Skier of the Week: Montana State Invitational

Sam charging the last hill of the 20km

I write this skier of the week post from the passenger seat of Clifford as we drive to our second NCAA race of the season. This weekend we will compete on the cold trails of Howelson Hill in Steamboat, Colorado. CU piggybacks their invitational on a Rocky Mountain Junior qualifier and thus, the trails will be crowded with skier of all ages. It has been only three days since we all piled out of Clifford after our twelve hour drive home from Montana. At our recent bathroom stop in Walden, Sam turned and looked at me and with a sparkle realization in his eyes he said, “I think I’m still tired from Monday’s 20K.” A brutal race in which a pack of mostly sub-100 FIS point racers skied the first 5K at a pace that most good skiers could not sustain for 10K, Sam had held onto that pack for almost two laps. After missing one of his feeds, he was forced to keep pushing without the needed hydration and glucose. And despite this, Sam kept pace with an APU skier and skied to fine finish, some of his lowest FIS mass start points. Only one day prior, Sam had skied the 10km interval skate mass start at such a high pace that he had bettered all but one of his prior races. The course cut through the trees of Bohart ranch like an undulating serpant and enabled us coaches to be at three places all while also giving splits. At literally each of my six Sam sitings he gained in strength and it was in the last 3 K of the race that Sam’s most powerful ab crunches manifested. This is always the case with Sam. The harder it gets, the stronger he gets. The longer it gets, the more competitors wish they hadn’t heard the name Sam Wiswell. But today, as I write this skier of the week post, I am honored to shout Sam’s name to all and to bring him to a bashful blush as I not only recount his race strength in Montana but I relate that he is one of only five skiers still standing and, only three days later (an EPSCoR Grant Proposal written in the interim), ready to take on the harrowing hills of Howelson. A leader, a role model, a reflective practitioner and an ever-improving athlete and scholar, we are very lucky to be a part of Sam Wiswell’s journey.