Luke Williamson ’25 races towards the finish line.
Last Friday, All-Gender Nordic Skiing delivered a dominant performance against Rivers, Middlesex, and Belmont Hill, with the Girls team claiming first and the Boys team securing second place behind Belmont Hill. Later in the week, the team hosted its first home meet in twenty years, racing on Siberia Field behind the Snyder Center against the same three opponents from Friday.
This season, Co-Captain Sage Preston ’25 has served as one of Nordic Skiing’s top competitors, consistently placing in meets. Sebastián Vermut ’27 praised her strong performances and perseverance, which culminated in a victory on Friday.
“The biggest star from Friday was Sage Preston. She got the individual win for Andover. That’s really cool to watch specifically as a teammate, to see your teammate succeed. It’s also really cool for her because she’s one of the fastest skiers in the league and it’s great to finally get that win,” said Vermut.
The team also delivered an impressive performance on the boys side, with its skiers placing among the top twenty. Co-Captain Luke Williamson ’25 recalled his teammates’ notable finishes that supported the team to second-place, mentioning Vermut for his personal performance and placement.
“I got tenth and I think we also got sixteenth and nineteenth. We didn’t win for sure, but I think we might be second…Sebastian really stood out. He got second on the team which is his first time. He did great, putting up about a twenty-minute five [kilometer],” said Williamson.
Preston highlighted the community-building aspect of Friday’s race, noting that after the event, Andover gathered with Rivers, Middlesex, and Belmont Hill for pizza.
“We had a little pizza mixer afterwards so it was one of the more fun races. We had a chance to bond with the other teams. Bonding with other teams is sometimes hard, so it was just good vibes,” said Preston.
Due to insufficient snow, Nordic Skiing is usually unable to host meets at Andover. On Wednesday, however, it hosted its first meet in twenty years. Vermut commented on the significance of the event, which was especially provoked by coaches’ discussions.
“I’ve been on the team for a short amount of time, but even still I could feel the significance of it. How cool it was that we had enough snow and we had the turn out to be able to host a race with three teams that we race all the time. The coaches were all talking about it, these coaches have been coaching for ten, twenty, even thirty years and the races haven’t been to Andover since the 90s so coming back definitely brought a lot of memories back for them,” said Vermut.
According to Vermut, the team performed especially well; notable performances included finishes from Preston, Lauren Montgomery ’25, and newcomer Andrés Clarimond ’27.
Vermut said, “This was our second relay [race] of the season. I think we were more prepared and I think as a team we did a lot better than last time obviously the competition was very strong. I think overall we did pretty well… In a two-person relay, it doesn’t really matter how good one person is if the other one doesn’t keep up. I think obviously Sage Preston did really well but she partnered with Lauren and the fact that Lauren was able to go fast as well and give it her all made for a better race.”
Vermut continued, “Andrés Clarimond ’27 has never raced before, so it was a tough race for him. He did really well and when he was finished, he didn’t give up. He went to the very last stride and finished out the race for him and his partner. He did it graciously and he did it with a smile on his face which is an achievement in itself.”
Vermut also emphasized the thrill of having the ability to represent Andover at home and commented on the uniqueness of the course.
“It is really cool to see a true home meet and I feel like that gives the team a little more spirit. Always racing away you never really feel like you’re racing for Andover you feel like you’re just racing at these random places. Now that we’ve been home and we’ve raced on our school campus. It gives us a big sense of purpose, it feels, maybe this is a little cliche to say, but racing at home just stands out from racing anywhere else,” said Vermut.
Nordic Skiing now turns towards higher-level competitions, including the Lakes Region (LR) Championship on Wednesday the 19th and then New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Championship on March 1.
