UNH Carnival: 2014 Edition

            After a solid week of classic practice, the team headed back out for the University of New Hampshire Carnival at Jackson Ski Touring last Thursday.

Upon arrival, we checked in to our hotel, which was right next to the stadium! The course after a bout of cold temperatures was fast and firm that afternoon, with the whole 5k international course available to preview. A whole 5k loop!

After our preview, the team went down the hill to the Shannon Door for dinner. Pizzas and pasta were the hot items at the ‘Irish Pub’ and we were accompanied by the Dartmouth Women, who were at the table next to us.

Dinner at the Pub

The next morning, the men led off with a 10km Classic on the International Course,  a cold individual start. The race was supposed to start at 9:30, but was delayed until 10:00 so that it could warm up a little.

For the men, Torin was our first finisher, coming in 79^th overall with a time of 28:50.6. Torin was followed by Ryan and Isaiah, coming in 30:50.2 and 30:51.0 (86^th and 87^th).

In the women’s race, a 5km classic, the SMC Nordic top three were all within a few seconds of each other. Chloe was 84^th, Silke 85^th, and Julia 87^th, coming in with times of 17:37.1, 17:45.0, and 17:49.9. It was a decent showing, and as Silke said afterwards “There were some good points, some rough points. You can always pick out things that could use improvement.”

After day 1, the men sat in 13^th with 9 points on the day, while the women placed in 12^th, 4 points ahead of UMPI with 14 points.

Sam Hamm getting some air on his double pole! (Ian Nesbitt photo)

That night, the team made the trek down to Madison, NH and Torin’s house for a pasta dinner, courtesy of Mr. La Liberté.

On Saturday, the race distance was bumped up a little bit, with a 20km/15km freestyle mass start. As the distance rose, so did the temperatures. It went from sub-10 degrees Friday to around 20 degrees Saturday. The course was fast again, and the hills were tight.

At the start of the men’s race, there was a fairly large crash in front of Torin, but all Knights were unscathed after the start.  At the finish, Torin came in 64^th overall in 54:26.8, with Ryan and Isaiah once again rounding out the top three in 88^th and 89^th.

For the women, Chloe was the number one Lady Knight in a clean 15km mass start, coming in 70^th with a time of 49:12.3. Silke was the second Knight, after an unfortunate fall mid-race, coming in 86^th, while Julia was right behind her, leading a train of SMC skiers in 88^th. Julia, Bri, and Liz worked together for all but the last few k’s of the race. According to Liz, “It was really helpful having them around for most of the race,” rather than having to go at it alone.

The team ended up in 12^th overall for the weekend, with both Nordic teams placing in 12^th on Saturday with 14 (men) and 13 (women) points each.

The Purple Knights are back on course Saturday at Trapp Family Lodge for a 1.3km Classic Sprint at the UVM Carnival, see you all there!