Morgan Broccoli ’07 skied to a fantastic 10th place finish for the Andover Varsity Nordic team in its race last Wednesday at Graston Ponds. After another struggle with the warm weather as well as a day off with Head of School day, the team traveled to Vermont with only a little time on its skis this week. The race, originally scheduled at Putney, was shifted to Graston Pond to accommodate the recent lack of snowfall. Holderness, NMH, St. Paul’s, Putney, Kimball Union Academy, Proctor Academy, and Vermont Academy all competed with Andover in the first nail-biting dual race of the season. The dual race featured two laps of classic skiing followed by one lap of skating-style skiing, adding up to a course of a little less than 5 km in total. The clear conditions were mediocre with the lack of snow, and most of the course was made with snow machines. The icy track saw many smooth rolling hills, with a 100-foot elevation change. In its third race of the season, the team combined its skills in both classic style and skating style racing, in the first dual race of the season. Using experience from the team’s first classic race at Vermont Academy, each member utilized this practice to succeed during the first two thirds of the race. Then, the racers switched skis and poles mid-race to skating-style in order to complete the final third of the race. Using skills learned from the skating race held at Proctor Academy last week, Andover skiers had to change techniques quickly for the final lap. The girl’s team put on a great show in the competition, Arielle Filiberti ’07 once again showing a strong finish for the girl’s team at fifth place with an amazing time of 12:13. Broccoli was second for Andover in a fantastic tenth place finish at 14:12. Roxy Pierson ’07 was third for Andover and skied a great race on the quick course to finish in 12th place overall at a time of 14:30. Berol Dewdney ’09 , who had previous experience at Graston, came in fourth for Andover and 13th overall in a time of 14:34. Said Dewdney of the race, “The course was really a lot of fun even in the bad conditions, because it has a lot of hills and small loops.” Sarah Dewey ’07 skated in at 15th overall in 14:50. Abby King ’07 followed for Andover and finished in 18th place at 15:06. Co-Captain Anna Ho ’06 rounded out Andover’s team at 18:35 in 36th place. The boy’s team also showed much improvement. Racing four skiers, including Co-Captain Jim Elder ’07, Kit Halvorsen ’08, Dave Holliday ’08, and Walker Washburn ’08, the team put on a good show. Co-Captain Elder skied a solid race, finishing first for Andover in 36th place overall with a time of 13:02. Halvorsen, wearing bib number one, followed Co-Captain Elder and finished in 42nd overall with a time of 13:46. Halvorsen said of the race, “The start was messy, with a lot of kids vying for little track, but it felt like a good race. It was much shorter and faster than expected.” Holliday finished right behind Halvorsen, skiing an awesome race, tearing up the snow as he skated into the finish line at 13:48. Washburn rounded out the boy’s team in his second race of the season in 52nd place at 16:52. The team hopes for more snowfall in the coming weeks. This Saturday, the team will travel to Waterville, Vermont for some valuable ski time in preparation for next weeks race at St. Paul’s School.
