This past weekend we traveled to Stowe VT for the Eastern Cup/UVM Carnival. This is one of the biggest weekends of racing in the Northeast due to the combination of events. This year an added excitement was in the air due to they fact that Trapp Family Lodge will play host to the Junior National Championships March 1st - 8th.
Due to the large group we had with us space was at a premium! Though I don't have the newest Thule box on the market this is one of the largest and we were able to get about 30 pairs of skis in to it !
Also due to the team size we opted to rent a house for the weekend ! I believe that if possible renting a house has many advantages over hotel rooms. It provides a lot more room but also tends to bring everyone closer and makes for a fun an eventful weekend !
The highlight for me was being able to wax skis while the athletes made dinner! It's easy to forget what a great group of kids we have associated with the Rochester Nordic Racing family, but when your out waxing skis and they ask what time you want to eat its a quick reminder! I stayed behind the doors and let them work there magic in the kitchen !
We all know Peter has some mad skills on his skis but who knew he has mad skills when it comes to making pizza ! Peter saved us all when he busted those out and we were treated to some phenomenal pizzas on Saturday night. Thanks to head chefs Tommy, Colleen, and Madi for keeping the oven Rollin' as well.
Saturday was the classic sprint race. All in all it was a good day but we did not move as many as we had hoped in to the heats. One guy who did make it in to the U16 heats was Eric. He made the most of the opportunity and ended up winning the B final. Here he is rocking the RNR suit. That makeshim exponentially faster!
A couple other pictures from the qualifier.
(Chad)
(Tommy)
(Colleen)
(Madi)
(Ryan)
Riley was leading the way on the girls side of things qualifying for the U18 heats along with Hanna who is now at Harvard , As things would have it they both made it all the way to the A-Final. It was pretty cool to see them back racing head to head.
(Riley (HF-L) and Hanna (Harvard))
Gavin also made the U 18 heats and had a good showing representing UNH!
(Gavin UNH)
Hanna Cole (Williams) continued her break out season making the open heats and making all the way to the B-Final. A great day for RNR !
On Sunday everyone raced in the interval start freestyle race. Everyone was looking forward to the freestyle race. Unfortunate for Petter he was not feeling good and was unable to start the race. The rest of the crew had great races ! I don't have any pictures from the skate races due to the fact that I strapped on the boards and gave it a go as well. I figured it was the best way to gain knowledge of the course that will be used at Junior Nationals. A few highlighted included Eric and Ryan going 6th and 11th in the U-16 race, Connor and Tommy having break out performances in the U-18 field, and Colleen and Madi scoring there best USSA points of the year in the U-18 women's field. Also I wanted to congratulate Adam (Middlebury and Gavin (UNH) on the top 30's in the EISA college field on Sunday ! Big results for little freshman !
(RNR, Mid-A, TOKO)
(Team Dinner)
(Madshus as always ! )
(Someone thought we had a good weekend and wanted to throw us a going away party!)
Unfortunately on the way home Madi was not feeling well and not only gave the side of the pathfinder a new color scheme but also had to endure the 8 hour trip home ! We did get to listen to the Super Bowl and I have to say I was not as disappointed as I thought I would be by missing it on TV !
Next up for us is State Qualifiers. Each athlete will be representing his or her high school team and it should be a great fight for that top position. With any luck we will send a bunch of athletes on to the state championship and continue our streak of State Champions!
(We finally got some snow here in the ROC)
