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.
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
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