead the way with 17th, besting his 20th place from last weekend's classic race. Captain Harry had a solid race to end up in 27th, and Lucas was our third scorer in 35th.

The Start of the Women's Race (Lincoln Benedict Photo)
On Sunday, the weather was warm and the early tracks were fast. The 15 km Women's race started things off. Nat and Beth once again lead the way, finishing in 13th and 14th. Captain Abby had a strong finish to her collegiate career with 24th, fighting the entire race. Gretch and Megan rounded out the team, in 29th and 38th. For the men's team, Lucas lead the way. He picked up spots through the entire race, and finished a career-best 14th place. Cooper wasn't far behind in 16th. Harry had a solid outing, ending up in 33rd. Danny and Corey ended up in 53rd and 55th. It was a solid end to the Carnival season this year. Congrats to our team for a great season. Nat will be heading out to Steamboat to represent Bates at NCAA Championships, hosted by Colorado-Boulder. She is joined by two men from the Alpine Team in forming the Bates contingent.
This weekend was the last collegiate racing action for Abby, Harry, Cooper, and Smeltzer. They have all given so much to this program over the last four years, and they will certainly be missed when they graduate in May. A special thanks to Captains Abby and Harry for all their hard work this year.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Training at Lost Valley

Monday, February 22, 2010

Williams Carnival and Cheri Walsh

Lucas at Williams (Lincoln Benedict photo)
After our week-long February break, the team headed down to Prospect Mountain near Bennington, VT for the Williams Carnival. There was plenty of fresh snow and temps in the mid-20s to remind us what winter really feels like. The weekend was a 10/5 km classic on Friday, and a 10/5 km skate on Saturday.
The day was highlighted by Harry's season-best 14th place finish. Cooper had a very solid race and ended up in 20th. Danny Kuzio continued his strong second half of the season with a 32nd. Lucas was only 5 seconds behind in 34th. Behind those finishes, the Men ended up 6th on the day.
On the Women's side, Natalie once again led the day, finishing in 12th. Abby and Gretchen both had strong classic finishes, ending up in 21st and 24th, respectively. Kirsten and Beth weren't far off finishing up the day in 30th and 31st.
For Saturday's Skate race, the Women got the team off to a blazing start. Three women posted career-best freestyle results. Nat was in 7th, Kir in 10th, and Beth in 13th. It wasn't surprising to see those results, that's where the girls have been skiing towards over the last couple of weeks, but it was really exciting to see it all come together on the same day. Abby and Meg also had strong races, finishing in 34th and 35th, only 30 seconds out of the top-15 as well. As a team, the Women ended up 3rd on the day. It was their 3rd podium finish in as many weeks.
The Men had some solid performances, with Lucas leading the team tied for 28th place. Cooper was second for the team again, in 40th. Harry rounded out the scorers in 47th. The times for both races were extremely tight, and 5 seconds meant a difference of several spots. Overall, it was a solid Carnival weekend, and the team is fired up for Middlebury Carnival/Eastern Championships this coming weekend.
On Sunday, a smaller group headed over to Holderness School for the final race of the Eastern Cup season. Sophie, Kelsey, and Sam all raced for the women, posting solid times on the blazing fast course. Corey, Jim, Dan, and Isaac raced on the men's side, skiing well through the mud, slush, and ice that made up the course. The conditions were fast, the times close, and Corey just missed out on Junior Nationals for New England.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Dartmouth Carnival Recap

Corey in the relay (Lincoln Benedict photo)

We just got back yesterday afternoon from the Dartmouth Carnival, held up at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. The team had a strong weekend, with the Women finishing 3rd on Friday and 4th on Saturday.
Nat lead for a big chunk of the race, pulling the top women's group through the middle of the race. She had a great finish as well, ending up 5th. It was the second top-5 of her season, and the third of her career. Abby also skied a great race and ended up 17th. Gretch and Beth skied around her most of the race and finished close behind in 21st and 22nd. Kir and Kelsey also skied strong races for the Bobcats.
For the Men, Lucas and Coop skied pretty much the entire race together. Their combined efforts and energy paid off, as they ended up 22nd and 23rd. Danny Kuzio skied an awesome race and ended up 29th, cracking into the top-30 for the first time in his young Carnival career. Corey also skied well, finishing 38th. Harry lost a ski early on and didn't have his best day, Jim had a solid outing to round out the other Carnival skiers.
On Saturday, it was on to the 3x5 km skate relay. The men skied a strong race, with the team of Harry, Coop, and Lucas scoring. The team of Danny, Corey, and Jim skied a strong race as well, and weren't far off.
For the women, Nat, Beth, and Abby skied to a 4th place team finish. Gretch, Kir, and Kelsey made up the second team, and ended up 12th overall.
After the races, it was Carni Crush time. Always entertaining, and the quartet of Lucas, Danny, Corey, and Jim did a great rendition of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"

Don't let the look fool you, Abby means business (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Showing some love (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Righteous Brothers? (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Friday, February 12, 2010

Dartmouth Carnival and Olympics

Day 1 of the Dartmouth Carnival is in the books. I won't write much right now, but it was a good day to be a Bobcat. Standout performances on both sides. Another podium finish for the Women's team. We're heading to the Kuzio's for dinner tonight. Looking forward to it.
Tonight, the Olympics are kicking off with the Opening Ceremonies. Bates Nordic alum Haley Johnson will be competing in the Biathlon. She was the only pre-qualifier for the U.S. Women's team. Tomorrow the Biathlon events kick-off with the Women's 7.5 km Sprint Event.
You can follow Haley on her Olympic journey at: http://comeskiwithme.blogspot.com/
Best of luck at the Olympics Haley and to the Bobcats tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

UVM Carnival and Eastern Cups

Natalie on her way to 5th (Lincoln Benedict photo)
This past weekend the entire team headed out to Stowe, VT for the combined weekend of Carnival and Eastern Cup racing. The conditions were awesome for the weekend and the classic skiing was beautiful extra blue conditions. The racing kicked off on Saturday with a 5 km classic for women and 10 km for the men. In the Carnival race, Natalie skied to an impressive 5th place finish. Gretchen had a strong 25th place, followed closely by Captain Abby in 28th. Those three lead the Women's team to a 4th place finish in the classic race.
On the Men's side, Lucas had what was probably his best classic finish, ending up 21st. Captain Harry was close behind in 24th, a season-best for him. Corey also had a strong race, coming in 42nd.
On Sunday, both the men and women competed in 10 km skate races. Again the women kicked things off, with Natalie claiming 9th place. Beth showed she is finally getting healthy, with a 17th place finish. Gretchen was right behind in 19th. Abby and Kirsten also finished in the top-30, with 24th and 26th, respectively. The women ended up 3rd on the day, behind only Dartmouth and UVM.
For the men, Lucas once again lead the way with his EuroMullet and a 33rd place finish. Harry and Cooper rounded out the scoring in 44th and 48th.
It was great having Connor helping us out this weekend, as well as former assistant Jordi St. John. The extra help made for quick work of 22+ pairs of skis. It was also cool to run into alumni Andy Hardy and Abbie Harris, both '04. Hardy jumped into the race on Saturday, and looked good doing it. Abbie was up on Sunday with one of the skiers she now coaches.
We're heading back out to Stowe and Trapp Family Lodge this weekend for the Dartmouth Carnival as Oak Hill is a little bare.

Jordi warming his feet between waxing sessions (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Where the magic happens (Lincoln Benedict photo)