The year for Brown Men's Skiing began as what DR affectionately referred to as a "rebuilding year." He could not have been more wrong. A ninth place finish in the MacConnell division should have left the team feeling dejected and demoralized, but this team never missed a beat. Not making regionals, our men still had their eyes set on the prize of Nationals. As an exhibition event, the men were able to enter into the SkierCross competition. Two days ago laughs would have greeted the humble dream of our men to podium at Nationals. When they ascended the podium yesterday with a second place finish our men exchanged their rags for riches - the eyes of USCSA were focused upon the Brown Men.
The skier cross really began Thursday night as we loaded the men's skis with flouros and other high speed waxes to propel them down the hill. The determination had been made that winning the race was all about the start, and while this wasn't entirely true, I am proud to note that in nearly all of the heats, the Brown men led through the fourth gate. After a long morning practice session on Friday, the race began around 1130.
(The rest of this incredibly detailed post is from Men's Team Captain DR Richardson)
The first Brown racer to go was Antonio. He pushed mightily out of the gate, crowding out the three others in his heat. Unfortunately he caught way too much air through the first set of rollers and ended up landing on the front of the next roller, causing him to lose a ski.
Next was Dow, affectionately called the Caymaniac. Dow had a lot of self-confidence going into his race and we all had high hopes for him. Unfortunately he too was unable to stay out of the air and crashed hard, landing on his back.
2 Brown racers down in the first round, 2 more to go.
Next up was freshman and DR-look-alike, Jeff Ernsting. Jeff took an early lead after the gates and managed to hold on to it, winning his heat. Jeff would proceed to the next round.
Finally, 3-time Captain DR Richardson was up next. He settled into a close second after the first gate, having to jump over the skis of the guy in first, or risk wiping out. He stayed right on the heels of the first place skier through the hard-right footer. The combination of high-fluoros and successful drafting kicked in right then, enabling the ex-racer to pass the leader on the outside. DR held on to the lead through the big-air and all the way down to the finish. He too would make it to Round 2.
Now only two of the original five Brown men were left. Jeff went first. He pushed out of the gate in third. Though he tried every trick in the book, throwing elbows, drafting, and catching major air, he was not able to improve his position and ended in third. We would proceed to the Consolation Round.
DR had a great start in the second round. He pushed out in front of the competition. Yet he soon succumbed to the same fate that had deviled Antonio and Dow; he caught way too much air through the first rollers and crashed. After sliding 50 yards, he stood up and finished the race, coming in third. He too would not make it to the finals, instead having to race in the consolation round.
The consolation round would determine positions 5-8. DR and Jeff would be competing against each other in this final race. Out of the start, Jeff pushed into second and DR struggled to take third, but was ultimately relegated to fourth. While Jeff tried to overtake the leader, the skier in third crashed into DR, dislocating his shoulder and sending him 50 yards off course behind the b-netting, in the process losing both poles and his helmet. He looked up at his Coach, Will Bowling, who had radioed head coach Mike LeBlanc. "Carnage..." was all that DR heard. Fortunately, in Skier-X, there are no rules. DR put his shoulder back in place, retrieved his helmet and poles, hiked around the netting, and finished the race in third. Jeff meanwhile had overtaken the leader, winning the heat, and coming in 5th overall. DR would take 7th, Dow, 9th, and Antonio - unknown.
The men left that day, bruised, battered, and second in the nation.
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