_Girls Nordic Shown Depth at Grafton Ponds_Jonas Allerbeck ’07 double-poled his way across the finish line this past Wednesday, finishing first for Andover and 18th overall in the boys’ race. The competition was originally scheduled at Vermont Academy against several other schools in the area. But due to the lack of snow at VA, the race was moved at the last minute to Grafton Ponds in Vermont. Both the boys’ and the girls’ races were a total of five kilometers in length. The course consisted of a one-kilometer loop, which the skiers completed five times. The loop started with a long, gradual uphill, and then transitioned into a quick downhill. Co-Captain Jim Elder ’07 commented, “The course was repetitive, but I was glad that there was enough snow to race on. I think our team did very well overall, and I believe we will continue to improve every time we race.” In the girls’ race, Hilary Rich ’09 led the Andover team. Rich flew into second place overall, followed closely by teammate Arielle Filiberti ’07. Morgan Broccoli ’07 and Berol Dewdney ’09 finished next. Sara Ho ’08 and Eliza Dewey ’09 also skied well, exemplifying the depth of the girls squad. The boys’ team also did very well, with Allerbeck having a great race and leading the Andover team through the end. Finishing soon after Allerbeck were Dave Holliday ’08 and Walker Washburn ’08, who took 19th and 20th place, respectively. Co-captain Jim Elder ’07 skied through the finish next, trailed by fellow senior Ethan Schmertzler ’07. This race was a classic-style competition. The racers mostly used both the double-poling method and the regular classic method, which is similar to “running” on their skis throughout the course.
