The Andover Nordic team pulled off an impressive performance in last week’s skate race at Holderness, the last of the regular season. The Blue racers pushed their personal limits, and the skate at Holderness was both the boys and girls best race of the season. The course of the week, selected from Holderness’ 20-kilometer trail network, was a single 5K loop with a little bit of every challenge. Despite the diversity of the terrain, the most difficult sections were concentrated in the first 3K. In the boys’ race, Miles Canaday ’05 was the first Blue skier out of the starting gate, and after a slow first K, he maintained a solid composure for the remainder of the race. Scott Silverstein ’04 started about two minutes later. As Silverstein struggled to catch Canaday, Travis Green ’04 managed to pull even with Silverstein from a starting time a minute further back. By 4K Green overtook both Canaday and Silverstein and dashed ahead, chasing a Putney skier to the finish. The finish line was a sea of blue, as all four Andover harriers reached the end within a minute of one another. Green claimed 30th place with a blistering time of 17:41, and teammate Silverstein followed for a 38th place finish in 19:15. Newcomer Julian Jacobson ’06, after his surprisingly stellar race, took 40th with a time of 19:32. The female skiers also turned in impressive performances. Meg Sullivan ’04 displayed a fantastic performance, keeping a quick St. Pauls’ skier in sight throughout the race. She finished strong with a time of 21:37, grabbing 21st place. Captain Jackie Brown ’03 and Kendra Allenby ’05 finished 25th and 26th respectively, with their final times a mere ten seconds apart. Further back, Gen Desaulniers ’04 started slow and steady, picking up the pace in the last 2K to finish in 26:31, good enough for 36th place. The girls placed 4th overall. “I am so thrilled that our team placed so well,” commented Captain Brown. The Andover Nordic team is better than it has ever been before and will hopefully be a fierce competitor at NEPSACs.
