Next week, March 3-7, the UW Nordic Team will be competing in their 10th USCSA National Competition at Devil's Thumb Ranch, CO.
We're hoping this will be a historic year with a double championship. Everything has to align correctly but there is a small chance and we're all excited.
If you are in the area please consider coming down and supporting these fine athletes. There is a schedule online at: http://www.uwyo.edu/ski/National2009.html
The sprint will be Tuesday evening, on the alpine hill, under the lights. It should be an extremely exciting race. Also Saturday will be the final event of the week, the relay.
We hope to see you out there!
Christi
Friday, February 27, 2009
Cowboy Chase!
Wow! It's way beyond the time I was hoping to get this up but I guess it's better late than never...
The Cowboy Chase weekend was one of the most successful in club history! We changed the format this year to make it a more traditional 2-day pursuit and had a 10km skate on Saturday and a 10km classic on Sunday. It was an amazing weekend of racing!
The 10km skate was a mass start and due to the fact that our amazing MBNA groomers decided it would be nice to groom the lower meadow we had the best mass start area we've ever had. Lots of space to have a fair start. We had 38 men, 21 women and 5 kids start the race. We started the women 2 minutes behind the men and the kids 2 minutes after that so the start was well manageable for everyone!
The course was a 10km loop so after the start we had awhile before anyone came back in. Rachel was out on the course with a radio and we got a couple of updates from her but it was on the edge of the radio reception so some of it was lost but we knew that Zhenya, Dan and John were skiing together and Kari, Gwynn and Britanie (Western State) were also in a pack. We expected to see the first man enter the campground between 26-28 minutes and we were not disappointed when Zhenya came flying up the hill into the campground with Dan only a few seconds back! They both flew around the campground and despite an attempt at a comeback from Dan Zhenya was able to win the race by only 10 seconds! John came in only 34 second behind Dan and Joe was only 29 seconds behing John. Talk about a tough top 4 and we were missing our star freshman, Eliah, with illness! Jacob, still struggling to come back from ACL surgery in September showed how much training he had done in the fall coming in only 50 seconds behind Joe with Freshman Matt and an ill Justin within a minute of Jacob. Grigory followed Justin within a minute and Nicholai, Willie and Adam finished in a pack, just to make things interesting on Sunday. Fitz, still sick but needing to do something, struggled in followed by Devin, back for his first race in a month, to round out a strong men's team. There were many great packs that should make Sunday interesting. On another note, UW Nordic Team Alumni Brian (Bus Mom) had a great race finishing as the 5th citizen racer! It sure was great to see him out there!
The women also wanted to make things interesting and after Kari and Gwynn changing leads for 10km Britanie showed herself to be a tad stronger at the end, just edging Gwynn by 1 second and Kari by 2! Marie had a strong race to finish in 5th follwed by Ava in 6th, Karyn in 7th, Shannon in 8th, Catherine in 9th and Gina in 10th. Talk about a leathal women's team! Our two beginners, better know as Cara & Kara, skied together for most of the race with Kara just pulling out a win. They were followed by Jenny with a solid race. There was also a UW Nordic Team alumn in the women's race. Mae came up from grad school at CSU to show the new girls how it was done. At the end of the race she was in 3rd place and on solid footing to make some gains in her favorite technique on Sunday.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny and the pursuit part of the race was on. The times were extremely close and most of the field went out within the first 13 minutes! The classic race was a 2 lap race so we all got to see what was happening in the middle of the race. The course was a solid 5km's so we were expecting to see the first guy (Zhenya) at about 15 minutes. We were surprized when he and Dan came flying by the start at just over 13 minutes! John was in hot pursuit but losing groud since Dan and Zhenya were working together and Joe was also working hard but not being able to gain on John. Other men were mixing it up, some losing ground, some gaining and the second pack of Nicholai, Willie and Adam was just holding together. Gwynn had made a move for the women and was leading Kari with Britanie starting to lose a little ground. The other women were once again gaining or losing, mostly depending on whether they are skaters or classic skiers, except Morgan who didn't race yesterday and was rapidly plowing up through the field.
The final lap turned out to be extremely exciting with Zhenya just edging Dan for the overall pursuit win but Dan just edging Zhenya for the classic race win. John hung tight for 3rd, Joe had a great classic race and stayed in 4th. There was some mix up in the rest of the men with Adam showing his summer training and managing to drop Willie and Nicholai. Brian made an amazing run to take the overall men's citizen lead!
The women also made an amazing finish. Kari managed to just pull away from Gwynn to take the overall lead and Britanie finished 3rd overall. Morgan caught tons of people and took 4th for the day in the classic race. The rest of the women skied well with little mix-up.
On the whole it was an amazing weekend of racing and sets us up nicely for USCSA Nationals which start on Tuesday, March 3. We can hardly wait!
 |
| From Cowboy Chase 2009 |
The Cowboy Chase weekend was one of the most successful in club history! We changed the format this year to make it a more traditional 2-day pursuit and had a 10km skate on Saturday and a 10km classic on Sunday. It was an amazing weekend of racing!
The 10km skate was a mass start and due to the fact that our amazing MBNA groomers decided it would be nice to groom the lower meadow we had the best mass start area we've ever had. Lots of space to have a fair start. We had 38 men, 21 women and 5 kids start the race. We started the women 2 minutes behind the men and the kids 2 minutes after that so the start was well manageable for everyone!
The course was a 10km loop so after the start we had awhile before anyone came back in. Rachel was out on the course with a radio and we got a couple of updates from her but it was on the edge of the radio reception so some of it was lost but we knew that Zhenya, Dan and John were skiing together and Kari, Gwynn and Britanie (Western State) were also in a pack. We expected to see the first man enter the campground between 26-28 minutes and we were not disappointed when Zhenya came flying up the hill into the campground with Dan only a few seconds back! They both flew around the campground and despite an attempt at a comeback from Dan Zhenya was able to win the race by only 10 seconds! John came in only 34 second behind Dan and Joe was only 29 seconds behing John. Talk about a tough top 4 and we were missing our star freshman, Eliah, with illness! Jacob, still struggling to come back from ACL surgery in September showed how much training he had done in the fall coming in only 50 seconds behind Joe with Freshman Matt and an ill Justin within a minute of Jacob. Grigory followed Justin within a minute and Nicholai, Willie and Adam finished in a pack, just to make things interesting on Sunday. Fitz, still sick but needing to do something, struggled in followed by Devin, back for his first race in a month, to round out a strong men's team. There were many great packs that should make Sunday interesting. On another note, UW Nordic Team Alumni Brian (Bus Mom) had a great race finishing as the 5th citizen racer! It sure was great to see him out there!
