In the past two weeks, the Nordic Skiing team has continued its streak of top-10 finishes by placing ninth and 10th in its two final carnivals of the year. Junior Kaitlynn Miller also became the first Bowdoin skier to qualify for the NCAAs in 16 years.
During the weekend of February 15, Bowdoin earned a ninth place finish in the Middlebury Carnival, placing in the top-10for the team’s fourth consecutive carnival. Miller placed ninth overall for the individual women’s 5K classic, following it up with a 13th-place finish in the 15K mass-start freestyle race. Captain Hannah Wright ’13 also had a strong showing, finishing 18th in the 5K classic and 30th in the freestyle. Kevin Hoose ’15 led the way for the men’s team, earning a 30th place finish in the 20K. Captain James Crimp ’13 was the top finisher in the classic race, coming in 33rd.
The following weekend, Bowdoin travelled to Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine, to wrap up its season with the Bates Carnival. The team finished strong, extending its top-ten streak to five carnivals by garnering a 10th place showing out of 12 teams.
Miller ended her season with an 11th-place finish in the 5K classic before placing 18th in the 10K freestyle. These finishes gave her enough points to earn her a spot in the NCAA Championship held in Middlebury, Vt., March 6-9. Miller is the first Bowdoin skier since 1997 to qualify for the NCAAs, and will be competing against athletes from around the country. She also earned All East Honors, another first for the Bowdoin program.
“I am really excited to be racing at NCAAs,” said Miller. “We spend the regular season competing against skiers from the east and it will be a neat experience to race with collegiate skiers from other areas of the country.”
Coach Nathan Alsobrook has especially been impressed with the team this year.
“I think this may be the best Nordic season Bowdoin’s ever had,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of flashes of individual brilliance but the consistent team performance this year is better than anything we’ve ever done.”
Compared to previous seasons, this has been one of Bowdoin’s highest achieving years. The squad has never before had a season in which it placed in the top 10 at every carnival.
Next year, the team hopes to continue pushing into the middle rankings of the conference even though it will graduate two important sneior in Hannah Wright and Emma James, who, according to Alsobrook, have been cornerstones for the program.