Eastern Highschool Championships

Last weekend, the MA team went mudding - I mean, skiing - at the Mt Top Resort ski loop. CSU sent a very large contingent to Eastern Highschool Championships, and Rob was the head coach, with Jamie, Alex, Maddy, Doro, Gunther, and the CSU wax army all there as well. There wasn't much snow, but it was truly amazing what they were able to do with the little strip of white winding through the woods! The two road-crossings and the somewhat sketchy downhill corner just added to the excitement and the dirt in the snow. The CSU skiers made up about half the massachusetts team, and it was great to see everyone mingling happily. Good times!

The announcer got into the spirit of St Paddy's day. He was a hoot.

Friday started with a skate race, and though it was soft, it thankfully wasn't quite as soft as J2s last weekend. The girls went first, and we started out with a bang! CSU athletes swept the podium (Corey, Olivia M, Julia K), Cate was 8th, Zoe 13th, Olivia C 14th, and Rebecca in 26th. Julia S used her typical smooth technique to float her way up the hills to 43rd, followed by Catherine in 53rd. Katie C skied way above her seed, and Rosie had a really solid race. Meg and Mary skied well, if hesitant on the downhill, and Blake had a couple issues on the downhill, but resolved to nail that hill next race. Katrin and Clara both skied really well, Clara in her first EHS and Katrin as a first-year J2. Girls' freestyle results.

The boys race was led by Eli for MA and CSU, followed by Calvin in 11th! Rion and Ian powered through the slop to finish 38th and 40th, followed closely by Chris K and Greg in 49th and 50th. Toby, Ryan, and Jordan found that it's not easy to be a big guy in soft conditions - brute strength doesn't help you much! Jacob skied a solid skate race, but was clearly looking forward to the classic race. Max was looking smooth and strong, but Chris K was struggling a bit - two championship weekends in a row can be exhausting, and it showed. Boys' freestyle results.

Saturday we had a classic race in the morning, and then a skate sprint in the afternoon. The course had thankfully made it through the night, but it was visibly thinner. Eep. That didn't phase our skiers, though, and they all skied super well, yet again. I'll try to just hit some highlights, here - On the men's side, Eli showed that you don't mess with Eli Hoenig, and won looking quite comfortable. Rion looked super smooth going up the big hill, and skied to 23rd place. Greg was fighting hard, and moved up to 43rd today. Jordan had a better race today, powering up that hill, to finish just ahead of Sean. Toby, Ryan C, and Jacob finished all together in a pack, a solid race for Jacob and probably Ryan's best classic race of his career. The girls swept the podium again, this time Corey, Julia K, and Olivia. CSU put two more in the top 10, with Cate in 5th and Zoe in 7th, and Rebecca followed closely in 15th! Catherine had another super solid race, in 50th, and Blake totally conquered her fears of that downhill! Katie skied way above her seed again, very impressive. Clara showed how strong you get from a summer of good training, I was very impressed watching her double pole going past her competitors.

Boys' classic results, girls' classic results.

After the classic race, it was time for the skate sprint. The course conditions were sloppy (see above), but it was amazing they had any snow, given how warm it was. They ran the sprint as wave starts, which is the best format EVER for spectating. Our skiers skied great, and showed that they have a lot of technical abilities to stay upright through those super tricky conditions. I'll just let you guys look at the results, and post some photos of the sprint, below.

Boys' skate sprint results.

Girls' skate sprint results.

Rob showing off some moves.

Gunther giving Corey a high-five after she won all her races.

The last day was the relay. The last four years, Massachusetts has won the EHS relay, and this year, we made it five! Not only did we win the relay, but we also took the second place team. Six of the eight skiers on those relays were CSU skiers! All the skiers on all the MA relay teams skied their hearts out, and I was super proud to see them all skiing so well. Results.

Jim perched on a hump of dry ground to watch the relays.

The MA food table - it was delicious!

This season's EHS is over now. Thanks to Mountain Top for pulling off a nearly-impossible event, and thanks to all our CSU skiers and the entire MA team for skiing so well!