It took Team Alaska almost 48 hours of travelling to get to Presque Isle, Maine. We circled Boston for about an hour due to weather problems, and by the time we landed, we were absolutely exausted. Due to our time zone changes, no one really knew which time zone they were on. We got our baggage almost immediately upon landing, but our coaches got lost in Boston on the way back from renting the team vans so we spent our time taking up room on the baggage claim carousel.
We finally hauled out of Boston, eating along the way at a family style chicken fast-ish food restaurant. I think we bought out the place. It was pitch black and raining hard for our trip to Freeport, Maine. We passed through New Hampshire, and into Maine. With it all added up, Team Alaska had hit 5 US states within 24 hours. The interstates are fast, but there were a ton of toll booth stops, where we had to shell exact amouts to the Man each time. We got to Freeport at midnight (Maine time) and everyone was incredibly tired and filthy. We all just got our keys and went to bed. The beds were amazing, and although this stop was a quick turnaround, it was very well appreciated to stay in rooms that looked like the model rooms in Bed Bath and Beyond. We woke up to a sunny, crisp morning, although there was no snow.
After breakfast, we piled into the vans, almost cheerfully because of our good nights sleep. We then headed out for Presque Isle. We only stopped for gas, food, and a quick stretch. Again, I think we helped buy out the grocery store we stoped at to eat. The farther we got, the snowier it became.
Austin Hess cooling off at our only rest stop to Presque Isle
It's hard not to speed on dry, straight, interstate pavement. My GPS watch said that our 5 van, 1 U-haul convoy averaged 76 miles per hour to Presque Isle.
When we finally got to Presque Isle, most of us thought it couldn't be right because there wasn't enough snow or terrain to be "it." Maine seems a little barren compared to Alaska, with a lot of wind turbines and open fields. Nonetheless, there still is the smell of skiing in the air, and it's pretty cool to have all the gas station and small shop signs say stuff like "Good Luck Junior Olympians" and "Ski Fast and Welcome to Presque Isle!"
Team AK's Jessica Yeaton and Kate Backstrum
enjoying the warm welcome
PRESQUE ISLE: OPENING CEREMONIES
We are finally settled into our rooms at the Presque Inn & Convention Center, which also has an attached night club and fitness center. This will be our home and launching pad for all our activities this next week. The hotel is a little divy, but it gets the job done nicely.
The Hotel
Up until our races, our days will consist of waking up around 7:30, eat a catered breakfast in the basement/banquet hall of the hotel, head to the Nordic Heritage Center for course preview and workouts at around 9:30, head back to the hotel for another catered lunch in the basement, wax, relax, and walk the kilometer to the Unoversity of Presque Isle, Maine cafeteria for a delicious buffet-style dinner. Before bed, we have a team meeting at the hotel to assure our next day is seemlessly planned.
Dinner at UMPI dining hall. Is somone wearing a Ganksta Skiz hat in the background? Affirmative.
The Nordic Heritage Center is a beautiful nordic venue with quaint New England/Swedish character to the chalet and matching timing building. To get to the chalet and start line, one must cross an intricate architectural overpass, perfect for spectating and maintaining clean corduory.
Nordic Heritage Center
(w/ its awesome overpass)
Ganksta Skiz member Forrest Mahlen sporting
his warm weather uniform on our training day
On Monday after lunch and our ski, we assembled at UMPI for the Opening Ceremonies. Being at the top of the alphabet, we were the first to walk around the auditorium for the Parade of Regions. After the other 9 teams had done the same, we were presented to by such persons as the president of USSA, the head of the University, US Olympians such as Kikkan Randall and James Southam (on video), and a few local music and dance groups. It was a memorable experience.
Team AK during Opening Ceremonies
DAY 2: POTATO FIELD CRUST SKIING!
The only real specacle in Presque Isle at first glance is the massive wind turbine a few kilometers out of town. The turbine is surrounded by University owned potato fields, which span the distance from the hotel to the wind turbine, which make great crust skiing this time of year. A few Ganksta Skiz members headed out in board shorts and xium boots on an impromtu crust ski after dinner to conquer the behemoth.
Heading to the turbine
GS member Silas Talbot closing in
GS member Neil Liotta realizing the enormity of the structure
Ganksta in Training John Glen stanking next to the turbine. This thing is huge
One thing we don't have in Alaska are these prickly urchin-like plants
that stick to everything whilst skiing through underbrush
THE RACES: PART I
It was finally time to set all domestic rivalries aside and ski under one flag. The epitome of junior level Nordic skiing has finally arrived. As well as aspiring to achieve stellar individual results, various team awards and aknowledgments are at stake throughout the week's races, including the Roger Weston Trophy (top ranking High School in the Nation), and the Alaska Cup (overall division/region winner). Both awards are travelling trophies/titles.
Race days consist of a catered buffet-style breakfast of eggs, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, and bacon in the convention center at dawn, using all excess time to prepare a sack lunch of cold cuts on bread, sun chips, pasta salad, and cookies to be devoured at the venue. We then pile the team vans to double capacity and drive the 15 minutes to the Nordic Heretage Center, being careful to avoid the Amish horse-drawn carriages. Even when we arrive at the venue by 9:00am, the trails are on the brink of collapse from the heat and the amount of ski traffic. With constantly changing snow conditions, our wax techs have their work cut out for them.
The topcoat waxing coaches
RACE #1: THE CLASSIC SPRINT
Team AK, laying down the law in a Semi-Final.
Noah Hagen, ahead of Scott Patterson as Jack
Novak battles for position
The classic sprint course was a 1.2 kilometer epic that started with a 100 meter straight shot before it banked right, exposing the racer to the only real slope of the course. At the bottom of the hill, a most treacherous righthand hairpin created the mother of all wipeout zones. This was a favorite spectator and photographer area, for not a heat went by that some sort of Nordic drama went down on that corner. The course then swooped around the biathlon range, through a couple rollers, then a couple hundred meters of gradual climbing until the finish straightaway.
It's quite possible that every member of team AK has a different opinion of how the classic sprint went for themselves as well as the entire team. Qualification heats started at 10am, with the tracks firm and fast. The result-determining hairpin downhill was still solid and without a snowbank. Due to only the top 30 qualifying for the heats, many Alaskans found themselves in the dreaded 31st place, with only fractions of a second taking them out of possible advancement within the results.
Hillbounding came in handy once the snow was too soft to stride
Even though Team Alaska got spanked in point-ranking in the sprint to bitter rival New England, there was a smattering of impressive results, including Eric Ryan and Silas Talbot breaking the top 5 in the MJ1 category, as well as a 2nd place finish by Annie Liotta in the FJ1 category. David Norris of Team FAST finished 5th in the MOJ category. For a complete list of results for the classic sprint click here.
