Collegiate Racing Recap: EISA, RMISA
After the heightened tensions of Nationals racing, skiers returned to what will become the norm this season. Weekend in and weekend out, collegiate skiers will pack their textbooks and training logs to get car sick in the back of the team van that left too late because someone forgot their boots. But no matter what has happened in the week before, come race morning, all pretensions evaporate and what is left is the sometimes frigid and sometimes joyous truth of the race.
EISA
The Eastern collegiate season got underway on Friday with races at Quarry Road in Waterville, Maine for the Colby Carnival. Men and women raced the same 20k distance in the EISA’s continued effort to incorporate more equal distance racing into the calendar. It was a cold weekend and Saturday’s classic races were eventually canceled because of frigid temps.
Day 1, 20k Freestyle Mass Start
The women’s race saw a strong pack of ten racers through 12.5k after which the group was slowly whittled to a pack of six for the final sprint to the line. UVM’s Waverly Gebhardt came out victorious over Dartmouth’s Rena Schwartz. Garvie Tobin (DAR) rounded out the podium. The Midwest contingent showed their fitness over the longer race distance with Renae Anderson (BOW) finishing in 6th, just ten seconds back from the winner. Mara McCollor placed 7th, Lucinda Anders (UNH) 8th, Erin Bianco (CBC) 9th, and Elizabeth Tutle (UVM) was 10th.
Bianco, who is in her last season racing for the Mules, reflected on her final home carnival: “The anticipation was certainly high as we hadn’t done a mass start in two years [many skiers in the EISA did not race last year because of COVID]. I thought the 20k might feel a bit longer but it went by quickly because of the constant strategy and focus needed to make it around Quarry Road’s challenging course. Skiing with the lead pack for the whole race was thrilling. Reflecting back, it was so much fun to be surrounded by such competitive and talented women. Despite a fall in the last lap, I was proud of what I accomplished in the first race and definitely hungry for more.”
In the men’s race, it was a pack of six racers by the 5k mark. From there, the group stayed together until 15k when Ben Ogden (UVM), back from World Cup racing, made his move. Ogden ended up taking the win, with his UVM teammates sweeping up the spots behind him: Matias Oevrum (NOR) in 2nd, Jacob Nystedt (SWE) in 3rd, and Greg Burt in 4th. There were a few new Midwestern faces who cracked the top thirty: Roger Anderson (UNH) placed 13th, Will Nemeth (MID) who missed out on carnivals during his freshman year placed 21st, and Colby first year Victor Sparks earned 22nd. Foss Kerker (CBC) in his last collegiate season skied to 16th, and Dartmouth captain Luc Golin finished 27th.
The Carnival circuit now heads to Sleepy Hollow for the St. Mike’s Carnival on January 21st and 22nd.
RMISA
The Rocky Mountain conference raced alongside the SuperTour for the Montana State Invitational in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Day 1, 5/10k Freestyle Individual Start
The Utah women proved they will be hard to beat this year. Sophia Laukli, transferring from Middlebury, adds to what was already a formidable roster. In the RMISA specific 5k results from a single-digit cold Saturday, Laukli finished first, just two seconds ahead of her Ute teammate and fellow World Cup skier, Novie McCabe. Sydney Palmer-Leger (UU) rounded out the podium in third. Emma Albrecht, skiing in her second year for MSU after transferring from Michigan Tech, finished 24th.
In a fall that was marked with a longer than normal smoke season in Montana, Albrecht and the MSU Bobcats spent more time on their on-campus ski treadmill. “The technique training on our treadmill has been so helpful,” Albrecht said, “and is allowing our team to focus on smaller technique details that are often overlooked when not constantly under video.” The MSU team also added six freshmen, three to the women’s squad. “The increase in our team size has been amazing,” Albrecht continued. “Our expansion of three female freshmen increased our depth and created a larger learning environment. Two of the female freshmen are from Canmore and one is a California local, but races internationally for Australia. It has been very educational training and racing with them due to their international background.”
In the men’s 10k, Bernhard Flaschberger (DU, AUT) returned to his impressive form he showed two seasons ago, winning over freshman Ute Walker Hall. Sam Hendry (UU, CAN) placed third.
Day 2, 10/15k Classic Mass Start
It was a reshuffle of the deck in the women’s race with the same podium skiers as day one, just in a different order: McCabe (UU) placed 1st, Palmer-Leger (UU) 2nd, and Laukli (UU) 3rd. Emma Albrecht, holding down the fort as the sole skier from Midwest in these RMISA races, placed 24th.
Flaschberger (DU, AUT) won again for the men just one second ahead of Hendry (UU, CAN). But this time it was first year Andreas Kirkeng (DU, NOR) in third.
RMISA races next at Birch Hill on February 1st and 2nd for the Alaska Fairbanks Invitational.
CCSA
The Midwestern schools took a weekend off of racing but will return to action January 22nd and 23rd for the Mt. Itasca CXC Cup in Coleraine, Minnesota.
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About the author... Luke Brown, a graduate of Minnehaha Academy and Dartmouth College, is a skier and biathlete for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. He enjoys running in the mountains, writing, and eating cereal with whole milk. He lives in Craftsbury, VT. |