MIDDLEBURY CARNIVAL - EISA REGIONALS

This past weekend was the last carnival of the season at Middlebury!  We survived the rain and high winds on Friday during the 5/10K Classic and enjoyed a nice day on Saturday for the mass start skate races. It was a very successful weekend for the team with multiple top 10 finishes.

Will Wicherski led the men's team both days with an 8th place finish on Friday and a top 5 finish on Saturday! Those results solidified Will's spot at NCAA's for the third year in a row! Rounding out the scoring men's team on Friday in the classic race were seniors Kalle Jahn and Isaac Hoenig in 19th and 23rd place. Eli, Vanya and Jordan followed closely behind in 27th, 29th and 30th putting all 6 skiers in the top 30 once again!
Friday's 10K Classic results:
http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/mc2014-4.pdf
Hannah Cole led the women's team both days with a 15th place finish on Friday and a 9th place finish on Saturday. Like Will, Hannah's finishes solidified her spot at the NCAA championships! .4 seconds behind Hannah Cole on Friday was Hannah Benson in 16th place, followed closely by Elena in 25th to round out our scoring top-three. The women's team scored 69 points on the day, just 11 points less than the men's team! Olivia finished the day in 39th, Eliza 43rd and Sarah in 46th.
Friday's 5K Classic results:
http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/mc2014-3.pdf

After the races on Friday we cleaned a large # of klister skis. The truck is AWESOME when the wind is blowing 30+ mph with driving rain!!

Saturday's races did not disappoint. Much better weather and a very spectator friendly course made for an exciting day.

The men's team finished 3rd on the day with Will leading the way in 5th, Eli in 12th and Isaac in 19th. Vanya was in a sprint finish with Isaac and finished 20th. Kalle was just behind in 22nd and Jordan in 24th, once again showcasing our amazing depth. All 6 men were in the top 24. It was awesome to see 1/4 of the field up front in Williams suits!!
Saturday's 20K Skate results:
http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/mc2014-8.pdf

The women's 15K came next. An exciting start with several crashes created some extra work for a few of our skiers, but our scoring 3 skied very solidly with Hannah Cole finishing in 9th, Hannah Benson in 21st, and Elena in 32nd. Olivia finished in 38th, Eliza 48th and Sarah in 52nd. The course at Middlebury can be brutal and everyone on the team gave it their all and left everything out on the course. It was a great day!
http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results14/mc2014-7.pdf

After the 15k we had an outstanding tailgate (as always) courtesy of the Williams parents. THANK YOU PARENTS!!

Co-Captain Seniors, Isaac and Kalle
BUDDIES FOR LIFE!!!! We're sure going to miss you guys!

Sarah striding

Eliza in Friday's Classic Race

Olivia kicking and gliding

Men's 20K Mass Start

Will chasing down Dartmouth skiers

Jordan leading a chase pack

Kalle and Isaac

Eli charging hard

Vanya and Isaac skiing together

Will with coaches after the race

Coaches. Bud is the one with the sweet headband.

And here are the links to the Ephsports write-ups of the weekend:
http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/skiing/2013-14/releases/20140221r38oqe
http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/skiing/2013-14/releases/20140222fcjqjh

We're staying sharp this week and getting ready to take off to Utah on Sunday with Will, Eli and Hannah Cole for NCAA's. Luke, Hannah Benson and Laura will be racing at Junior Nationals. The rest of the team is continuing to train in preparation for the Bretton Woods Marathon and a variety of other races around New England. Stay tuned for news from Utah next week!