Nordic Ski Season Wrap-up

Hi All,
Well,the MHS Ski season had a successful conclusion this past week in Fort Kent. I will attempt to get together with skiers who are interested in skiing in the next few weeks if the conditions permit. I expect those attending the NE J2 Festival will continue to ski and I will do my best to support any skiers interested .Another race coming up is the Qualifying Race for the New England HS Championships set for Gunstock,NH on 3-12 thru 3-14.The Maine Team will be chosen from a Pursuit Race at Sugarloaf on Saturday 2-27-10,the top twenty make the team.This is a great chance to extend the race season,I will see if I can get further information regarding race/wax support and pass it along.
Since my last report the Team attended the strangest race I have been part of at Yarmouth HS on 2-10-10.This race was necessary to meet a MPA rule regarding participation at the State Meet.YHS ski coach Bob Morse put together a fun race at the baseball field complete with tracks set for a classic sprint.It was clear no one was taking the race seriously, however everyone seemed to enjoy the unique venue.On Monday 2-15 it was off to Ft Kent and the wilds of Northern Maine. Jason and I drove the van followed by our wonderful support team of Jennifer and Susan as well as the Wu's who did advance work arriving on Sunday.Our trip north went by quickly and after one short stop we arrived in Ashland,the gateway to the North Maine Woods.We were looking for a local xc trail down a long dirt road when we spied a sign for XC Skiing.As we were only about two miles down the eight mile road we tried the alternate trails in a locals back yard .There was only 2-3k of skiing however the new packed powder made for excellent skiing.We met up with the lady of the house who owned the land and groomed the trail for a local middle school.She was delighted to see new folks skiing and made us feel right at home.Next it was on to our lodging at the Fish River Lodge in Eagle Lake.We had three family cabins and a fourth for boys and the coach,despite the four boys in one bunk room it went very well,games,talk,then sleep.We were fortunate to have access to the main lodge for meals and some quality Olympic TV time from the sat TV,the Nordic skiing got everyone in the right frame of mind for Tuesday's Freestyle 5K races.
We were very lucky to have former Merriconeag Middle School racer and World Junior Competitor Adele Espy join us on the trip to Ft Kent and help out waxing and providing her expertise to the skiers before and during the race.Del was able to help us only because she was suffering from an injury preventing her from executing her plan of racing in high level races in Europe.We all wish Del speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her back on the race course soon.
The girls race was first up on Tuesday afternoon. Given this was our first States Race I felt the Team would be more comfortable and perform best by not making a big deal about results or expectations. I was looking for effort first,however I did have the start times of the girls just to see how they were fairing during the race.Zoe had the luck to draw bib #1,so as she skied by me at 4.5 k I clicked the split on my watch and compared the following skiers.When one of the top racers went by I noticed her time was less than 50 sec ahead of Zoe.As others went by,none were as close and Emelie and Teagen looked to be in good shape as well.As it turned out Zoe was 2nd,Emelie 4th and Teagan 7th.For the boys, Juan had a great race and ended up in the top ten at #8,followed by Ben in 16th,Jack,Phineas and Brian followed closely .Wednesday was an off day and we spent the morning classic skiing and testing wax,in the afternoon the kids did a clinic on biathlon and then a visit to down town Ft Kent.Del and I along with Jason and Keelyn did a marathon wax job,cleaning then waxing eight pair of skis,with out their help this would have been next to impossible.
Thursday was an early start for the 5K classic race and we were challenged with difficult wax conditions, 32 degrees and light snow. After trying a few different concoctions we found a combo that almost worked and the girls rushed to the start. I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would get by on the wax we went with.This time Zoe started in the favorable spot of 30 seconds behind the Tuesday race winner,as she passed by I had her ahead and she was in fact able to finish ahead to be the State Class C Classic Champion. Following close behind were Teagan and Emelie who finished in 4th and 6th place to complete an very strong team effort.
By the boy's start the course was further glazed and the temperature had warmed making the wax even more of an issue.Ben started off with a strong group of racers in close proximity,Ben skied with guts however his recent sickness conspired to prevent him from skiing at his season long top level.Juan in his first Classic 5 k skied a strong race followed by Jack,Phin and Brian.It was heartening to see the great effort all the boy's put in to their races.At the awards we were all shocked that despite only three girls that they were scored and finished in the State Runner up position.The boy's were a very respectable six place and can look forward to climbing the results sheet in the future.Both the boy's and girl's represented their school with distinction and should feel good about their efforts. A special thanks to the parents who supported the team all year without them the season would not have been possible.
John

