18 STRONG

Carnival season brings many things: secret goodies placed in ski lockers, whispers of carnie crush schemes, and of course, lots of time in the ski vans. The past two weekends have brought us to Quarry Road in Maine, so van time has been plentiful. 

Sonya struggles to adapt to van life

All this time together has only brought the team closer. Now at 18 strong, it really feels like one team working together to ski fast, have fun, and above all be nice to Perry. 

This week was full of team time, starting with our annual 80's bowling night.

Benselation Station does bowling

SQUAD

Carr gives his best blue steel while rocking a very tight denim vest...

...but best 80's outfit award went to Eli 

Go Benzene Fuel!!!

Midweek marked Josh's 22 birthday, and the team surprised him for cake and movie night.

HBD Squashua ft. Midder #1 aka BAE

 And then back into the vans on Friday for the drive to Maine, where the both men and women raced a 15km classic on Saturday and a team skate sprint on Sunday. All this time together lent itself to some very quotable moments:

"Wait, this is a girl?!"--Eli

 "I don't feel like talking about myself tonight"--Minnie

Thanks to our awesome coaches our skis were rippin' and the team skied to some historic finishes. Jack won the 15km (for the first 5km) and Eli skied his heart out to make it onto the podium for his first 3rd place finish!

 Jack, Eli, and Braden post 15km classic

The girls worked together in the 15km, with Olivia leading us in 18th place. We broke out the glitter for the team relay (a la US Ski Team) and managed to have fun and beat Harvard too.

T-sain and Minnie riding the post-race high

GIRLS

Overall, a solid week of racing, travel, and team fun. This coming week is a break from college racing and the team is headed to Lake Placid this weekend for the SuperTour and some extra volume training before jumping into classes and the UVM carnival next week.   

A big shout out to all the supportive parents who provide us with the best food table on the EISA circuit week after week!! We couldn't do it without you. Thank you thank you thank you!

As always, think snow!!

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Last night I was watching some video from the first weekend of racing at Waterville. The thing that stood out to me above all else, other than my piercing baby-blue eyes, was the cheering from Perry Thomas. Perry was jumping wildly and screaming like a mad-man each time a Williams skier passed by, taking "soccer mom" to a whole new level. I am so grateful that we have such a zealous fan.

Big things are in store for both Perry and team, and congratulations to Eli Hoenig for taking his first step onto the podium! 

Now eat some beef, brush your teeth, kiss your Mom, and get sendy! 

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So Many Good Pictures

We have a HUGE number of excellent pictures from this past weekend courtesy of Peter Hoenig. More to come soon, but here are a couple of my favorites to get it started:

Olivia, Tsaina, Sarah.
Contagious Positivity 

Eli Hoenig on the PODIUM

Eli, Jack, Braden and Jordan
Post PAIN CAVE

It was an awesome weekend of racing. More pics, stories and updates to come soon. We're so proud of the entire team! - Jay

OMG!

Eli Hoenig led the Nordic team today at the Colby Carnival with a 3rd place finish!  After obliterating the men's field in the first five kilometers, Jack Schrupp skied to 7th place.  Jordan Fields led much of the second lap for his best mass start classic race of his career finishing in 14th place.  The men's team finished the day in second place behind UVM!

The ladies also skied a great race with three in the top 30!  Olivia Meyerson tied her second best mass start classic race for 18th place.  Tsaina Mahlen had her second best classic race of her career for 24th place.  Eliza Rorabaugh jumped 47 bibs for her best classic result in 28th place!

Team sprint relay tomorrow!!

TEAM

The 2016 Williams College Nordic Ski Team (Missing: Tyra Wynn) - These guys and girls are BALLERS. SO FAST. Moreover, they are best teammates, coaches, and friends one could ask for. 

Today I want to write a few words about the importance of team and the incredible group we have here in Williamstown this year. A team can be the most powerful tool to skiing fast, I know that the USST women have found this to be true. But it can also become a claustrophobic environment. One that can hold back an athlete if each team member is not working together towards a common goal.

This year, our team is most certainly the former - high speed, low drag - and this camaraderie and communal focus is our secret weapon on the EISA circuit. The positivity and energy that each of these individuals brings to the table each day is infectious. No one on this team is here for any other reason than to ski fast, be fit, and have fun. The focus in this year's group is unparalleled to any of the teams I have been on before. Each practice is run well and efficiently and it is clear that each skier is concentrating on improving some element of their skiing. What's best though, is that this focus doesn't take away from fun. I am hard pressed to think of many memories with this year's team that don't echo with the sound of laughter.

