After suffering from a lack of snow the entire season, Andover Nordic was finally able to ski in great conditions in its relay race at Northfield Mount Hermon on Wednesday. Andover split into two teams to compete against other schools last Wednesday. The course was short and intense; each racer skied a 1.2K lap and then tagged his or her partner, who finished the race. Captain Max Block ’12 said, “We haven’t had a type of race like that this year. I was paired with Sean Burkitt [’14], and I think we did pretty well. It was really fast, and it was a really fun event, one of the most fun events this year.” Though the team is still waiting for official results, Block reflected optimistically on Andover’s outcome. “It’s hard to tell how we did but I think that the girls did a good job too. Both Elana [King-Nakaoka ’14] and Piper [Curtis ’13] did well, and Charlotte [Aaron ’14] and Kendall [Goodyear ’12] both had really good races. Charlotte in particular had good technique and has really improved. Everyone was really supportive, and the relay went well,” said Block. Andover succeeded in preparing quickly for the race, a problem which the team had faced earlier in the season. Aaron Finder ’13 said, “We got on the snow pretty quickly and got to ski the course a few times. The snow was pretty fast, which was good. I think we did pretty well, and it was a pretty fast race, a pretty intense race. There wasn’t much terrain, so it was quick and painless. I think we improved a lot, and I think we got some good racing experience. Today was probably one of the best races, because I think we’re technically pretty sound, pretty on top of things.” Andover looks to continue to improve as it looks toward two big races coming up in the next few weeks, the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) and league championships. The skiers have had two off-campus, both day practices at Holderness which have helped them counter the current weather conditions and practice on snow. “Compared to past years, we had a lot more snow, so we did a lot more classic skiing, and the final race is also classic skiing,” said Block. Finder said, “I know the [Holderness] course well, and I know that it’s an extremely hard course. I think it’ll be doable, it’ll be fun, and it’ll give us a chance to do a lot considering. We’ll have a little more experience going into that race, so we’ll be pretty much ready.” The team is optimistic and preparing hard for the NEPSAC Championships next week.