The nordic skiing team is looking to improve its ranking among the schools represented in the New England Nordic Ski Association this winter.
Both this season and historically, the Polar Bears have routinely finished in or around 10th place out of the 13 to 14 competitors represented at each meet, known as “carnivals” among Nordic skiers.
Head Coach Nathan Alsobrook expressed his desire to see the Polar Bears at seventh or eighth place in the carnivals this winter.
“There’s a glass ceiling,” said Alsobrook. “We’re trying to break through to get to that mid-level of the conference.”
The team’s overall score, however, is not necessarily indicative of individual performances on the team.
“The nice thing is that we’re seeing a lot of individual results improve,” said Alsobrook. “That’s really been our big success so far.”
Last Saturday, at the University of New Hampshire, Kaitlynn Miller ’14 finished in the top ten in both the 5K classic and 15K freestyle events, with times of 14:54.6 and 43:24.8, respectively. She earned nine points in total towards qualifying for the NCAA nationals.
“Kaitlyn is in a very good position for qualifying now with her finishes last weekend,” said Alsobrook, though he stressed that it was still too early to be “taking anything for granted.”
Miller successfully qualified for nationals last year, which made her the first Bowdoin skier to do so since 1997.
In the classic event, Miller was followed by her sister Hannah Miller ’17, who took 16th with a time of 15:15.15.
The younger Miller’s future with the team was uncertain as recently as a few months ago.
“We weren’t sure whether Hannah Miller was going to make it on the team,” said Eva Spaeh ’16. “She’s really worked hard and improved herself; she’s now skiing sixth and seventh on the team.”
“It’s very hard to come into the college circuit as a first year and be competitive, but [Hannah has] been able to make that transition so successfully,” said Alsobrook. “This is perhaps the most successful season so far that we’ve seen out of one of our first years.”
For the men, James Crimp ’14 earned a ninth-place finish in the men’s 10K classic at the Colby Carnival, with a finishing time of 32:25.5, the best Bowdoin result since 2008. In the 15K freestyle the next day, he posted a time of 38:53.3, good enough for 22nd place.
“[James will] be a little more of a dark horse candidate,” said Alsobrook. “He’s definitely someone who could qualify if he has some good races in these next few weeks.”
Riley Eusden ’14 also managed to place within the top half of contestants, finishing 42nd in the 10K classic and in 34th place in the freestyle, with a time of 39.29.5.
“[Eusden] is definitely someone I want to take a moment to praise,” said Alsobrook. “He’s been working hard ever since his freshman year and to finally have this big breakthrough last weekend was really nice.”
Heading into the last four carnivals of the season, the Polar Bears are focusing on sharpening the skills they have cultivated during earlier months.
“This is the time of year where the athletes need to be as well rested as possible, and where we do a lot of short, fast workouts,” said Alsobrook.
“I think the team as a whole—we’re all pushing each other and moving forward as a group,” said Spaeh. “The hard part is, so is everyone else. Things are getting more and more competitive on the circuit.”