Hilary Rich ’09 led the Andover Nordic Ski team at the Waterville race this past Wednesday, taking second place overall in the girl’s race. Going into the race, Andover felt a disadvantage beyond its control, as the lack of snow has prohibited skiing practice on Siberia. For some members of the team, this race saw their first time on snow since last year. Indeed, it seemed that Andover’s talent would be tested early on in the season, as the team was forced to adapt to the unfortunate circumstances. “Since there wasn’t any snow on the Nordic trails, we were forced to ski on the mountain. The course actually started up the alpine slope, looped back down, and finished halfway up again. The snow was hard-packed, which made turning difficult on the downhill.” explained Rich, a new Lower this year at PA. The race consisted of a series of sprints, each heat comprised of a small group of skiers. The top two finishers from each race moved on to the next round and skied against new competitors until there was only one group left. The final race determined an overall winner. “Whether you made it to the next round really depended on the strength of the skiers in your heat.” added Arielle Filiberti ’07. Finishing in the semifinals for the girls were Arielle Filiberti ’07 and Roxy Pierson ’07. Both veterans of the team, Filiberti and Pierson were excited to finally get back on the snow this season. In her first-ever Nordic race, Sara Ho ’08 finished in the quarterfinals for the team. Also finishing strong were Berol Dewdney’09, Co-Captain Sarah Dewey ’07 and Morgan Broccoli ’07, all strong returners. Filiberti commented, “I liked this race because it mixed things up from the usual long distance races. The competition was about what we expected and we ended up doing very well overall.” For the boys, Co-captain Jim Elder ’07 and Ethan Schmertzler ’07 led the team, both advancing into the quarterfinals. Also racing well were Dave Holliday ’08 and Walker Washburn ’08, both returning for another promising Nordic season. “It was windy and cold. Since our sprint race was so short, it was almost impossible to keep warm. On the course, there was a turn at the bottom of the hill that got a little icy, but overall the snow conditions were surprisingly good,” commented Washburn. With the lack of snow here on campus, the Nordic team has been working hard to stay strong and keep in shape. By running long distances and occasionally sprinting stadiums, the team members have managed to keep up their fitness levels and stay in shape in the early season. Dewdney commented, “It was really nice for everyone to finally be able to ski on snow. It was a great race to start the season with.” The Nordic team looks forward to many races in the future, its next race scheduled for next Wednesday at Kimball Union Academy. The team is well prepared and very excited for these upcoming competitions. Until then, Andover hopes for heavy snowfall, looking to get skiing on Siberia in preparation for a promising season ahead.