The women also wanted to make things interesting and after Kari and Gwynn changing leads for 10km Britanie showed herself to be a tad stronger at the end, just edging Gwynn by 1 second and Kari by 2! Marie had a strong race to finish in 5th follwed by Ava in 6th, Karyn in 7th, Shannon in 8th, Catherine in 9th and Gina in 10th. Talk about a leathal women's team! Our two beginners, better know as Cara & Kara, skied together for most of the race with Kara just pulling out a win. They were followed by Jenny with a solid race. There was also a UW Nordic Team alumn in the women's race. Mae came up from grad school at CSU to show the new girls how it was done. At the end of the race she was in 3rd place and on solid footing to make some gains in her favorite technique on Sunday.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny and the pursuit part of the race was on. The times were extremely close and most of the field went out within the first 13 minutes! The classic race was a 2 lap race so we all got to see what was happening in the middle of the race. The course was a solid 5km's so we were expecting to see the first guy (Zhenya) at about 15 minutes. We were surprized when he and Dan came flying by the start at just over 13 minutes! John was in hot pursuit but losing groud since Dan and Zhenya were working together and Joe was also working hard but not being able to gain on John. Other men were mixing it up, some losing ground, some gaining and the second pack of Nicholai, Willie and Adam was just holding together. Gwynn had made a move for the women and was leading Kari with Britanie starting to lose a little ground. The other women were once again gaining or losing, mostly depending on whether they are skaters or classic skiers, except Morgan who didn't race yesterday and was rapidly plowing up through the field.
The final lap turned out to be extremely exciting with Zhenya just edging Dan for the overall pursuit win but Dan just edging Zhenya for the classic race win. John hung tight for 3rd, Joe had a great classic race and stayed in 4th. There was some mix up in the rest of the men with Adam showing his summer training and managing to drop Willie and Nicholai. Brian made an amazing run to take the overall men's citizen lead!
The women also made an amazing finish. Kari managed to just pull away from Gwynn to take the overall lead and Britanie finished 3rd overall. Morgan caught tons of people and took 4th for the day in the classic race. The rest of the women skied well with little mix-up.
On the whole it was an amazing weekend of racing and sets us up nicely for USCSA Nationals which start on Tuesday, March 3. We can hardly wait!
UW Nordic Benefit Dinner & Raffle
Thought I should put a quick note about the dinner that we had on Saturday night. It was amazingly successful with over 200 people in attendance!
Thanks to everyone who attended, bought raffle tickets, made donations, etc. We will have a list of thank you's on this blog after Nationals and the list on our webpage will be updated as well.
We managed to make $3,316.00 thanks to everyone's hard work and generosity. We're still receiving donations from those of you who couldn't make it so thanks to you as well.
We couldn't do it without you!
Thanks to everyone who attended, bought raffle tickets, made donations, etc. We will have a list of thank you's on this blog after Nationals and the list on our webpage will be updated as well.
We managed to make $3,316.00 thanks to everyone's hard work and generosity. We're still receiving donations from those of you who couldn't make it so thanks to you as well.
We couldn't do it without you!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Cowboy Chase!
Get ready for the Cowboy Chase!
We'll be having a 2-day pursuit, 10km on Skate Saturday and 10km Classic on Sunday. You are welcome to join us for the whole weekend or just one race, whichever sounds the best for you.
The most exciting activity of the weekend will be the UW Nordic Benefit dinner and raffle. We have some truly amazing raffle prizes, 2 x 3-day passes to Jackson Hole, 2 x season passes to Devil's Thumb Ranch, 2 x rodeo tickets for Cheyenne Frontier Days, 6 months of free bread from the Home Bakery and much, much more!
For more information about the event please go to: http://www.uwyo.edu/ski/cowboychase.htm
We'll see you there!
We'll be having a 2-day pursuit, 10km on Skate Saturday and 10km Classic on Sunday. You are welcome to join us for the whole weekend or just one race, whichever sounds the best for you.
The most exciting activity of the weekend will be the UW Nordic Benefit dinner and raffle. We have some truly amazing raffle prizes, 2 x 3-day passes to Jackson Hole, 2 x season passes to Devil's Thumb Ranch, 2 x rodeo tickets for Cheyenne Frontier Days, 6 months of free bread from the Home Bakery and much, much more!
For more information about the event please go to: http://www.uwyo.edu/ski/cowboychase.htm
We'll see you there!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Skiers of the Week!
As you already know, from reading the account of the weekend below, we had the best performance at an NCAA race since 1993! These amazing results were lead by the following two athletes!
Zhenya joined us from Russia at the beginning of the semester and at that time we all thought he was old and out of eligibility. As the semester progressed we became aware of the fact that he's only 22 years old and in his first year of graduate school! This realization set off a flurry of activity as we petitioned the USCSA for a year of eligibility. Let's just say it was a good weekend for Zhenya, he was granted eligibility for this season and the possibility of another one next year as well as having his best finish this year!
He thought the classic race would be his best one but after the wax wore off his skis 5km into a 10km race he fought to finish in 25th, 2:53 out. He was disappointed with this finish and the time back but put it behind him and looked forward to the next day.
After a great start Zhenya flew around the course, dropping athletes that he was skiing with at the end! He finished in a team and personal best place of 17th, only 1:26 out of the lead! It was an amazing effort and we are all waiting to see what he can do at Nationals. Zhenya has provided the men's team with an excellent role model and leader!
Another new-comer lead the women this weekend as well, although eligibility was never in questions with her since she is a true freshman. Gracey started the weekend with a personal best place of 28, 18% out of the win. Up to that point this was one of the better finishes by a UW woman in the last 15 years but little did we know she saved the best for last!
Despite some stressful, last minute waxing that left the women with little time to get to the start Gracey handled the stress well and by the middle of the first lap was in a position to tie the best ever finish for a UW woman in the last 15 years but she wasn't content with that so she just kept picking off peole in front of her to finish in 19th place, only 13% out!
