Co-Captain Elana King-Nakaoka ’14 finished sixth place overall with a season personal best time of 14:30 when Andover Nordic participated at Kimball Union Academy’s tournament last Wednesday, February 6. Andover traveled to the Gunstock trails in New Hampshire to race against Holderness, St. Paul’s, Northfield Mount Hermon, Vermont Academy and Kimball Union Academy. The boys finished sixth out of ten teams, and the girls placed fifth out of eight teams. Finishing in 17th place again for the second week in a row for the boys was Liam Fortin ’14 with a time of 13:11. Will Bloxham ’13 finished a minute later in 25th at 14:11. Seconds after at 14:27 was Aaron Finder ’13 in 27th place. Greer Sallick ’14, placing 32nd with a time of 14:57, rounded out the Andover boys top four. Co-Captain Sean Burkitt ’14 did not race due to illness. “I was happy with my performance and made up some time on those who were typically ahead of me,” said Fortin. “I tried to ski smart and was happy with my strategy.” Behind King-Nakaoka in the girls race was Piper Curtis ’13 in 23rd with a time of 16:00. Following her was Olivia LaMarche ’16 at 16:31 in 30th and Ziggy Chesley ’13 at 16:58 in 33rd place. This race featured an individual start where a skier was sent off every 15 seconds. Most skiers favor this format. “I liked the individual starts because the beginning is much less frantic that way,” said King-Nakaoka. External factors also contributed to the team’s success. “The weather was great. The course conditions were quick. You could really make up some time if you skied smart and utilized the downhills and flats,” said Fortin. “Overall the team’s performance was spectacular; we have really progressed over the course of the season and people are starting to reach the upper rankings, especially [LaMarche],” said Kinsey Yost ’15. Andover Nordic also competed in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) Championship on Wednesday. Because results for the NEPSAC Championship were not available as of presstime, coverage will be in next week’s issue of The Phillipian.
