What a day! When Coach Fisher and I pulled into the Bohart stadium at 7am it was already 36 degrees, and the just-rising sun lit the white ridge of the mountain backdrop in an orange hue.
The day only got warmer, but for the men's race, at 9am, the track was humid but still firm, and we were able to find a good klister kicker. Dimitri and Will had a clean start, Dimitri starting in bib 15 and Will in bib 35. It took less than 15 minutes for the men to ski each 5k lap, and Bud and I had to hold our breath, as we stood in the stadium waiting to give feeds, to see how the race would change through the next lap. Will kept moving up on each lap, from 35th to 21st, to 11th, to 10th - - - as he arrived in the stadium for the finish sprint he and a Utah skier were duking it out for the last All-American spot. Will gave it everything he had, but his Utah competitor beat him at the finish kick, and Will ended in 11th. FANTASTIC! This is the second best showing by a Williams nordic male, and fourth best overall by any Williams nordic skier!
Meanwhile, Dimitri Luthi, despite having a tough second lap, rallied in the fourth lap to pass a lot of racers. He had a rough fall going into the last kilometer downhill, but still managed to ski back to 20th place as he crossed the line. A great race by both!
The alpine team came out to watch the races, and several alums - Scottie McClelland, Nickie Kimball, and Alice Nelson, were in cheering attendance as well.
Also exciting was the women's race, which resulted in the East taking the top 6 places, and 7 out of the top 10!
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| Early morning stadium pano |
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| asst. alpine coach Kelsey Levine rests after driving our men to the races in the early a.m. |
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| Dimitri skis in a pack at 2k |
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| Will in a pack of skiers through the stadium |
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| Will laps through the stadium and grabs a feed from Coach Fisher |
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| Coach Fisher cheers Dimitri into the finishing 400 meters |
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| Ski team alums Scottie McClelland and Nicki Kimball, trailside |
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| Women's alpine team and nordic alum Alice Nelson, trailside |
Great work guys! Watched the whole way. Super cool to see it live, and great interview by Bud during the girls race!
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