Season Wrap-Up Note from John

It is hard to believe the HS Ski Season has finished. As promised I will try to summarize the WMC Championships and the State Class C Championships. I could do so by simply writing SWEEP, as that is just what the Boys' and Girls' Teams did at both events in winning both overall championships at season's end.

The WMC has long been considered the premier ski conference in Maine and shows how far the team has improved to win the event. The girls' team has won the State Class C races before, however it was the first win for the boys' team, completing a fantastic season overall. Even with such stellar results, and in setting a high mark that will be difficult for future teams to surpass, it is not just results that define a successful season. The 2012/13 team started out the ski season focused and prepared to work for their goals. Through the dryland training period of cold, often wet, days in the fall they did the necessary bounding, running and strength training needed with few complaints. The Christmas camp this year provided mid-winter conditions, allowing for great early season skiing as well as the chance to spend time together. For me, ski seasons often have defining events that have a lasting impression - this year getting hopelessly stuck in snow after a long day skiing says much about this team. They all saw the humor in the predicament and turned to shoveling, pushing and tugging together to free the van and cars stuck in the snow. Even after this and a long day of skiing, they rallied to go for a night ski on a very cold and windy evening.

A few result highlights from WMC and States are the overall team improvements, especially by Lars, Zach, John, Lily and Carlin - all had highlight races at season's end that helped raise the bar for the team. Samantha and Graham also had fine results and finished in the top 10 in these final races. The seniors finished out their last year just as they have all along, by leading the team with their hard work and great spirit. Teagan, Emelie and Zoe have had great HS careers, starting out as three unknown freshman winning second at states, then three-peating the State championship, which is quite an accomplishment. Ben and Jack both had very good results when it mattered most, helping the boys' team with their first State title and WMC championship. The entire girls' team really dug deep to win at the WMC when Zoe became ill after winning the opening WMC skate race and then missed the classic race. The races in Presque Isle for this year's States gave the team a chance to race in a new venue. The County is a special place and offers landscapes totally different from what we see in Southern Maine ... but clearly the change didn't rattle our team!

A special thanks to the school staff for supporting the ski team this year and all the parents who helped out at the races - waxing, cooking, driving, lugging gear, cheering, etc. - without such help it would not be possible to make the team work. Thanks to Jennifer, Jason, Carol, Keelyn, Susan and Jeff for making things work all year as well as on the trips.

Thanks,

John