Not only is Gracey a rocket on the ski trails but she is a leader off the course as well. Always finding ways to help the coaches and her teammates with a smile on her face. We look forward to watching her become the best skier and person she can be during her college career.
Congratulations to these fine student athletes!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
Zhenya joined us from Russia at the beginning of the semester and at that time we all thought he was old and out of eligibility. As the semester progressed we became aware of the fact that he's only 22 years old and in his first year of graduate school! This realization set off a flurry of activity as we petitioned the USCSA for a year of eligibility. Let's just say it was a good weekend for Zhenya, he was granted eligibility for this season and the possibility of another one next year as well as having his best finish this year!He thought the classic race would be his best one but after the wax wore off his skis 5km into a 10km race he fought to finish in 25th, 2:53 out. He was disappointed with this finish and the time back but put it behind him and looked forward to the next day.
After a great start Zhenya flew around the course, dropping athletes that he was skiing with at the end! He finished in a team and personal best place of 17th, only 1:26 out of the lead! It was an amazing effort and we are all waiting to see what he can do at Nationals. Zhenya has provided the men's team with an excellent role model and leader!
Another new-comer lead the women this weekend as well, although eligibility was never in questions with her since she is a true freshman. Gracey started the weekend with a personal best place of 28, 18% out of the win. Up to that point this was one of the better finishes by a UW woman in the last 15 years but little did we know she saved the best for last!Despite some stressful, last minute waxing that left the women with little time to get to the start Gracey handled the stress well and by the middle of the first lap was in a position to tie the best ever finish for a UW woman in the last 15 years but she wasn't content with that so she just kept picking off peole in front of her to finish in 19th place, only 13% out!
Not only is Gracey a rocket on the ski trails but she is a leader off the course as well. Always finding ways to help the coaches and her teammates with a smile on her face. We look forward to watching her become the best skier and person she can be during her college career.
Congratulations to these fine student athletes!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
Article from UW News Service
UW Nordic Ski Club Competes against Division I Teams - February 10, 2009 (UW News Service)
Monday, February 09, 2009
DU Invite!
We just returned from our final NCAA Division I race of the season and it was amazing!
The weekend started out a little rough when the temperature dropped more than 15 degrees, necessitating re-glide waxing 17 pairs of skis on Friday morning. This was in addition to kick waxing the skis as well. Rachel worked on the kick while Ashley and I blasted through the glide as quickly as possible. The race was a 5km (women) or 1okm (men) classic inverval start race.
he women started at 9am and the temperature hadn't warmed up 2 degrees in the last 3 hours we had been at the venue and watching the thermometer. This made the kick for the women really easy and we ended up going with an extremely old Swix Special Blue that had bomber kick and was rocking fast. You can't even buy that kick anymore so hopefully we don't face this scenario often! The glide was also pretty easy, Fast Wax Tan. We love it when the temperature is in the Fast Wax Tan range because despite tons of testing we've not found anything better between 12-18F. We know most of the teams won't have Fast Wax so we know our skis will be good on those days!
Anyway, the women went out and had a great day, with Gracey busting into the top 30 in 28th and Kari (33) and Gwynn (36) solidly in the top 40. Morgan had a slightly off day but still managed 41. Marie didn't have a great day but thanks to new skis from the Snow Mountain Nordic Center we'll be looking for some better finishes next time! The women beat Whitman by 5 points and Gracey was within 7 seconds of Whitman's top girl, the closest any Cowgirl has been all year!
The men arrived to the frantic activity of re-waxing. While there were only 5 women to rewax there were 9 men and that takes some time. The coaches were unable to get out to cheer the women because the men had too many skis! We managed to get through the glide waxing, once again Fast Wax Tan, and on to the kick. The course was crazy because the snow varied from windblown, dry, cold snow in the valley to warm, wet, corn snow up on the top of the course. It was a kick waxing nightmare. Luckily for the men Rachel was up to the task. Not only was the course variable but it started warming up fast, 10 degrees between 10-11am!
The combination was crazy with the first starters on 3 layers of Rode Multigrade blue, 2 of Star Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic. The men did not start all at once so the men who started further back needed different wax and gradually it went from 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Blue and Rode Weiss mixed, 2 of Start Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic to 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Purple, 2 of Start Top Violet and 1 of Start Black Magic. It was a crazy time but we got everone waxed and started on the course for another great race.
The men were lead by Evgeniy in 25 who had a great day despite the fact that his skis were soft and the wax wore off before the hills on the second lap. He was followed by Eliah (31), Daniel (33), John (38) and Matt (40) in the top 40. Jacob had another impressive finish, after being out all fall recovering from ACL surgery, in 43 and was followed by Grigory (47), Justin (49) and Willie (50).
The men beat Whitman by 14 points and were huting bigger game being only 16 points behind University of Denver and 18 behind University of New Mexico. All the teams at this race are fully funded, varsity teams and our athletes love getting in there and being the underdog.
Saturday's waxing went a little better, with our knowledge of the local weather paterns at Devil's Thumb. Although the forcast was for warmer temperatures we went with Fast Wax Tan again for glide and it paid off. Although we arrived early, in case we had to rewax or put on fluoro's, we tested wax after wax as well as fluoro's and structure only to find that what we had on was the best we could do. Yay! No rewax for the 10 men in the race!
Saturday's races were exciting mass start skate races, the men doing 15km and the women 10km. With the men ready to go and only 5 women to glide wax we had a chance to see a little of men's race and it was so exciting! Zhenya got a great start and was with the lead pack at the start and by the end of the first 5km lap he was sitting in 21st! A great race! Eliah was having a bit of a tough race but the beauty of having such a strong men's team is that John chose this day to have his best race of the season. Dan & Joe were also skiing well followed closely by Justin, Jacob, Matt, Grigory and Willie. For the second lap we weren't able to see much of what was going on but when the men started finishing it was amazing! Zhenya had pulled up and finished in 17th! John had held on for a solid 31st, Eliah and Dan in 35 & 36, Joe in 38, Justin, Jacob and Matt 39, 40 and 41. Grigory and Willie rounded out the Cowboy attack in 44 and 45. Zhenya's 17th was the best UW men's finish since the NCAA team was cut in 1993 and he was only 1:25 back from the leader (3%)! He lead the men's team to the best team day since 1993 as well!
