Justin Beckwith

Four New England Club raised skiers have been selected to join the National Elite Group (NEG) due to strong performances at the Regional Elite Group camp this summer and their National Rankings.  Adam Glueck (Ford Sayre/Dartmouth College), Elliot Ketchel (GMVS/Bowdoin College), Gabby Vandendries (CSU/Bowdoin College) and Rena Schwartz (Craftsbury/GMVS/Dartmouth College) have been nominated for this honor and invited to participate in NEG camp, held in conjunction with the U.S. Ski Team camp in Park City, UT in October.  All four skiers have risen through the ranks of their junior programs, to race together at Junior Nationals, and now matriculated to Eastern Colleges.

The NEG Camp is designed to bring together the best U20 athletes from throughout the nation for the opportunity to train with one another as well as the U.S. Ski Team. There will also be elite clubs and National Training Group (NTG) athletes at the camp. It is the largest U.S. Cross Country elite training camp each year.  This year the camp runs from Sunday, Oct 7th through Sunday, Oct 14th.  Andy Newell and Bryan Fish will be the coaches for this camp.

NENSA is proud to send these amazing athletes and fine young adults to represent our region at the highest level national development project of the US Ski Team.  Look here to see some of the results that qualified these athletes for this program.

NENSA is pleased to announce Stratton Mountain School as the 2018 Club of the Year.  2018 was a defining year for cross-country skiing in the United States – and there is only one eastern club that can claim an Olympic Gold medal.  While Jessie Diggin’s win in South Korea was the most visible success – the Stratton Mountain School has consistently been a leader in New England and beyond with skiers thriving at all levels of competition.

Stratton has flourished under Sverre Caldwell’s guidance for 38 years, with programming that spans from Bill Koch through the professional SMS T2 racing team.  Many Stratton skiers are local kids who start gliding on snow in the West River Bill Koch League – however the program attracts athletes from throughout the US and abroad.  Stratton skiers become immersed in a culture of success, many before they know what competition is, by following the lead of coaches and peers – many of whom are National and International Champions.

One telling statistic of Stratton’s success is boasting 23 consecutive years of winning at least one gold medal at Junior National Championships and qualifying at least one athletes for the Junior World Championships team.  Stratton skiers and coaches are a staple of our New England Junior National and US World Junior Trips.

During the 2018 season Stratton skiers won six National titles and 12 individual World Cup events.  During the FIS Junior World Championships, Ben Ogden was a member of the historic silver medal relay team in Goms, Switzerland and his sister (and Stratton alum) Katharine, won both races at NCAA Championships.  Stratton skiers are found at all levels of racing within New England, spanning local Bill Koch club races, Zak Cups, Eastern Cups and low key events like the Cochran’s Skier Cross.

Andrew Newell, four-time Olympian describes his relationship with his home club: “I’m a proud member of the Stratton club so I’m always rooting for other Stratton athletes from wherever I am on the World Cup.  To me that really signifies what the ski club model is all about.  I came up through the SMS junior camps, attended SMS, raced for the SMS elite team, and will always consider SMS my club no matter what capacity I am racing.  Stratton has done a great job welcoming to new skiers of all ages and abilities and because it’s so fun to be a part of a community like Stratton old guys like me enjoy sticking around, I know I’m always welcome at SMS training.”

Congratulations to Stratton athletes and coaches past and present – keep up the good work!

NENSA is pleased to announce Nathan Alsobrook of Bowdoin College as the 2018 Coach of the Year.

Last winter Alsobrook led the Bowdoin Polar Bears to one of their most successful Carnival seasons – where every weekend either the male or female team placed in the top-six.  On individual Carnival days the women’s team placed fourth, four times and the men’s team pulled down two fifth place finishes. These excellent results qualified three freshman skiers, Gabrielle Vandendries, Renae Anderson and Elliot Ketchel, for NCAA’s in Steamboat Springs, Colorado – a historical benchmark for the Polar Bears.

Over the past years, Nathan has been active in NENSA Programming, including serving as a coach at Eastern Regional Camps, chairing the Coaches Education Committee and running L100 Technique clinics for the state of Maine.  Through his dedication to these programs he has made the Bowdoin Nordic Team a visible and attractive institution for skiers to continue their careers.  The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) is a valuable pathway for athletic and personal development and we applaud the excellent job Nathan has done to support his skiers, and it will be exciting to watch the Polar Bears continue to succeed in the coming years.

Christian Gostout ’20, from Rochester, Minnesota describes Alsobrook as someone who, “offers his thoughtful attention and advice equally to every single skier on the team, coaching everyone in the unique way that works best for them. I think this is what allows the team to focus on and achieve both individual goals and team goals, regardless of what level any skier is at. Whether you’re trying to balance college racing with qualifying for JNs, ski All American at NCAAs, or just have well executed carnival races, Nathan will share his enthusiasm for every ambition his athletes have within and beyond the sport.”

Elliot Ketchel ’21, from Warren, Vermont describes Alsobrook as a well rounded leader, “Nathan is much more than a coach to all his athletes, he is an amazing mentor and friend. He cares about everything every one of us does in skiing and outside of it, and he is fully supportive of our pursuits, whether they are athletic, academic, or something else.” Ketchel was awarded the Bowdoin Outstanding First-Year Male Athlete award this spring.

It is an exciting time for Bowdoin Skiing with the hiring of two-time Olympian (’80 & ’88) Leslie Krichko as assistant coach, and during the winter of 2019 the Polar Bears will be debuting their new wax trailer.  You can stay up to date with the team at www.bowdoinnordic.blogspot.com.

Congratulations Nathan Alsobrook on your hard work and fantastic accomplishments!

