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BATES NORDIC BLOG |
Chummy Broomhall Cup
This past Sunday, we headed up to Rumford to compete in the Maine State Collegiate Championships and the Chummy Broomhall Cup. Also in attendance were Colby, Bowdoin, UMPI, Maine-Orono, Maine-Fort Kent, and Maine-Farmington. The men and women both competed in 10 km mass start skate races. The women went out first, with Bates having a strong showing. Nat finished 2nd, followed closely by Beth in 3rd. Sophie came in 6th, followed by Captain Abby (8th) and Kirsten (9th). Gretchen finished just outside the top-ten, barely missing out on All-State honors. Meg, Kelsey, and Ingrid all finished in the top-20 for the Bobcats as well. In the team scoring, the women narrowly took the lead for Bates.  Early on for the women. (Thanks to Connor Cushman '09 for snapping some pictures)  At noon, the men took off. In the men's race some Maine Winter Sports Center athletes mixed it up with the collegiate skiers. The Bobcats again skied strong, with Captain Harry leading the way with a 3rd place finish. Lucas was close behind in 4th, and Corey rounded out the top-10. Cooper, Dan B, Nate, and Jimmy all finished in the top-20 as well. Ultimately, Colby edged Bates for the overall team title, and the Bobcats had to settle for 2nd. It was a great team effort from everybody, and there were some standout individual efforts. Thanks again to all the parents who brought food and cheering! Now its time for all of us to gear up for the UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup weekend in Stowe, VT!  Lucas leading out the men's field (Steve Fuller Photo)  A belated Happy Birthday sing-a-long for Chummy lead by Coach (Steve Fuller Photo)
St. Mike's Recap
This past weekend we headed out to the trails at Sleepy Hollow for the St. Michael's Carnival. On Friday, there was the individual start 10/15 km skate for women and men. On the women's side, Nat finished 17th, with Abby and Kir close behind in 20th and 21st, respectively. The men didn't have their best day, with Lucas pacing the team in 31st. Harry and Jimbo also scored for us. The classic sprint relays on Saturday saw improvements on both sides. The men ended up 8th for scoring, with the team of Harry, Lucas, and Cooper leading the way. Harry's splits were some of the faster ones on the day. The women's team ended up 7th, with Nat, Gretch and Abby all posting fast splits. Both the men and women were just edged out by Colby in the relays, something we will turn around this upcoming weekend for the Chummy Broomhall Cup. On Sunday, both teams will compete in a 10 km skate at Rumford for the Maine State Collegiate Championships.  Nat leading out of the start in the relay. (Lincoln Benedict '09 Photo)
SLU Carnival and Rumford Eastern Cups
We kicked off the Carnival season this weekend out in Lake Placid as St. Lawrence hosted the first races at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. On Friday we had the 5/10 km classic race on the former Olympic trails. The conditions were pretty tough out there, with changing weather and some hairy turns on the descent. The women got the Bobcats off to a good start this season with Nat finishing in 8th, Gretchen was 19th, and Abby 20th. The women ended up in 3rd on the day, just two points behind Middlebury for 2nd. On the men's side, Harry and Coop were 26th and 27th, respectively. Lucas, Dan, Danny, and Jim within 25 seconds of each other. On Saturday, the mass start racing got underway with 15/20 km skate on the biathlon trails. The men went first, racing four laps around the 5 km loop. The men skied well, improving on their finish from Friday. Cooper was leading the race as they came through after 10 km, ultimately ending up in 10th on the day. Lucas skied up into 16th, and Harry finished in 26th again. On the women's side, Nat had her best skate result, finishing in 9th. Abby was 24th, and Kirsten 27th, to round out the scorers. Everybody had a great day, and all are looking forward to improving their results as the season goes on. It was a solid first Carnival, especially with a lot of people racing in their first collegiate races.  Lucas leading a train...  The men's start.  Back in Maine, Corey, Nate, and Isaac raced in the Rumford Eastern Cups. The classic sprint on Saturday saw some more tricky waxing conditions and Nate and Corey both advancing to the heats. On Sunday, the three guys skied in the mass start 15 km skate. The men's field got off to a blistering start led by US ski team's Kris Freeman. They skied solid races through less than ideal conditions, and all posted strong finishes. Also, a HUGE THANKS this weekend to all the parents/families who helped us out! The McClelland Family for putting up most of the women's team, and also for hosting the whole team at dinner Friday night. Thanks to all the parents who provided lunch for the team on Friday and Saturday: Pooles, Knowles', Samuelsons, Tuttles, and everybody else. Also, thanks to Fullers, especially Steve for helping out with waxing for the Eastern Cups!
Happy New Year from Alaska!