The amazing and exciting day only got better when the women took to the course. We had been testing glide consistently since 6:30am and Fast Wax Tan with HWK HFW 2 mixed on the back 1/2 of the ski and no fluoros was rocking but 25 minutes before the women's start the fluoros started running and panic was on! We got all the skis waxed with just 4 minutes to go but it was well worth the effort as the women matched the men's effort! Gracey's skis were so fast that she was passing other racers in a tuck as they were skating! Since there were no more skis to wax for the day the coaches were able to get out on the course and it was wonderful!
The first lap Gracey cruised by us smiling and looking strong in 22nd place, the best place by a woman to date! She was followed by Kari in 28th and Gwynn 28 who had Marie hot on her heals! All four women who started were in the top 32! We'd never had that before! The second lap went even better with Gracey moving up to take the first ever top 20 place since 1993 with 19th. Kari also moved up 26, Marie into 28th and Gwynn 29! Four women in the top 30 and 1 in the top 30!
It was an amazing race and an amazing weekend! Everyone is now pumped for the Cowboy Chase, February 21 & 22, and USCSA Nationals, March 3-7. USCSA Nationals will be on those same trails and the athletes have a huge advantage having raced them this weekend.
We hope this is the first of many such races!
The weekend started out a little rough when the temperature dropped more than 15 degrees, necessitating re-glide waxing 17 pairs of skis on Friday morning. This was in addition to kick waxing the skis as well. Rachel worked on the kick while Ashley and I blasted through the glide as quickly as possible. The race was a 5km (women) or 1okm (men) classic inverval start race.
he women started at 9am and the temperature hadn't warmed up 2 degrees in the last 3 hours we had been at the venue and watching the thermometer. This made the kick for the women really easy and we ended up going with an extremely old Swix Special Blue that had bomber kick and was rocking fast. You can't even buy that kick anymore so hopefully we don't face this scenario often! The glide was also pretty easy, Fast Wax Tan. We love it when the temperature is in the Fast Wax Tan range because despite tons of testing we've not found anything better between 12-18F. We know most of the teams won't have Fast Wax so we know our skis will be good on those days!
Anyway, the women went out and had a great day, with Gracey busting into the top 30 in 28th and Kari (33) and Gwynn (36) solidly in the top 40. Morgan had a slightly off day but still managed 41. Marie didn't have a great day but thanks to new skis from the Snow Mountain Nordic Center we'll be looking for some better finishes next time! The women beat Whitman by 5 points and Gracey was within 7 seconds of Whitman's top girl, the closest any Cowgirl has been all year!
The men arrived to the frantic activity of re-waxing. While there were only 5 women to rewax there were 9 men and that takes some time. The coaches were unable to get out to cheer the women because the men had too many skis! We managed to get through the glide waxing, once again Fast Wax Tan, and on to the kick. The course was crazy because the snow varied from windblown, dry, cold snow in the valley to warm, wet, corn snow up on the top of the course. It was a kick waxing nightmare. Luckily for the men Rachel was up to the task. Not only was the course variable but it started warming up fast, 10 degrees between 10-11am!
The combination was crazy with the first starters on 3 layers of Rode Multigrade blue, 2 of Star Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic. The men did not start all at once so the men who started further back needed different wax and gradually it went from 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Blue and Rode Weiss mixed, 2 of Start Top Blue and 1 of Start Black Magic to 3 layers of Rode Multigrade Purple, 2 of Start Top Violet and 1 of Start Black Magic. It was a crazy time but we got everone waxed and started on the course for another great race.
The men were lead by Evgeniy in 25 who had a great day despite the fact that his skis were soft and the wax wore off before the hills on the second lap. He was followed by Eliah (31), Daniel (33), John (38) and Matt (40) in the top 40. Jacob had another impressive finish, after being out all fall recovering from ACL surgery, in 43 and was followed by Grigory (47), Justin (49) and Willie (50).
The men beat Whitman by 14 points and were huting bigger game being only 16 points behind University of Denver and 18 behind University of New Mexico. All the teams at this race are fully funded, varsity teams and our athletes love getting in there and being the underdog.
Saturday's waxing went a little better, with our knowledge of the local weather paterns at Devil's Thumb. Although the forcast was for warmer temperatures we went with Fast Wax Tan again for glide and it paid off. Although we arrived early, in case we had to rewax or put on fluoro's, we tested wax after wax as well as fluoro's and structure only to find that what we had on was the best we could do. Yay! No rewax for the 10 men in the race!
Saturday's races were exciting mass start skate races, the men doing 15km and the women 10km. With the men ready to go and only 5 women to glide wax we had a chance to see a little of men's race and it was so exciting! Zhenya got a great start and was with the lead pack at the start and by the end of the first 5km lap he was sitting in 21st! A great race! Eliah was having a bit of a tough race but the beauty of having such a strong men's team is that John chose this day to have his best race of the season. Dan & Joe were also skiing well followed closely by Justin, Jacob, Matt, Grigory and Willie. For the second lap we weren't able to see much of what was going on but when the men started finishing it was amazing! Zhenya had pulled up and finished in 17th! John had held on for a solid 31st, Eliah and Dan in 35 & 36, Joe in 38, Justin, Jacob and Matt 39, 40 and 41. Grigory and Willie rounded out the Cowboy attack in 44 and 45. Zhenya's 17th was the best UW men's finish since the NCAA team was cut in 1993 and he was only 1:25 back from the leader (3%)! He lead the men's team to the best team day since 1993 as well!
The amazing and exciting day only got better when the women took to the course. We had been testing glide consistently since 6:30am and Fast Wax Tan with HWK HFW 2 mixed on the back 1/2 of the ski and no fluoros was rocking but 25 minutes before the women's start the fluoros started running and panic was on! We got all the skis waxed with just 4 minutes to go but it was well worth the effort as the women matched the men's effort! Gracey's skis were so fast that she was passing other racers in a tuck as they were skating! Since there were no more skis to wax for the day the coaches were able to get out on the course and it was wonderful!