In 2014 NENSA began the tradition of honoring the top ranked male and female Eastern Cup skiers with the Gallagher Cup. NENSA is honored to announce that Rena Schwartz (GMVS) and James Kitch (CSU) are the 2018 Eastern Cup Champions – their inspired efforts are a perfect way to celebrate Mike Gallagher’s legacy as an athlete, coach, and community leader. The two skiers who win this award each year do so by being consistently dominant in New England’s premier race series (winners are determined by averaging points from 7 of 8 EC events).

Rena Schwartz skied for the Green Mountain Valley School, raced in seven Eastern Cup races, with one victory and three podiums, and ended the year atop the New England Junior National Ranking List.  She competed at Junior Nationals with a top finish of 4^th place in the 10km freestyle event. Schwartz also competed at US Cross Country Championships and Super Tour Finals ending the year the 51^st ranked female skier in the country.

Coach, Colin Rodgers, describes Schwartz as a leader, “Rena is an impressive role model for all of the student/athletes on the team, and her drive for success motivates those around her.  Not only does she have extraordinary competitive results, but Rena is a pleasure to spend time with, exuberating kindness, honesty, and dependability.  If you ask anything of Rena, you can expect it to be done with focus and attention to detail.”  Outside of skiing, Schwartz was the Vermont cross-country running champion and a Gatorade Runner of the year, where she won a $10,000 spotlight award to donate to her club of choice (Craftsbury Outdoor Center).

James Kitch, from the Cambridge Sports Union, competed in all eight Eastern Cup races, where he was consistently in the top-10, and finished 5^th on the year-end New England Junior National Ranking List.  Kitch saved his best game for the 2018 Junior National Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah where he had two top-ten distance finishes, scrambled for the winning U18 relay team, and won his first National Championship in the freestyle sprint. At the conclusion of the 2018 season he is the 82^nd ranked male skier in the country.

CSU coach, Rob Bradlee, describes James as someone, “who correctly assumes that everyone would like to be his friend and so treats everyone regardless of age or status with equal respect and affection.  He has been a leader in CSU and on Team New England in creating a positive team vibe.  He pushes himself hard to be his very best and competes not to beat others but to explore how fast he can be.  I think he became a national champion because that attitude kept his mind open to possibilities and he could see opportunity when it presented itself.”

We congratulate these skiers and thank them for reminding us of Mike Gallagher’s competitive spirit.  Mike was a three-time Olympic cross-country skier and the Head Coach of the US Ski Team from 1980-86.  You can read more about Gallagher here on fasterskier.com

 

The 2018 Bogburn was perhaps the most diverse citizen’s race we have hosted in New England this year – from fish scales to Olympians.  The Woodstock Inn Nordic Center and the Haydock family paired their efforts to make the event happen despite unseasonably warm February temperatures.  Racers from Lollipop to Master’s 9 were greeted to a variety of natural, transformed snow that Woodstock has meticulously groomed and conserved this winter.  With temperatures hovering in the mid 30’s, and both soft and firm tracks, finding the correct klister added a little excitement to the day — although evolving traditional technique led many in the field, from BKL to master, to forgo grip wax and double pole the entire course due to a significant amount of flat and gradual terrain.  Oh the times they are a changing…

You can read more about the race from our Master’s guest writer, Damien Bolduc, here.

Results.

There has been a fantastic display of competition and camaraderie this winter in the Zak Cup Series – and we currently have 104 men and 42 women vying for Age Group titles.  These numbers only represent current NENSA masters members, and we have many more skiers who we hope join the action for 2019.  We are working hard to improve the citizen racing scene for all racers and we always welcome feedback (staff@nensa.net).  Many of our Zak skiers are looking forward to their award mugs and we have a few tricks up our sleeve for end of the year awards, including lodging at the Trapp Family Lodge for our Overall male and female winners and leaders bibs for our four Age Group winners (ties broken by overall).

Speaking of leaders bibs – NENSA and our wonderful sponsors, LL Bean, Nokian Tires and Swix are happy to recognize our top M1-6 and M7+ skiers in each gender with these snazzy bibs (model M8, Leigh Mallory, NWVE). 

Moving into the Flying Moose Classic on March 10th the following skiers will have the yellow jerseys:
Eli Enman – Male M1-6 leader
Rob Bradlee – Male M7+ leader
Sarah Pribram – Female M1-6 leader
Carrie Nourjian – Female M7+ leader

You can find complete Age Group and now Overall Zak rankings on our website.

Photo’s from the Bogburn.

It’s hard to believe there are only three more Zak Cup events left this season – so make the most of it and sign up for one or all of them!  You can access the link to registrations by clicking the name of the events below.  We will be updating the rankings shortly after each race to keep folks up to date on Zak Cup standings.

Mar. 10 – Flying Moose Classic
22km, mass start
Bethel, ME

Mar. 11 – Mansfield Nordic Skiathlon
3x2km Classic & 3x2km Skate, mass start
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, VT

Mar. 24 – Craftsbury Spring Fling
30km for M1-M6; 15km for M7+ Skate, mass start

Our Citizens Programming will wrap up with the second annual New England Club Relay Championships held in Craftsbury in conjunction with Super Tour Finals.  This event will be the determining factor of Club Cup scoring for 2018.  Currently NWVE has a solid lead on the CSU for the second year in a row – but what will unfold in the next races…

March 25 – New England Club Relay Championships
2 x 5km Classic, 2 x 5 km Skate Relay – Craftsbury, VT

Congrats to all our racers and a special thanks go out to Nick Mahood (and his staff at Woodstock) and Bob Haydock (founder of the Bogburn) – for all of their energy to make cross country skiing thrive in New England.