The men's nordic ski team placed ninth and the women's team placed 10th in their first collegiate carnival of the season, hosted by Bates at Blake Mountain in Rumford.
Courtney Martin '09 was the top Bowdoin finisher in 64th in the women's 5K classic event on Friday. Erin Hatton '12 finished next in 66th.
In the men's 10K classic event, Colman Hatton '10 came in 42nd, with Scott Longwell '12 following behind in 59th. Junior Niko Kubota was the third Bowdoin finisher.
"It was a great accomplishment for [Kubota] to place so well after just coming back from a semester in Denmark where he didn't have the same training," Coach Nathan Alsobrook said.
Last Saturday, the women raced in a 15K freestyle, where Martin was the top Bowdoin finisher in 54th place with Hatton behind her in 67th.
The men skiied in a 20K freestyle event, where Longwell finished in 42nd and Hatton in 47th.
The freestyle races were mass starts instead of staggered starts.
"There is a lot of tactical positioning to fight for your space and so you aren't squeezed out or tripped up," Alsobrook said.
One Bowdoin skier's pole broke and there were numerous crashes.
The course terrain was challenging, with a lot of steep climbs, quick descents, and very little time to rest in between.
"Our fitness really showed through," Alsobrook said.
The very young team is still getting used to the racing distances and format.
"With every weekend and race we will become better accustomed to the race and the distance," Alsobrook said.
The team was missing its strongest skier in Walt Shepard '10, who is recovering from a sinus infection. Alsobrook hopes he will be able to race in at least one of the events at this weekend's carnival hosted by University of New Hampshire in Jackson, NH.
The team's goals are to stay healthy and race to its potential this season.
"If we're healthy, we should be able to really shake things up this season and garner a little more respect for Bowdoin skiing," said co-captain Elissa Rodman '10.