The first lap Gracey cruised by us smiling and looking strong in 22nd place, the best place by a woman to date! She was followed by Kari in 28th and Gwynn 28 who had Marie hot on her heals! All four women who started were in the top 32! We'd never had that before! The second lap went even better with Gracey moving up to take the first ever top 20 place since 1993 with 19th. Kari also moved up 26, Marie into 28th and Gwynn 29! Four women in the top 30 and 1 in the top 30!
It was an amazing race and an amazing weekend! Everyone is now pumped for the Cowboy Chase, February 21 & 22, and USCSA Nationals, March 3-7. USCSA Nationals will be on those same trails and the athletes have a huge advantage having raced them this weekend.
We hope this is the first of many such races!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Article from UW News Service
Here's a great article and picture, courtesy of Barbara Cartwright, put out by the UW News Service.
UW Nordic Ski Teams Win Twice - February 3, 2009 (UW News Service)
UW Nordic Ski Teams Win Twice - February 3, 2009 (UW News Service)
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Can you smell what UW is cookin'?!
As Christi stated in the previous post, the last weekend consisted of USCSA qualifiers in Leadville and Frisco,Co. I can only think of a few terms to describe the weekend; stellar, complete domination, and as my high school coach used to say, " Take them out back to the wood shed". This weekend not only showed how strong and competitive we are in the Rocky Mountain conference but in the greater Wyoming/Colorado skiing community. The winners of the collegiate races happened to also be the winners of the races overall.The team also took a major portion of the top 10 spots...Utter domination! Not only did our athletes dominate but man did our coaches lay down the hammer! Christi and Rachel both rocketed to the top of their respective race, and delivered great race skis for the whole team, including my 2 pairs as Christi had mentioned ( I feel bad about it, but you guys made me feel like a world cup racer having pairs of skis race waxed to test out. Thanks so much!). We also had athletes who love putting their bodies into the garbage can so much that they opted for the 20km instead of the 10 km. Oh and guess what, they continued the weekend domination! Ava and Zhenya showed me what domination really was, pushing through a long race with still the determination to sprint to the line. Major props to you guys!
I am honored to be all of yours' team mate,
Adam
I am honored to be all of yours' team mate,
Adam
Monday, February 02, 2009
Frisco Gold Rush!
So I'm finally home and taking a couple minutes to do a write-up about Sunday's Frisco Gold Rush.
This was a USCSA Qualifier and Western State College and Air Force Academy joined us for the 10km classic. This was a little interesting since we had 20 athletes racing, it was a mass start and it was at 9am! Just in case you don't know that's 42 individual skis (Adam was trying two different pairs) that have to get kick wax for a race where everyone starts at the same time! It was exciting but thanks to stellar help from Liz and Becca we were able to get it done and still get Rachel a warmup for her 5km classic, which started at the same time.
The course was a little confusing. Everyone said it was a two loop course but what they neglected to say was that it was two separate loops. To me that's not a two loop course, just a one loop course that doubles back through the stadium! Anyway, after the first 5km it was a great race with Dan, Joe (AFA) and Eliah working together at the front of the race. They were followed by John and Fitz! Yes Fitz! He actually had a classic race, it was amazing! Kari was leading the women with Gracey and Morgan right on her heals until I told Kari that the first women in the race was right in front of her. Kari took off and beat the woman by about 30 seconds!
The second loop was way hilly and that began to take it's toll on some of the athletes. Dan hit about 3 brick walls but still managed to hold on for 3rd behing Eliah (1st) and Joe (2nd). John just got faster throughout the race and finished right on Dan's heals. Jacob and Matt also made an impressive run to just catch Fitz (still his best classic race ever!) Fitz was followed by Justin, Nicholai and Adam. It was an impressive finish for the men!
The women also did great with Kari taking the first woman and winning the race. She was followed by Gracey and then a little way back Morgan. Marie finished next with a solid performance and was followed by Shannon, Karyn, Cara and Jenny. For a fun and exciting classic race.
The day wasn't over yet though, Zhenya and Ava decided they wanted to try their hand at one of the most brutal 20k's in Colorado. Zhenya started the race in the lead and worked with two other racers for most of the race. Switching leads and waiting to finish hard. Finish hard he did! Zhenya managed to drop both the other men in the last 200m to win the day! Ava also skied extremely well, despite the length and the hills Ava held on and placed 9th in the women, very respectable for someone who wasn't supposed to ever ski again! Also in the race were Josh and Christine who are UW Nordic Team alumn. We were so proud to see them out there!
The day was capped off when Zhenya got a phone call from Russia. His brother had won the Junior World Championship Sprint in France! Wow! Talk about an exciting end to a great weekend!
The results will be up soon at http://www.uwyo.edu/ski/race_results.html
We're so proud of our athletes and are looking forward to the final NCAA race at Devil's Thumb ranch this weekend.
This was a USCSA Qualifier and Western State College and Air Force Academy joined us for the 10km classic. This was a little interesting since we had 20 athletes racing, it was a mass start and it was at 9am! Just in case you don't know that's 42 individual skis (Adam was trying two different pairs) that have to get kick wax for a race where everyone starts at the same time! It was exciting but thanks to stellar help from Liz and Becca we were able to get it done and still get Rachel a warmup for her 5km classic, which started at the same time.
The course was a little confusing. Everyone said it was a two loop course but what they neglected to say was that it was two separate loops. To me that's not a two loop course, just a one loop course that doubles back through the stadium! Anyway, after the first 5km it was a great race with Dan, Joe (AFA) and Eliah working together at the front of the race. They were followed by John and Fitz! Yes Fitz! He actually had a classic race, it was amazing! Kari was leading the women with Gracey and Morgan right on her heals until I told Kari that the first women in the race was right in front of her. Kari took off and beat the woman by about 30 seconds!
The second loop was way hilly and that began to take it's toll on some of the athletes. Dan hit about 3 brick walls but still managed to hold on for 3rd behing Eliah (1st) and Joe (2nd). John just got faster throughout the race and finished right on Dan's heals. Jacob and Matt also made an impressive run to just catch Fitz (still his best classic race ever!) Fitz was followed by Justin, Nicholai and Adam. It was an impressive finish for the men!
The women also did great with Kari taking the first woman and winning the race. She was followed by Gracey and then a little way back Morgan. Marie finished next with a solid performance and was followed by Shannon, Karyn, Cara and Jenny. For a fun and exciting classic race.
