Keith Kantack and Evan Deithier: hard-fought races, with rewarding results.
Two full days of snow and sunshine, four races, one banquet, and a sprint exhibition as an exciting finale . . .
Friday, a cold morning with light snowfall, brought with it the start of the end of the 2007-08 Eastern Carnival circuit.
At the start of the weekend: cold toes, jangled nerves, and intense focus.
By the end of the weekend: smiles, suntanned cheeks, and the best day of combined nordic results of the year!
Not satisfied with the overall results of Friday’s 5 and 10km skate races, the team decided to refocus and gear up for the next morning’s mass start 10 and 15km classic races. Mild temps, blue skies, and a little fresh powder softening out the icy tracks made for fantastic conditions.
Friday, a cold morning with light snowfall, brought with it the start of the end of the 2007-08 Eastern Carnival circuit.
At the start of the weekend: cold toes, jangled nerves, and intense focus.
By the end of the weekend: smiles, suntanned cheeks, and the best day of combined nordic results of the year!
Not satisfied with the overall results of Friday’s 5 and 10km skate races, the team decided to refocus and gear up for the next morning’s mass start 10 and 15km classic races. Mild temps, blue skies, and a little fresh powder softening out the icy tracks made for fantastic conditions.
Alice Nelson (Kirsten Johnson left, in background) rounds a corner during the mass start classic race.
The ladies were the first to race, and they set a phenomenally fast tone for the rest of the day. Despite two crashes the ladies scored a season’s best third place finish, just ONE point away from second place, Middlebury!! Alice Nelson headed up the women’s pack in 5th, with Kirsten Johnson and Fiona Worcester marking their season-best classic finishes in 7th and 25th.
Kirsten Johnson powers her way toward a 7th place finish, enough to earn her an NCAA spot.
The men’s race was no less exciting: seeded next-to-last in the mass start, Mark Johnson scraped and shoved and sprinted his way past 30 places in front of him by the 3km mark in order to catch up to his teammates Evan Deithier, Keith Kantack, and Alex Taylor whom had positioned their pack in the middle of the whole field.
The men’s race was no less exciting: seeded next-to-last in the mass start, Mark Johnson scraped and shoved and sprinted his way past 30 places in front of him by the 3km mark in order to catch up to his teammates Evan Deithier, Keith Kantack, and Alex Taylor whom had positioned their pack in the middle of the whole field.
Mark Johnson leads Keith Kantack and Evan Dethier into the second loop of the men's 15km classic, and into the top third of the field.
With each lap into the stadium the pack of three, including Mark, Evan, and Keith closed the gap and passed a number of skiers, catapulting their group of three into the mid-twenties. The race for places lasted all the way to the finish line, as Evan and Mark battled it out with two skiers from SLU and MID colleges to place 18th and 20th, respectively. Close behind, Keith Kantack, finished in 27th. With three in the top 30 the men were able to place 6th overall. Combined with the women’s score and men and women alpine scores, this bumped our total team score into 6th place, a very solid result and a great finish to the season.
L: Sam Kapala in a pack R: Jack Nelson yells instructions at Keith Kantack.
Ah, but the day wasn’t over yet!! After scarfing Marianne Lucy’s famous pumpkin bread, Deb Nelson’s baked sweet potatoes, and Lucia’s hearty veggie chile, we packed up the vans and headed to the alpine slopes to watch the end of the alpine races. 
The team at the alpine chalet: Ali Demarchis, Nattie Joffe, Liz Kantack, Evan Dethier, Gabby Joffe, Alex Taylor.
We watched the men complete their second run, in which William’s skier Charles Christianson snagged 1st. Then it was onto the Nordic exposition sprints: one man and one woman from each team, three laps each from pole to pole over a stretch slightly shorter than 1/2km. Alice started the sprint off and held a commanding lead over Middlebury, and Mark Johnson kept up the first place lead until his second lap when he slipped and fell, giving Mid a slight advantage that the managed to hold onto the finish line, Mark and Alice holding onto second place and showing the Eastern Ski Circuit that the Purple Cows are a team to watch out for!
Mark is cheered into the finish of the sprint by an adoring crowd.
Then the awards: Alice Nelson finished her stunning season ranked 7th on the qualification list.
And the big excitement for the day: After being bumped off the NCAA qualification list the weekend before, Kirsten Johnson’s spectacular classic finish on Saturday vaulted her back into a solid NCAA spot!!
NEXT: Alice and Kirsten gear up to travel to Bozeman, Montana next weekend for the big races at Bridger Bowl on March 5th and 7th.
And the big excitement for the day: After being bumped off the NCAA qualification list the weekend before, Kirsten Johnson’s spectacular classic finish on Saturday vaulted her back into a solid NCAA spot!!
NEXT: Alice and Kirsten gear up to travel to Bozeman, Montana next weekend for the big races at Bridger Bowl on March 5th and 7th.
Fiona Worcester: Happy garb for a happy day.
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