 Well, Gretchen, Sam, and myself (Coach Benes) have made it through the first day of racing here at U.S. Nationals in Anchorage, AK. The races are actually happening this year, which is great. The morning temps here were about 1-3 Farenheit on our way out to Kincaid Park. The trails are in good shape considering that the snow base is only a couple of inches. I tested some skis yesterday and this morning, and the waxing was pretty straightforward. About what you would expect for these conditions. The girls both skied well today, with Gretchen narrowly missing the Junior heats this afternoon. It was an extremely tight field for both the men and women today, and most of the heats were decided in the last 3oo meters or so. Tomorrow is another training day for the girls and another testing day for me. Monday is a 10 km skate race, and it looks to be warming up over the next couple of days. It could be a downright tropical 20 on Monday!
Great Glen Sprints
A few days ago we drove up to Great Glen for some skiing and many athletes competed in the Great Glen Sprint Races. It was cold up there, and the wind chill made us realize that Winter is finally here. The sprints got going at noon and, with no preliminary rounds, got right into the heats. Everybody raced well, with Lucas, Abby, Beth, and Sophie all advancing to the finals. Catherine narrowly missed the final, racing against Sophie in the semis. In the men's final, Lucas was able to hold off some hard-charging junior skiers from Burke and Gould to take the victory. On the women's side, the Bobcats went 1-2-3. Abby took the win ahead of Beth, and Sophie was able to battle back from a early fall to take third. It was great for people to get a race start. Even though we hadn't been on snow that much leading up to the race, everyone's technique is really coming together. This weekend, a small group will be heading up to race at the Eastern Cup openers in Presque Isle.
Nate, early on.
Chill in the heats.
Abby on her way to victory. (Great Glen photo)
Lucas skiing to 1st. (Great Glen photo)
Women's and Men's podium. (Great Glen Photo)
Snow and Skiing!
 After yesterday's time trial against Bowdoin, we woke up this morning to a blanket of fresh snow. We headed down to Twinbrook in Cumberland and got on snow for a couple of hours. The conditions weren't ideal (they rarely are at this time of year), but once we had skied in a loop it was pretty good skiing. Overall it was a great weekend of training here. Yesterday's rollerski time trial with Bowdoin was a great hard effort, followed by a productive weight room session. The course was a little over 10 km out on Ridge Road in Bowdoinham. It was a great spot with nice terrain and little traffic. Thanks to Coach Alsobrook for inviting us out there! Harry and Dayna had the fastest times for the men and women, respectively. As we move towards the race season it was a good opportunity to go head-to-head against some different people in a new environment.
Skiing Alums
This past week the domestic racing season got underway out in West Yellowstone with a classic sprint as well as classic and skate distance races. Bates was well represented with Dave Chamberlain '98 and Sylvan Ellefson '09 both posting solid results through the week. In the point-to-point classic sprint race, Sylvan and Dave finished 8th and 21st, respectively. In the skate race, Sylvan was 12th and Dave 53rd, while in the classic Dave was 19th and Sylvan 36th. Justin Easter '03 was also out in West, as the head coach for the Summit County (Colorado) Nordic Team. The SuperTour season continues this weekend with races in Bozeman, MT. You can follow Sylvan and Dave through this race season on their respective blogs: Dave at http://blogs.fasterskier.com/davidchamberlain/Sylvan at http://www.powerbar.com/user/sylvanellefson.aspxAlso, check out his YouTube account with some great video of Team HomeGrown out of Vail at http://www.youtube.com/user/sylvanellefsonJustin Freeman '98 is another Bates Alum who will be represented on the circuit this year. He also has a blog at FasterSkier, http://blogs.fasterskier.com/justinfreeman/Also, Lauren Jacobs '07 will be racing for the newly formed Craftsbury Green Racing ProjectMeanwhile, Haley Johnson will be representing the US in biathlon at World Cups this season and most likely at the Vancouver games in 2010. She is currently in Sweden and keeps a blog as well, http://comeskiwithme.blogspot.com/Elsewhere, Reid Lutter '93 still acts as the executive director of NCCSEF, runs his company Podiumwear, and coaches the Minnesota Valley Ski Club. There are plenty of Bates Skiing alums involved in the coaching world. Steve Monsulick '07 is the assistant at New Hampshire. Scott Jerome '93 and Matt Dunlap '08 act as the head and assistant coaches at Alaska-Fairbanks. Nancy Fiddler (nee Ingersoll) '79, former Olympian, and current coach for Mammoth Lakes, CA and the Far West division. Tim Whiton '09 is the assistant over at Bowdoin. Also, Andrew Gardner '00 is the Head Coach over at Middlebury. Its great to see so many former Bobcats still involved in the nordic skiing world. Check out the links, and stay posted for more!
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