Volume CXXXIII, Number 13 January 25, 2002 f

Waxing skis and opponents: XC skiing starts on top
DIANN WOOD
STAFF WRITER

Things looked grim for the cross-country ski team. The team headed into winter break this year with the loss of five skiers and a current member undergoing surgery. Among the missing skiers this year are juniors Cecily Upton and Diann Wood, leaving only two upper classmen, Shannon Gilmore '02 and Meg Greenleaf '03, to carry the load of the women's team and only David Donnelly '03 for the men's team. This was a drastic change for the now young team who had once found its strength in the depth of the lineup and experience of their upperclass skiiers.

Things improved for the skiers during training camp. There they were able to work to meet all of their goals, namely getting in more race experience before the start of the season and improving their downhill techniques.

Shannon Gilmore '02, Jeremy Huckins '05, Alison Flint '05, Greg Goldsmith '05 and Coach Marty Hall. (Courtesy XC ski team, Bowdoin Orient)

"I am really happy with their fall training, really happy," says Coach Marty Hall. All of their hard training is evident as the skiers started the Carnival season stronger than last year. At the St. Lawrence Carnival the women defeated Colby in the 15K classic race on Friday, with a strong performance by Lynnette Batt '04. On the men's side David Donnelly '03 had a 10-place improvement over last year's placing.

Coach Marty Hall thinks the team is off to a good start, but they can be better. Saturday's skate sprints did not go as well. The skate sprints is generally the stronger day of racing for the Polar Bears, though they were unable to defeat any of Colby's sprint teams.

The women's team will be stronger this year, especially when Alison Flint '05 recovers from her surgery. The men's team will have a good core of freshman for potential improvement in the years to come. Solid performances are expected from freshmen Alison Flint and Jeremy Huckins.

Currently the team's goal is to continue getting better, to continue beating Colby, and to become more competitive among the other DIII schools, particularly St. Lawerance and Williams, within the carnival circuit. In addition to the carnival circuit racing, four freshman, Greg Goldsmith, Catherine Del Vecchio, Jeremy Huckins, and Alison Flint will be trying to qualify for theJunior National Championships.

The team is currently training at Bradley Pond where they have access to more terrain and are happy to be on snow. There are tracks behind Farley Fieldhouse, both classic and skate, which are open to everyone. This weekend the team will be competing in the Bates Carnival at Black Mountain.