The day wasn't over yet though, Zhenya and Ava decided they wanted to try their hand at one of the most brutal 20k's in Colorado. Zhenya started the race in the lead and worked with two other racers for most of the race. Switching leads and waiting to finish hard. Finish hard he did! Zhenya managed to drop both the other men in the last 200m to win the day! Ava also skied extremely well, despite the length and the hills Ava held on and placed 9th in the women, very respectable for someone who wasn't supposed to ever ski again! Also in the race were Josh and Christine who are UW Nordic Team alumn. We were so proud to see them out there!
The day was capped off when Zhenya got a phone call from Russia. His brother had won the Junior World Championship Sprint in France! Wow! Talk about an exciting end to a great weekend!
The results will be up soon at http://www.uwyo.edu/ski/race_results.html
We're so proud of our athletes and are looking forward to the final NCAA race at Devil's Thumb ranch this weekend.
Found items
Not many found items this time: camera in blue water proof case, blue knitted hat, toothpaste, hair dryer. We will bring them to the Cowboy Chase at the latest or sooner if we see you at another race. eb
Thanks for a Great Weekend!!
To the UW Ski Team!!! What an awesome group of young women and men! Thank you so much for all your help in making the past weekend so much fun!! What a group of considerate, conscientious, hard working, fun, talented, I could go on ..... people. Thanks for humoring Dick and playing all his stupid games (personally I love them). It just comes with the territory. It is a pleasure to count each and every one of you as our friend! A special thanks for all the kitchen help. I couldn't have done it without you. Remember that you are always welcome in our home.
P.S. Remember to always be kind to your coaches.
Dick and Ev
P.S. Remember to always be kind to your coaches.
Dick and Ev
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CMC Sprints!
I'm sending this from my Blackberry so it will be short...
WOW what a race!
At 9am we had the prelims and after the first round we had 5 guys within 1 second of each other and 10 guys within 6 seconds! It was crazy and has never happened before! It necessitated running 3 rounds with prelims and finals. We had 2 heats of women and 3 of men. In each heat the first 2 went to the A final and the second two went to the B final and everyone else was done. We had some exciting prelims with close finishes but nothing prepared us for the finals!
The women's final was amazing with Gracey leading coming into the final stretch but Kari made a last minute surge to just nip her at the line. Britanie followed close behind and Marie wasn't far back from her. It was exciting!
The men's final was even closer with Zhenya coming up the final hill in front but with Dan on his tail. Dan made a huge move and came along his right side forcing them both into a lunge to the finish. We had Devin filming the race and it was a good thing because we needed the film to see that Zhenya just edged out Dan by less than a foot!
They were closely followed by Eliah and Joe (Air Force). With John and Justin finishing in another photo finish!
After the race there was a fantastic
Pizza lunch provided by Drew & Jenna as well as some awesome drawings. It was a great time socializing and watching the videos from the races.
The full results will be posted on the website early next week.
We have a classic 10km at the Frisco Gold rush tomorrow so we're looking forward to one more excellent race!
Christi
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Skiers of the Week!
After an amazing weekend with some great results and even better times we have our two skiers of the week!
First we have to tip our hats to the shear guts and character of Morgan. She is on strict orders not to skate until her legs heal. We were planning to have her only race the classic race on Friday, which she did and performed amazingly. She soon asked if there was any way she could race on Saturday. There was a 10km freestyle race on the golf course so I thought she could try that. I started working on getting her registered for the 1okm when she asked if she could do the 21km on classic skis! I was floored, last week was the first time Morgan had done a race as long as a 15km and now she wanted to do a 21km on classic skis! Since the race is a freestyle there is no reason you can't do classic, it's just not fun because it's slower AND there were no tracks set! Actually that's not entirely true, they were set on the downhills! Morgan not only finished the race but she was really racing hard AND when she finished she said, "That was so much fun!" You can't ask for a more positive and gutsy race than the one Morgan put together.
Our second Skier of the Week is Dan. Dan put together the two best races of his season, lowering both his classic and his skate points and placing within the top 15% of both races. It was a good weekend of racing. As you know though we don't just make people skiers of the week for speed. Dan was wonderfully helpful and cheerful all weekend. Dan was encouraging to his team mates, even during the race! And at the end of a long weekend and long race he jumped in and helped travel wax everyone's skis. Thanks to Dan for his great leadership both on and off the trails!
Congratulations to both our Skiers of the Week!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
First we have to tip our hats to the shear guts and character of Morgan. She is on strict orders not to skate until her legs heal. We were planning to have her only race the classic race on Friday, which she did and performed amazingly. She soon asked if there was any way she could race on Saturday. There was a 10km freestyle race on the golf course so I thought she could try that. I started working on getting her registered for the 1okm when she asked if she could do the 21km on classic skis! I was floored, last week was the first time Morgan had done a race as long as a 15km and now she wanted to do a 21km on classic skis! Since the race is a freestyle there is no reason you can't do classic, it's just not fun because it's slower AND there were no tracks set! Actually that's not entirely true, they were set on the downhills! Morgan not only finished the race but she was really racing hard AND when she finished she said, "That was so much fun!" You can't ask for a more positive and gutsy race than the one Morgan put together.
Our second Skier of the Week is Dan. Dan put together the two best races of his season, lowering both his classic and his skate points and placing within the top 15% of both races. It was a good weekend of racing. As you know though we don't just make people skiers of the week for speed. Dan was wonderfully helpful and cheerful all weekend. Dan was encouraging to his team mates, even during the race! And at the end of a long weekend and long race he jumped in and helped travel wax everyone's skis. Thanks to Dan for his great leadership both on and off the trails!Congratulations to both our Skiers of the Week!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
Alaska and Aspen write up...
