Quarantine Check-in

Hello Team!

Wow, am I missing you all A LOT right about now. Checking in from good ol' Woodstock, VT, where I have not seen anyone else but the other 5 members of my family for about 12 days now. This is the first time in a while all three of my brothers and I have been in the same household together, and it has definitely been a time. We've all been taking different measures to deal with the strangeness that is life in quarantine.
I have found a new love in making experimental gluten-free pancakes. So far coconut-apple-chocolate chip flavor has been the biggest hit. Sebastian has been creating some sick art. Gabriel has been playing the drums...a lot of drums... at all hours. And Mateo, who is 15, has decided to grow a full mustache and beard (Nick Gardner knows I support this choice).
This time has also helped me realize some truths of life:
1.  Bananagrams is better than Anagrams. No question.
2. The Jumanji remake, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a solid, entertaining two hours. Would recommend. The sequel to this movie,  Jumanji: The Next Level should never have happened.
3. The Weeknd's new album After Hours is good, but Trilogy and Kiss Land, and Beauty Behind the Madness are all still better.
4. There is no spring in Vermont. Only mud season.
5. Warm mud is better than freezing mud.
5.  It is possible, even likely, to demolish 6 peanut butter jars in five days among a family of six.

Below are some photos from our last several weeks together...when we didn't know they would be our last several weeks together!

Williams Carnival in Lake Placid: Girls Gone Wild. 

Senior girls done glowed up.  

Jenoodle and I at Regionals. 

Larmen Balexander. 

Last Triple R! 

Ingrid's self-timer skillz come thru

Boys.

Team. 

Fra

nk

lin.

Mateo: Day 12. 

Sending all of my love and best wishes in safety and health to the team. <3

-Carbang

NCAA prerace report from Bozeman! And the Eph's Challenge!

Good evening from Bozeman, MT!!

After an easy journey to the west by way of Chicago, and after cramming all of our gear into a tiny FRIGGIN' TACOMA...the first stop was the grocery store (Town and Country, as recommended by Sofia Shomento) for some beet juice, and some more beet juice.

Jason, Gerry, and I are living it up in a mini mansion 4 feet from the venue. (sort of kidding, but also kind of not)

Although we had some trouble getting into the house at first, we made it in.

We checked out the course today, ran into some Dartmouth folks, checked out the scenery, and put the fear of god into the hearts of everyone we saw out there.

MEANWHILE, back home:
The rest of the team was either participating in or spectating at the Eph's Challenge citizen's race! Lilly Bates took the win and Ingrid Thyr was close behind in the women's field. Jacob Jampel got a second place and Dylan Syben a third.
Here is an awesome finish photo of Ingrid absolutely rocking the cow and yeehawing for her life.

And a photo of the victors for the day with syrup prizes!

Dylan and Jacob with syrup!

And here's Emil...yeah we don't know either.

We'll send more updates soon!
-Isaac, Jay, and Gerry

Regionals Recap

Last weekend was the Middlebury Carnival and the EISA regional championships.  While it ended up being the last college race of the season for all but one of our team members it was our best weekend of team results yet.

Day 1- 5/10k skate individual 

The women went first and Senior Ingrid Thyr led the way for the Ephs in 11th place but was 1 second from 8th and 8 seconds from 5th place!  She even got tripped up overtaking a slower skier and lost her ride with Evelina Sutro.  Lilly Bates and Jenae Rasmussen had career bests in 23rd and 24th place respectively.

The men built off the women's momentum and had strong day.  Isaac Freitas-Eagan led the way in 9th place, Jack Consenstein had a season best performance in 13th place, and Henry Mcgrew had a solid skate race in 20th place.

Day 2- 15k/20k classic mass starts

This race was a complete whirlwind for waxing as the day started with ice klister, then switched to straight hardwax after puking snow for 30 minutes, and by the end of the day klister was good again.  With that said, Ingrid led the way in 25th place, Siri Bohacek had a career best 26th place finish, and Hadassah Lurbur had a career best in 28th place.  

