Courtesy of Brian Beard

This past weekend, the Nordic skiing team competed in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) championship, hosted at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Emma Crum ’26 won the 15k mass start with a time of 39:18, and Jori Grialou ’26 finished 13th in the individual race with 22:41. For the men’s team, William Riley ’27 finished in the top 20 in the individual start, and Adam Carlisle ’25 placed sixth in the mass start with a time of 35:26. This marked the final carnival for the team before the NCAA Championship Carnival, which will take place from March 5 to 8 at Dartmouth College.

Crum reflected on how her mass start race two weekends ago, where she nearly won in a close sprint at the end, fueled her performance at the UNH carnival.

“This race, I was really trying to conserve my energy and just tuck in behind other people and let them do all the work, and then make a move at a particular hill where I knew I could break away from the group,” Crum said. “I put a lot of thought into my strategy for this race, more than I ever have before.”

Grialou shared similar goals heading into the weekend. Grialou noted she had struggled to stay mentally present for the full duration of her races this season, but was determined to stay focused and give her best effort throughout both her races at UNH.

“I was proud of the way I just went for it in the races and didn’t really hold back and worry about getting too tired. I just pushed myself and saw where that got me,” Grialou said.

Since this was the last weekend of racing for the full Bowdoin team, Riley emphasized the importance of approaching the weekend with a special energy.

“I think generally, as a team, we all just looked to boost each other up and have our best weekend of racing for the last weekend [of the regular season],” Riley said.

The racers also recounted some chaos at the start of the women’s mass start race. The starter gave the skiers their one minute reminder but then ended up starting the competitors without the usual thirty second warning, resulting in a crowded beginning.

Crum noted that no one felt fully prepared for the mass start, but despite this, the Polar Bears recovered and raced with patience and strategy. Crum pulled ahead to first place on the last lap of the course, narrowly beating her opponents by just two seconds.

“I won my first race of the season, and then I won my last. That was kind of exciting, like, a little sandwich,” Crum said.

The EISA courses were competitive and crowded, presenting a challenge throughout the events. The aggressive tactics of some skiers made the populated areas of the course prone to poles and skis being stepped on.

“Unfortunately, in the Saturday race, I broke a pole, which made it much harder. But then I got a new one from our coach on the side, which was helpful. But there is always some kind of challenge that comes along in a race where you either don’t have a good day, or a pole gets broken, or something like that,” Riley said.

Nevertheless, the UNH carnival brought a lively atmosphere, making it a memorable final regular season race before several Polar Bears continue on to the NCAA Championship in early March. At NCAA’s, Crum and Grialou will represent the women’s team, and Carlisle will compete for the men’s team.

“This was a good race because the NCAA [race] is [similar to UNH]. It’s a 7.5k classic and the 20k skate, so it was good to practice both a mass start and an individual start,” Crum said. “It puts us in a good position to just practice tactics of a mass start and pushing all the way to the end.”

The team shared the importance of gaining experience in racing. Even those who are not competing in early March recognized the value of each weekend as an opportunity to familiarize themselves with race tactics and mentalities.

“I think in general, it was an exciting, perfect ski condition weekend,” Grialou said. “It was a great way to get excited about skiing towards the end of the season, which is always a good feeling going into NCAA’s.”