Williams and Middlebury Carnivals

Well, it's been a busy past couple of weeks for the team, prepping for the EISA Championships at Middlebury this past weekend.

Last weekend, the team was down in Bennington, VT for the Williams College Carnival at Prospect Mountain. We left earlier than usual, thanks in part to a HUGE snowstorm, one that gave Prospect almost 30" of new snow in the hours before the first race. And by early, I mean we were at our hotel before check-in, and got to tour Bennington for a little while.

Torin and Isaiah wanting the Nintendo-64 in the window.

The snow did more than just alter our departure time, though. With the sudden deterioration of road conditions, most of the restaurants in town were closed. Including the one we had reservations at. We had fun, though, driving around mostly empty Bennington, eventually stopping at the Bennington Pizza House, along with the Dartmouth men and the entire UVM team.

In the morning, with a delayed start time for the 3X3km skate relays, the teams battled against each other and the fresh snow, which was still falling when we got to Prospect.

To quote Coach Molly: "Ian and his harem at the very snowy race this morning!"

The women got off to a good start, with SMC-1 (Chloe, Julia, and Silke) coming in 16th overall, followed by SMC-2 (Liz, Catie, and Bri) close behind in 18th.

The men fared about the same, taking 19th and 20th overall. SMC-1 (Isaiah, Ryan, and Torin) came in with a time of 35:03.8, while SMC-2 (Cody P, Sam Hammond, Simba) crossed in 37:28.1.

Ryan and Sam Hamm getting after it on the last climb of the relay.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA Photo)

The next day, for the classic race, Chloe finished out her Junior year with a 56th place finish, leading a pack of SMC women. She was followed by Liz in 57th and Julia in 58th in another snowy race.

Silke in classic race.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA photo)

For the men, Torin led the way during a very soft race with a 54th place showing, sprinting it out with Bates Jordan Buetow, followed by Isaiah and Ryan in 58th and 61st. The men finished 12th on the day. 

Ryan making some spray ahead of the pack.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA Photo)

After Williams, we had one more week of hard training, in which this happened:

Moving on...

Then, came the NCAA Eastern Regional Championships, also known as the Middlebury Carnival.

On Friday, we commuted down to the race, in the rain/sleet/wind, and got ready for a 5/10k klister race. The temperatures were warm, but the weather made it very awkward in terms of whether or not to wear a hat or buff. 

For the men, Torin came in 55th, with a time of 32:45.6, followed by Isaiah in 61st and Simba in 63rd. 

Ryan up the last climb of the Classic race.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA photo)

Then, for the women, Silke led the team in her last collegiate classic race for a 58th place finish, coming in at 21:01, ahead of Liz in 60th and Catie in 62nd.

Hallie in her first EISA Championship!
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA photo)

For Saturday, you wouldn't know that the weather was awful the day before. It was a bluebird day for the 15/20k Skate Mass Start, with a little wind. The men led the day, with Torin coming in 51st overall in the 20k, with Isaiah and Simba behind in 62nd and 63rd.

Torin leading a train of UNH and Colby skiers.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA photo)

The women came next with Silke as the first across the line, completing her collegiate career in 53rd, and Liz and Julia in pursuit in 56th and 58th.

Bri keeping the fire burning in the 15k.
(Ian Nesbitt/EISA photo)

On the weekend, the Knights were 10th overall, thanks to some stellar year-end skiing from all four teams. Our season may be over for now, but next week, a few of us are heading down to Cochran's Ski Area for the First Annual Nordic Cross race!

.tl