Nordic competed at its final race to close out the season last Wednesday, traveling to Proctor Academy to compete in the NEPSAC Championship. The top six boys and girls competed from each team, and Andover did not place.
Luke Williamson ’25 recalled the beginning of the meet, describing how the start was stressful due to the team’s late arrival. He elaborated on how, once the meet began, the team saw some success on the race course and finding improvement from their initial position in the back.
“The beginning of the day was kind of a mess because we all got there a little late so we were in the back. … It went pretty well in the end. I was just passing people a lot because we started in the back and we all ended up placing alright… The way of the course [worked]… there was a little loop and then you go out on the field and that was part of it and then you did that whole thing three times,” said Williamson.
Going into the race, the team was excited to compete and have fun on the course. Williamson described how there wasn’t a ton of pressure going into the race, with the team simply aiming for their best performances. Williamson emphasized the team’s supportive environment and the more playful atmosphere of the meet.
“It was really positive and supportive. Going into the race we just wanted to go out and compete and have fun. There wasn’t too much pressure. I feel like it’s a common thing in the Nordic community … to have a little more fun. [It has] a lot more casual people and this is a smaller community so the environment’s definitely more playful. There’s people who have their traditions and their funny outfits and stuff which makes it super fun,” said Williamson.
In the days leading up to the race, the team was forced to change the focus of their preparation due to a lack of snow in Andover. Zoe von Eckartsberg ’26 noted how the team shifted away from the technical, form-related aspects and focused on maintaining aerobic fitness.
von Ekartsberg said, “We haven’t gotten much snow in the past week which made training more difficult. We haven’t been able to really practice form or anything. So because we weren’t able to practice on actual skis, we just stayed consistent with exercise, like going for runs as a team and keeping our aerobic fitness up because that is really important in the race.”
Matt Robinson ’27 noted how the course at Proctor Academy was made more challenging by the hills. For the classic race of the meet, the course was reversed so there would be less hilly terrain. He highlighted the general team spirit in racing hard but also enjoying the experience of the meet.
“For the classic race, which was first, they reversed the course so that it would be less hilly and so that made a big difference in how fast we were able to go because there were more downhills which obviously make you go faster… We do care about our results, but we’re not the most furious and concerned about it so it takes off a lot of pressure and makes it more fun for everyone. There’s a lot of people here and we’re all in a big field and so it’s just a really good atmosphere,” said Robinson.