The men had some issues with kick wax durability as much of the course turned to ice.  Isaac led the way with a career best classic race in 5th place, ever consistent Henry was in 11th place, and Jack Consenstein in 25th place.  

Saturday Isaac and the coaches head to NCAA's in Bozeman Montana while the rest of the team heads to Prospect on Sunday for the Ephs Challenge!

The Williams Carnival!!!

This past weekend was our home carnival in lake placid, even though prospect looked like this on Sunday.

McGrew and Isaac showing Connie some love

That is just how it goes sometimes and we were still able to have a great time and results at our home carnival in Lake Placid.

Day 1 - 10/10k classic individual start
The weather was hovering between 0-5F the entire day making for some cold skiing, at least it was easy to get good kick.  The men went first and were led by Isaac Freitas-Eagan in 22nd place but only twenty seconds out of 11th, next was Henry Mcgrew in 35th, and Jack Consenstein in 38th place.  It is worth mentioning Jack was in a top 15 position most of the race and missed the finishing chute on the final lap and unfortunately lost a lot of time and places.  It was still a great effort!  In the women's race Ingrid Thyr led the way with her best USSA points race ever (under 100!) in 14th place but 12th place for NCAA points.  Next was Siri Bohacek in 36th place, and rounding out the top three for Williams was Lilly Bates in 42nd place.  The team was disappointed after day 1 but had a fire in their belly going into day 2.

Day 2 - 3 by 5k skate relays
Once again it was pretty cold in the morning but warmed up into the teens for the women's race.  The men went first and improved from 9th place yesterday to 6th place (4th for EISA points) today.  The team consisted of Henry Mcgrew scrambling, Jack Consenstein in the middle, and Isaac Freitas Eagan skiing the anchor leg.  The women's relay team of Ingrid Thyr, Hadassah Lurbur, and Lilly Bates skied to the 9th fastest relay time of the day but ended up in 7th for EISA scoring.  It was a great atmosphere during the women's race as many of the men's racers, coaches, and parents were out there in full force covering the course with fans!

The Williams Carnival was a great time but now we shift our focus to regionals and the final NCAA qualifier at Middlebury on February 28th and 29th.  The team is fired up and looking to send as many athletes as possible to Bozeman, MT for the NCAA skiing championships!

Connie in the zone

Downhill technique perfected 

Our 11 woman SQUAD!

Ingrid on the hunt

Ingrid tagging off to Hadassah for Leg 2

Our Lovely Senior Ladies!

Bates Carnival Recap

Here is what J posted on instagram as a nice little recap of our best carnival this season.

"We had a great time in Rumford at the Bates Carnival. Lots of freezing rain, sleet and finally snow covered everything on Friday, making for some exciting waxing! The top 30 in the EISA is incredibly competitive this year for both men and women. Shoutout to the team for racking up 11 top 30s this weekend! In the classic mass start on Friday Ingrid Thyr was 23rd, Henry McGrew 10th, Jack Consenstein 15th, Isaac Freitas-Eagan 16th, Emil Graf 20th, Jacob Jampel 28th. That’s 5 in the top 30 for the men and Dylan Syben .4 seconds out in 31st! On Saturday Ingrid Thyr led the way for the women again in 19th followed by Lilly Bates in 28th. Isaac Freitas-Eagan racked up another top 10 finish with a 9th place. Franklin Reilly finished in 26th and Henry McGrew in 27th. Very proud of this team and looking forward to crushing it at the Williams Carnival in Lake Placid, NY this weekend!"

Time to start peaking and continuing our upward projection!

Grub and Syben Open for Business

In between busy weekends of carnival action, Henry and Dylan found time to set up shop in the ski room for some haircuts. See video below:

Check out the finished product at the last two carnivals! Contact Henry or Dylan if you'd like to inquire about future haircut opportunities.