I am honored to be a part of this team. But even more, I am excited to be a part of this team. The momentum that has been building all fall and early winter keeps getting stronger. I am confident that this momentum will carry us to our best season as a team in many years and I can see many members of this team who are ready to have the best season of their life. It's an incredible feeling to be a part of and lends incredible confidence to know that when I'm feeling like I'm going to black out with 1km go, the thoughts of my team, my friends, will power me towards that finish line. I'll be leaning on them this season - there's a lot of energy to draw from there.

I hope all the readers of this blog can join us at a carnival this year to get a taste of what this team is all about. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Odds We Put Three In Top 10?!

With the sprint race in the books, the next day the Eph's fired off the first NCAA qualifier - a 5/10k individual start skate race.  Three laps around the 1.5k loop for the women, and six laps for the men.  The snow started early, and only got heavier.  The night before, Jason and I promised the team the fastest skis on the Eastern circuit, and I think we delivered.

Eli Hoenig led the Eph's with his 4th place finish in the men's 10k skate race! 

Elowyn Pfeiffer skied to 44th in her first distance Carnival race!

Evan Carr placed 41st in his first distance Carnival race!

Hannah Cole skied to 47th place.

Jack Schrupp "blacked-out at the top of the big climb every lap" for a 6th place!

Jordan Fields rounded out the trio that cracked the top ten with 10th place!

Captain Josh Harrington

Luke Costley comin' in HOT on his first lap!

The Men's team ended the weekend in 2nd place behind UVM!

Freshman Nick Gardner also skied an exceptional race for 17th place!

Olivia Meyerson was our second scorer in 39th place.

Rebecca Smith skiing through the stadium.

Sarah Becker rounded out our three scorers with a 40th place finish.

Tsaina Mahlen was less than a second behind Sarah, in 41st

Hannah Benson was our top scorer in 30th place!

HUGE THANKS to all the parents - Especially Sandra Meyerson and Nicole Harrington!! Our food table was amazing and all your hard work is greatly appreciated!

Thanks to Cathy Schen and Emily Benson for counting laps for the men! They'd still be doing laps if it wasn't for you!

Lastly, a big thanks to Peter Benson for filming all  the races, as well as Peter Hoenig for all the photos!

Super proud of our men and women! Looking forward to another weekend of racing at Quarry Road!!

P

The Build Up - The Beat Drop

We have been super busy as of late, so the blogposts have fallen by the wayside.  With that being said, let me get everyone caught up, starting with the weekend before last.

Prospect's snow game has been off so far this year, so the weekend before the first Carnival, the team traveled to Middlebury to get some training in at Rikert.  The plan for Saturday was to get in a 5/10k skate time-trial.  Rikert had been making snow for most of that week, so we had a solid 2k loop to race on.

The road crossing's weren't good enough so the team thought it'd be a nice gesture to help out Rikert...

Everyone skied great races!  Eli looked like his old self taking the win over Jordan.  Jack took the last step on the podium for third.  For the women, Olivia took the win with Hannah Cole in second, and Sarah continued her "Most Improved" streak with third place.

The real mental test was Sunday.  With forecasted temps. in the 40's, pouring rain, and strong winds, the team managed to bust out a 2.5hour classic ski.  It was tough.  We were tougher.

The team putting klister on skis in prep. for skiing in a monsoon! Notice Evan Carr (6'6") using a 2' tall wax form...

With a much needed rest day on Monday, the team met back up again for an early morning ski at Jiminy Peak Tuesday morning.

Hannah Cole skis a speed through the bunnyhill terrain park!

Pretty awesome early morning skiing at Jiminy! Also great to have Braden (Center, in white hat) back with the crew!

On Wednesday, we did our super secret, extra-special workout, which was definitely the reason for our success at the first Carnival.  I could tell you what the workout was, but I won't...


The team got on the road early Thursday, so we could get to Quarry Road at a reasonable hour for a course preview.  The first race of the season was a 1.5k classic sprint.  Eliza Rorabaugh and Hannah Benson were our two qualifiers on the women's side.  They both got fourth in their respective quarterfinals for 16th and 18th place.  Jack, Eli, Luke, and Jordan all qualified for the men.  All skied great quarterfinals, but only Eli moved on, ultimately placing 6th in the Finals.  Jack ended the day in 13th, and Jordan was our final scorer in 15th.  The men finished the day in third, only two points behind UNH in second.

Hannah Cole

Elowyn Pfeiffer

   

Eliza skiing into the stadium during her quarterfinal.

Olivia Meyerson

Sarah Becker

Rebecca Smith

Tsaina Mahlen

Tyra Wynn

This kid has some wings!

Evan Carr

Nick Gardner

Jack Schrupp starts his quarterfinal.

Eli and Luke at the start of their quarterfinal.

Jordan Fields starts his quarterfinal.

Separate post for Day 2 coming soon!