Sassi Race Recap

Hi All,

Saturday was the Sassi Memorial Race at Black Mountain in Rumford. Due to the recent rain and thin snow cover the race was changed to a Skate Race. The wacky weather continued on Saturday morning with strong winds and cold temps. It was windy enough that a large tree came down at the entrance to Black Mountain requiring a circuitous route to the race site, luckily we were on time. Coach Heyburn and I met the team in Freeport early Saturday and had a silent trip to Rumford. I could tell the team was focused as there was not a lot of playfulness among the kids on the ride up,we talked about a plan for the day and all went according to plan.

I would like to thank all the parents for all their support. The food and support at the start/finish zone and on the course was most appreciated. The Sassi has to be one of the largest HS XC Ski races in NE,there were over 500 entries on the start list! The track was hard and fast, the major obstacle was the wind generated debry littering the course, given everyone had to deal with the same conditions this was not a major issue.

The girls were up first and the wind was fierce especially in the start zone. Zoe started off followed by Teagan and Emelie.It has been a joy to watch these three grow more comfortable racing all year.The Sassi race was a great success as all three freshman, first year J-2's qualified for the Maine J-2 Team and finished 13th out of 24 girls teams. What makes this more remarkable is they only scored THREE skiers as a team and the fourth counter was given the same points as the last place skier. I was very pleased the way all the girls skied and was not too concerned about place as I watched the race unfold, they were all skiing technically well when they passed me at the last rise before the drop to the finish. It turned out that Emelie had the race of the day finishing as 7th J2, Zoe was the 12 J-2 and Teagan was 18 J-2.

The Boy's went at noon and 234 racers lined up to start. The Boy's were to finish 14th out of 24 of the strongest teams of all classes in the state. Ben lead of and skied a solid race, however he did comment he felt like he hit the wall early and realized he had not eaten enough. I should take the responsibility as given the late start I should have reminded them to get fueled better, we had talked about hydration, next time we will make sure the racers get a snack of an easily digested carbohydrate. Juan went second and had a great race,seeing his low tuck on the first down hill I figured he would do well. Juan in his second 5K race was the 16th J-2 and also qualified for the Maine J-2 team. Brian skied a strong race and ended up as the 52nd J-2,with his strong output he will continue moving up. Phineas finished a very respectable 108 out of 234 over all amoung HS Boy's and his time was only about 1'17" behind Ben, the racing is tight as 46 places finished in that time. Tyler was just another 1"23" back of Phineas and looked solid. As coach Heyburn and I encouraged Tyler on the last hill he immediately responded and picked up his pace. Racing is something that is refined over a long period and hopefully each race has a positive takeaway. For Tyler knowing you have a bit more to give is a valuable lesson, as he gets this experience not only Tyler but all the skiers will improve. Complete results and photos are to be found on the mainehighschoolskiing web site. Lastly,the HS Team welcomed three middle school racers on Saturday. Ian Moore,Kellan Humphries and John Burghes were along and competed as J-2's. Ian showed us what the middle school teams know, that he skis fast. Along with Juan he will represent Maine on the J-2 Team as the17th J-2. Both Kellan and Johnny also skied well, Kellan was 34th J-2 just missing the J-2 team, Johnny was 54th J-2 in his first 5K race , it is easy to project them all as strong high schools races next year. We wish them the best of luck in the middle school championships. For the HS skiers this week we can ski at Pineland as they will permit season pass holders only on the trails. Plan on skate skiing until we get more snow.

Thanks,

John