Jackson, NH – It couldn't have been a more beautiful day to conclude the end of the Ephs' Carnival season. Today was the culmination of months of training and the final of six weekends of phenomenal racing. Blue skies and pleasant temperatures accompanied by the fierce racing made it a memorable race for both racers and spectators. The temps were warm enough for first-year Quinn McDermott to forego the full race suit and don a short sleeve top instead. Though yesterday's grooming was incredible, today's was a new level: crisp corduroy held up incredibly well for each of the competitor's three laps of the five kilometer course. Spirits among all were high as everyone prepared for the 15k skate mass start–this was the time to truly leave everything you had on the course.
The women had a scorching start with a lead and chase pack forming in the early kilometers of the race. The Ephs formed the famous Purple Pack comprising of senior Molly Blakslee, sophomore Ann Rightmire, and senior Greta Laesch. The three pushed the course to the limits and were successful in leading the chase pack as they fought to keep the front-runners from escaping. The effort paid off with Blakslee and Rightmire finishing their seasons in the top thirty in 26th and 28th respectively. Soon after, Laesch came in closing her season off with a 36th place. Blakslee remarked on her final race saying, "Today was a beautiful day to get out on a great course and tackle this 15k with a bunch of awesome women." This race was also Blakslee's season best and quite an impressive way to end a collegiate career.
Similar to the women's field, the men flew out of the start, instantly splintering the field into a long string of racers fighting their way through the many climbs, downhills, and transitions of the course. Senior Keelan Durham fought the whole race, spending much of the second lap in fourth, pulling the chasing pack forward in an effort to catch the three lone leaders. After gaining a gap on the field, Durham was caught by a few skiers and ultimately ended a heroic race in 8th; places four through eight were separated by 1.3 seconds. Durham will be racing in early March at the NCAA Championships held at his home course of Oak Hill hosted by Dartmouth. Not to be outdone, first year Cole Bothner continued an already outstanding season with an astounding performance of his own. After a conservative start, Bothner not only made up places during his second lap, he clocked the fastest second lap of anyone in the entire race–the race winner himself was six seconds slower for the lap. His incredible performance culminated in a 19th place finish, a career best for the first-year as he looks forward to three more years of racing to only improve on what he has laid down this season. Bothner reported, "I'm happy to have ended the collegiate season on a good note and I am looking forward to more races this spring." (Bothner is referring to his upcoming races at Junior Nationals in Park City, Utah in March.) Junior Janne Koch was the third Eph, finishing his season in 32nd place.
Eph head coach Steve Monsulick was enthused about the way the team performed at UNH: "I was really impressed with the competitiveness this weekend. We had a bunch of season bests and it was a great way for the seniors to go out with some fast racing and just really being engaged with the races. I thought everyone out there was really engaged with racing and it was some fun races to wrap up the regular season." Along with those already mentioned, Monsulick champions yesterday's performances by Quinn Wilson and Chloe Koch who both had season bests of their own. Assistant coach Annika Martell could only add to the praise: "I'm so proud of the team! They fought hard out there this weekend and walked away with some awesome results and hopefully great memories too. It was super fun to watch everyone really go for it and execute some great race tactics. Our seniors have done a great job leading this team and their legacy will certainly live on!" Fellow teammates recognized their seniors by putting together posters for each of them to share their appreciation.
From here most of the Ephs will take some time to reflect on their seasons and look forward to next year's season. Additionally, many will travel to Dartmouth to cheer on Durham as he competes against the nation's best at the NCAA Championships. Regardless, all will make use of Williamstown's spectacular winter to continue and enjoy sliding around on the snow as long as the season allows all while looking forward to some upcoming championship races.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS
TEAM RESULTS
