Races at Sunapee, Slalom Training

It's been a few days since we've been able to update the blog. Two full days of races at Sunapee and some training at Wildcat have left everyone (including myself) pretty drained. With some fresh snow this weekend and sunny skies, we are looking forward to a spectacular second week of training.

Thursday we were able to simulate race conditions with two runs of GS on a timed course. Everyone stripped for both runs and we went into strong and prepared to race.

On Friday we had our first race of the season. It was the first part of a back-to-back GS series. Our women took huge setbacks with Kia Mosenthal out with an injured shoulder and Krista Consiglio out with the flu. Rob Cuillton '10.5, Alex Salter '12, and Susan Kovar '09 were all racing for the first time at this race and made the most of it. Rob had an heroic second run with two hikes, including a full length hike only two gates in right by our gatekeeping section. It was one of those moments that reminded all of those present why college racing is so much fun - as he passed through the gate after his hike all the athletes and coaches were cheering him on. Jeff Ernsting also posted a solid race with the best points result of his career. A special thanks to Debbie Consiglio who brought some phenomenal pizza and other food for the team! We look forward to meeting all the parents throughout the course of the season.

On Saturday we had our second GS race. Once again we were at Sunapee, and the rolling knolls that we have come to love made for two solid course sets. A timing glitch meant lots of waiting around before the second run, but our women's team was able to hold strong and post a stronger results than the day before. The field for the women is especially tight this year, with only a few seconds difference between the top team and seventh. It will make for a difficult and exciting year for our women as they work towards making regionals. Freshmen screamer Emily Simmons recorded excellent times and a top five finish as she put it down the hill both runs. Well done Emily. 3/5 of the Men's team lost skis. We have turned up the DINs and are looking forward to finishing all five this coming weekend. While the team did not do well, Mike Cohen's times were enough to win against Ken Ettinger in the friendly head-to-head match up known as the Chicken Finger Classic.

Sunday was a rest day that allowed for some local adventuring in the snow, lots of down time, and plenty of time to tune up the slalom skis.

On Monday we moved into slalom and this is where we will spend most of this week. We continued training with Boston College which has allowed for multiple course sets and even longer courses. Those new to racing found slalom skis even easier to feel the carve, now it is just a matter of hoping that they don't get distracted by the lure of hammering gates in the course. Kia Mostenthal and Krista Consiglio are back from their weekend recoveries. We are looking forward to a great week before it gets cold on Thursday. We look forward to seeing many of you at Cranmore on Friday and Saturday.

Pictures to follow!