I just posted a novel on my personal blog telling the tales of the last 3 weeks of my life. please read if you are bored
thanks,
john
www.johnkirlin.blogspot.com
thanks,
john
www.johnkirlin.blogspot.com
Saturday, January 17, 2009
yeah man,
Well, we're on the end of the intensity week and i am feeling it. It was so much easier to ski without classes but i suppose that is or should be the reason all of us are here. Wednesday were short skating sprints. Sets of V1 on right, V2 and V1 on left were done with easy skiing between. Thursday i did a ski strength day consisting of double pole, no pole and V2. It was hard to stay awake for very long Thursday night to get much homework done, which as i look at it is a good thing. You shouldnt do homework in the first week of class anyway...Friday was classic natural intervals, many of them done out of track because i didn't want to be on the same tiny loop all practice and few other trails were tracked. On tap for this weekend, nice skate saturday and easy classic sunday.
congrats to the elite teams for the classis races! good job guys
results are @ http://www.rmisaskiing.com/pdf.php?id=94
congrats to the elite teams for the classis races! good job guys
results are @ http://www.rmisaskiing.com/pdf.php?id=94
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Skiers of the Week!
We just completed our first official USCSA Qualifier and we had some amazing results and some amazingly fun times!
Our first skier of the week is Shannon. Shannon came onto the team 3 years ago and skied for 1.5 years before she was beset with multiple health problems from being hit by a car to mono. It just wasn't a great couple of years. This all changed this weekend when she put together two solid races that were faster than any of her races prior to this time. She's been training hard all summer and fall and been a dedicated member of the team. She was also just named to the President's Honor Roll for last semester so not only is she an inspiration on the trails but she rocks in the classroom as well.
Our second skier of the week is a newcomer to the team. Eliah has lead the team in every race he's done this year and continued with some smoking fast times this weekend, winning both races. He lead the classic race almost from the start and finished over 1 minute ahead of second place. In the skate race Eliah and Tom duked it out for 14kms until Eliah was able to pull ahead for a narrow win. Both races were great! If you imagine that Eliah was chosen only for his speed you would be mistaken. Eliah was incredibly helpful throughout the weekend. Always the first to help haul stuff to and from the vehicles, even as he is preparing for the race. He rarely asks what he can do to help, he just looks and see what needs to be done. There is no more helpful thing to a coach than an athlete who is not only low maintenance but helps everyone and always does it with a smile.
Congratulations to these fine student athletes. You make us proud in everything you do!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
Our first skier of the week is Shannon. Shannon came onto the team 3 years ago and skied for 1.5 years before she was beset with multiple health problems from being hit by a car to mono. It just wasn't a great couple of years. This all changed this weekend when she put together two solid races that were faster than any of her races prior to this time. She's been training hard all summer and fall and been a dedicated member of the team. She was also just named to the President's Honor Roll for last semester so not only is she an inspiration on the trails but she rocks in the classroom as well.
Our second skier of the week is a newcomer to the team. Eliah has lead the team in every race he's done this year and continued with some smoking fast times this weekend, winning both races. He lead the classic race almost from the start and finished over 1 minute ahead of second place. In the skate race Eliah and Tom duked it out for 14kms until Eliah was able to pull ahead for a narrow win. Both races were great! If you imagine that Eliah was chosen only for his speed you would be mistaken. Eliah was incredibly helpful throughout the weekend. Always the first to help haul stuff to and from the vehicles, even as he is preparing for the race. He rarely asks what he can do to help, he just looks and see what needs to be done. There is no more helpful thing to a coach than an athlete who is not only low maintenance but helps everyone and always does it with a smile.Congratulations to these fine student athletes. You make us proud in everything you do!
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD!
Issues with Tissues: Volume 1 addendum...
After careful perusal of the first Volume of Issues with Tissues I realized that there was something that needed to be clarified. Basically despite the mandate that everyone take care of themselves it is still of vital importance that we all do our best to respect each other.
So...
Even if Fitz behaves like the bright young man he is and brings ear plugs and eye covers this is not an invitation for mass chaos. Eliah's new band, Eliah on harmonica, Ava on violin, Gracey on trumpet and Morgan on recorder, cannot practice until the wee hours of the morning, despite the obvious quality this band promises. They need to be respectful of Fitz's desire to sleep as well as his desire to listen to them at a time when he can truly enjoy their music. It is also not alright for Shannon to wake up at 4am, remember she doesn't have to make donuts and then have a dance party to celebrate in the middle of the bedroom. This activity can be done in the common room if she invites the coaches.
While it is impossible for everyone to be completely quiet and not wake anyone it is also important that some effort is made to "put rubber heals on your voice" as my grandmother used to say. Basically no yelling, singing and especially no trumpets (sorry Gracie) early nor late. Talking, cooking and recorders should probably be tolerated and laughing is always welcome!
The Coaches
So...
Even if Fitz behaves like the bright young man he is and brings ear plugs and eye covers this is not an invitation for mass chaos. Eliah's new band, Eliah on harmonica, Ava on violin, Gracey on trumpet and Morgan on recorder, cannot practice until the wee hours of the morning, despite the obvious quality this band promises. They need to be respectful of Fitz's desire to sleep as well as his desire to listen to them at a time when he can truly enjoy their music. It is also not alright for Shannon to wake up at 4am, remember she doesn't have to make donuts and then have a dance party to celebrate in the middle of the bedroom. This activity can be done in the common room if she invites the coaches.
While it is impossible for everyone to be completely quiet and not wake anyone it is also important that some effort is made to "put rubber heals on your voice" as my grandmother used to say. Basically no yelling, singing and especially no trumpets (sorry Gracie) early nor late. Talking, cooking and recorders should probably be tolerated and laughing is always welcome!
The Coaches
Monday, January 12, 2009
Devil's Thumb Ranch Report
Although this is a few days old I wanted to do a quick update on the 15km race at Devil's Thumb.
It was fairly warm, 22˚F, and snowing lightly when we arrived. DTR staff had groomed the race course but hadn't marked it when we arrived but started doing so a little after many of our athletes started warming up. We gave out a few maps to those who asked but many of the athletes just didn't get it done so never got to ski the loop before the race. No worries though, they would learn it during the race since it was a 5km loop!
The most interested problem we faced was the fact that the course crossed the road 3 times! On two of the crossing Rachel, Brian and the Lewis parents were able to shovel enough snow to ski across with no danger to the ski. For the 3rd road crossing there was nothing to be done, DTR had pushed snow across the road when they groomed but the county snow plow had destroyed that so the racers had to take off their skis and run across the road! It turned out to be pretty fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it, except Kinner who had trouble getting his skis on!