Colby Carnival Recap

This past weekend we were in Waterville, ME for the Colby Carnival where we skied on a 2.75K manmade loop at Quarry Rd.  The first day was a 5/10k skate individual race, in the morning the course was bomb proof corduroy but by the women's race the uphills turned to sugar and the downhills had some big berms.  The men went first and were led by Sophomore Isaac Freitas-Eagan in 10th place, Freshman Jacob Jampel in 22nd place, and Junior Henry Mcgrew in 27th place.  In the women's race Freshman Lilly Bates scored her first points with a 29th place, followed closely by Senior Ingrid Thyr in 34th place, and Freshman Hadassah Lurbur in 36th place. 

Day 2 was a 10/15k individual classic after the jury ruled that a mass start wouldn't be safe on the Colby course.  In the men's race the course held together for the most part and was some awesome klister skiing.  Henry Mcgrew led the way in 13th place, followed by Isaac Freitas-Eagan in 22nd place, and Jacob Jampel in 24th place.  In the women's race, the course turned to sugar and made the race brutal!  Ingrid led the way for the women with a 25th place, Sophomore Siri Bohacek was 33rd, and Lilly Bates in 38th place. 

The entire team when combined with Alpine ended up in 6th place overall, only two points behind Colby for 5th place.  The coming weekend we head back to ME for the Bates Carnival in Rumford!

First Two Carnivals Recap!

Our team has been battling a host of different illnesses going into the carnival season but we are getting stronger every day!

Harvard Carnival Recap

Day 1 - 5/10k individual skate race

This entire weekend was defined by really cold weather and a very firm track.  The women went first and were led by our underclassmen with freshman Lilly Bates in 31st, freshman Hadassah Lurbur 39th, and sophomore Siri Bohacek 42nd.  In the men's race junior Woody Martineau led the way in 45th, followed by junior Henry Mcgrew in 48th, and freshman Jacob Jampel in 49th.  

Day 2 - 15/20k Classic Mass Start

Once again in the women's race we were led by our freshman with Hadassah Lurbur in 29th, Lilly Bates 38th, and senior Ivy Spiegel-Ostrom in 41st.  In the men's race Henry Mcgrew finished in 14th for a career best, Jacob Jampel in 25th, and senior Dylan Syben in 46th.  

Between Alpine and Nordic, Williams ended up in 7th place as a team overall.  

UVM Carnival Recap

Day 1 - Classic Sprint

This weekend was defined by much warmer conditions and wax played a little bigger of a role in the results.  The races were also combined with the supertour and eastern cups making for really big and competitive fields.  For the women, senior captain Ingrid Thyr led the way in 28th, sophomore Siri Bohacek was in 34th, and freshman Hadassah Lurbur in 35th.  In the men's race senior Dylan Syben led the way in 16th, junior Emil Graf was 18th, and senior Jack Consenstein was 20th.  

Day 2 - 5/10k skate individual race

In the women's race Ingrid led the way in 32nd, Lilly in 36th, and Hadassah in 43rd overall.  In the men's race Isaac Freitas-Eagan came back from sickness and placed 4th place, Henry Mcgrew in 16th place, and Jacob Jampel in 21st.

Between Alpine and Nordic, Williams finished in 6th place overall.

Next we head to Quarry Road for the Colby Carnival!

According to One Williams Student, Squinting is "Never an Option"

Williams College Associated Press

Although sunlight may seem to some just an innocuous summertime companion, members of the Williams Ski Team take sun protection seriously. Snow blindness? Never heard of her. Squinting? Not on our turf. When the sun is out, our sick shades come to town. 

Here is a remarkable display of just how many different pairs of sunglasses one Eph owns. How do those all even fit in her locker? (see previous post) 

Fun activity: one of these pairs is not mine. Tell me which one it is and you get a prize**

**whoops typo i meant "pride" you get your own pride hahah gotcha

MSA

We've had an absolutely amazing camp here at Mont Sainte Anne. Incredible skiing, fast TTs, great company. Check out @williamsnordic on instagram (link on upper right) for some more photos. Race season here we come!

THE TEAM