The race went amazingly well with Eliah and Tom skiing together for the entire race and Eliah dropping Tom at the end of the last loop. The women, Gwynn, Kari, Gracie, Britanie skied together for one loop and then started to separate out. Gwynn and Gracie skied together with Gwynn being slightly stronger at the end and Britanie leading Kari for most of the race but she never took a feed and Kari took two so she ended up catching and dropping her on the last lap. Everyone else skied well and had a good time. It was a brutal 15km course so it was great to have an idea of how it works. Hopefully the stars will align and this will be the course for Nationals.
The forecast for Sunday was a low at night of 5˚F and a high of 26˚F so we base waxed with Fast Wax Blue and put Fast Wax Tan on top. Our skis were rocking on Saturday and it seemed it would be the same on Sunday. However, by race time it was about 25˚F which is really not Tan's best range. We were waxed a little cold for the conditions but only Kinner had better skis so it didn't have an enormous impact.
We're extremely proud of everyone! What a great race!
It was fairly warm, 22˚F, and snowing lightly when we arrived. DTR staff had groomed the race course but hadn't marked it when we arrived but started doing so a little after many of our athletes started warming up. We gave out a few maps to those who asked but many of the athletes just didn't get it done so never got to ski the loop before the race. No worries though, they would learn it during the race since it was a 5km loop!
The most interested problem we faced was the fact that the course crossed the road 3 times! On two of the crossing Rachel, Brian and the Lewis parents were able to shovel enough snow to ski across with no danger to the ski. For the 3rd road crossing there was nothing to be done, DTR had pushed snow across the road when they groomed but the county snow plow had destroyed that so the racers had to take off their skis and run across the road! It turned out to be pretty fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it, except Kinner who had trouble getting his skis on!
The race went amazingly well with Eliah and Tom skiing together for the entire race and Eliah dropping Tom at the end of the last loop. The women, Gwynn, Kari, Gracie, Britanie skied together for one loop and then started to separate out. Gwynn and Gracie skied together with Gwynn being slightly stronger at the end and Britanie leading Kari for most of the race but she never took a feed and Kari took two so she ended up catching and dropping her on the last lap. Everyone else skied well and had a good time. It was a brutal 15km course so it was great to have an idea of how it works. Hopefully the stars will align and this will be the course for Nationals.
The forecast for Sunday was a low at night of 5˚F and a high of 26˚F so we base waxed with Fast Wax Blue and put Fast Wax Tan on top. Our skis were rocking on Saturday and it seemed it would be the same on Sunday. However, by race time it was about 25˚F which is really not Tan's best range. We were waxed a little cold for the conditions but only Kinner had better skis so it didn't have an enormous impact.
We're extremely proud of everyone! What a great race!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Issues with Tissues: Volume I
It was a wonderful weekend with fun races, we know you all LOVED racing hard, taking off your skis, running across the road, putting them back on and then racing hard again! I'm sure it will be the highlight of your college career!
However, it seems that we had our annual issue with sleeping and waking up. Due to the fact that there are upwards of 20 athletes and coaches at almost every race we do and we love each other so much and want to be in the same cabin there is always a potential for conflict with sleeping schedules and habits. Some of you are night owls and love to stay up late, some of you are early risers and want to get a start on the day, some of you are just tired and want to go to bed early and get up late and some of you just want to pull the blankets over your head and hope the world goes away. It is easy to see why there might be some conflict when there are 24 people with at least 20 different schedules and habits. You can add to this schedule problem the fact that many weekends there are a minimum of 3 different groups who need to do things at 3 different times: Coaches, Men and Women. When the men and women race at different times there are always problems.
OK so we've established that the small conflict this weekend was normal and inevitable so what do we do? Due to our extreme ages and experience with traveling and living with a huge variety people from noisy girls to obnoxious boys, norwegians, germans and swedes, coaches who thought everyone should get up early and go for a run if they had too much time and coaches who didn't sleep at all we have a few words of wisdom. Due to our position as coaches these words of wisdom can be looked on as mandates. While it is our team motto to treat everyone with respect, here is the most important mandate when it comes to sleep and rest, take care of and worry about yourself first! If you like to get 10 hours of sleep and can't sleep with lights bring something to cover your eyes. If you are easily (or even not easily) woken and don't want to be, bring ear plugs.
The bottom line here is that in one house with 24 people everyone can be as quiet as they can possibly be and someone will still be woken. Spend your energy purchasing ear plugs and not being mad and you will be happier and well rested and so will everyone else. In fact with a little forethought on your part you can become part of the sunshine club with Marie and Gwynn.
This concludes Volume I of Issues with Tissues, please stay tuned for more updates throughout the season.
Christi, Rachel & Ashley
However, it seems that we had our annual issue with sleeping and waking up. Due to the fact that there are upwards of 20 athletes and coaches at almost every race we do and we love each other so much and want to be in the same cabin there is always a potential for conflict with sleeping schedules and habits. Some of you are night owls and love to stay up late, some of you are early risers and want to get a start on the day, some of you are just tired and want to go to bed early and get up late and some of you just want to pull the blankets over your head and hope the world goes away. It is easy to see why there might be some conflict when there are 24 people with at least 20 different schedules and habits. You can add to this schedule problem the fact that many weekends there are a minimum of 3 different groups who need to do things at 3 different times: Coaches, Men and Women. When the men and women race at different times there are always problems.
OK so we've established that the small conflict this weekend was normal and inevitable so what do we do? Due to our extreme ages and experience with traveling and living with a huge variety people from noisy girls to obnoxious boys, norwegians, germans and swedes, coaches who thought everyone should get up early and go for a run if they had too much time and coaches who didn't sleep at all we have a few words of wisdom. Due to our position as coaches these words of wisdom can be looked on as mandates. While it is our team motto to treat everyone with respect, here is the most important mandate when it comes to sleep and rest, take care of and worry about yourself first! If you like to get 10 hours of sleep and can't sleep with lights bring something to cover your eyes. If you are easily (or even not easily) woken and don't want to be, bring ear plugs.
The bottom line here is that in one house with 24 people everyone can be as quiet as they can possibly be and someone will still be woken. Spend your energy purchasing ear plugs and not being mad and you will be happier and well rested and so will everyone else. In fact with a little forethought on your part you can become part of the sunshine club with Marie and Gwynn.
This concludes Volume I of Issues with Tissues, please stay tuned for more updates throughout the season.
Christi, Rachel & Ashley
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