UW Nordic Ski Teams Close Out National Championships with Third-Place Podium Finishes

The University of Wyoming Nordic ski teams closed out with podium finishes in the classic team sprint relay on the fourth and final day of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships Saturday, March 14, at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Both the men's and women's squads captured third place in their respective races at Mount Van Hoevenberg. The Cowboys scored 15 points in a tight competition won by St. Olaf (Minn.) College, with a low score of five points, followed by Paul Smiths College with 10. In all, 11 teams competed.

The outcome of the women's competition in the sprint relay mirrored their male counterparts. The Cowgirls secured third place in the 14-team field with an identical 15 points. St. Olaf College was the winner with five points, and Paul Smiths College took second with 10 points.

As a result of their final-day performances, both UW teams left with third-place overall finishes at the national championships after results from all four races were compiled.

All told, the Cowgirls compiled 141 points, trailing winner St. Olaf, which scored a winning low of 28 points, and runner-up Paul Smiths College, with 90 points. The Cowboys scored 125 points to trail winner Paul Smiths College, with 68 points, and St. Olaf College scored 108.

Christine Boggs, UW co-head coach, says the women's team went into the final day hoping to hold onto its overall third-place team spot, knowing it needed to place in the top five in the team sprint and not lose to Colorado Mesa University by more than one place.

"Without Eleanor (Veauthier), who was still suffering with her concussion, the girls could have been in uncertainty mode. But they did not ski that way," Boggs says. "Shayla (Babits) and Leah (Ines) were just as solid and hard working as they had been all week, skiing hard and well. Gigi (Mahood) took Eleanor's place on the relay and might have been the least strong skier. But, in fact, she was incredible."

Veauthier, a Casper sophomore, suffered a concussion after a fall earlier in the week during the individual skate sprint race. Babits, a Lander junior; Ines, a freshman from Holderness, N.H.; and Mahood, a Jackson freshman; took up the slack and battled for the third team spot throughout the sprint relay, which required each skier to each complete three laps for a team total of nine laps.

"By the final leg, we hoped that Shayla and Gigi would give Leah enough of a lead so the University of Wisconsin team, whose top girl placed 10th in the sprint, would not be able to catch her," Boggs explains. "Gigi raced so fast that, when the last leg of the Wisconsin team got the handoff, the race was already lost. The women got on the podium in third place for the team sprint and, consequently, got to stand third on the overall team podium after all four days of racing."

The UW men entered the sprint relay in more dire straits. The Cowboys were sitting fourth nationally, seven points behind St. Olafs College and 11 behind Western State College (WCU). As a result, UW not only needed to beat those two teams, but the Cowboys also needed another team to finish between St. Olafs and Western State, Boggs says.

Austin Quillinan, a Laramie junior; Eliot Kramer, a junior from Duluth, Minn.; and Jack Jendro, a sophomore from Andover, Minn.; made up UW's sprint relay contingent.

During the race, UW, Colorado Mesa University (CMU), Clarkson College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and WCU all spent time in third place during the relay. But, in the end, the Cowboys prevailed to take the third slot.

"Despite a crash on the second leg that Austin was unable to avoid, Eliot was able to hang with the first-leg skiers," Boggs says. "Austin would make up a lot of time that brought the team in at third, and then Jack was able to use his great sprint speed to put on more time. By the last leg of the race, Jack was able to ski hard and finish on the podium."

While St. Olafs went on to win the sprint relay, Western State struggled home in seventh.

"In 28 years of coaching, I don't think I've had a moment in which I was prouder of the team sprint performances," says co-head coach Rachel Watson. "Every athlete on both the women's and men's team skied to or beyond expectations. Their technical and tactical approaches during the race were perfect and, compared to their competitors, they were able to ski strong all the way through the last leg.

"It was an incredibly exciting day. I don't think I've ever worked so hard to get the kick wax perfect," Watson says. "We used all 30 skis in our tester fleets. We are so lucky to have an incredible wax technical team. This team includes Bryan Overcast, Becca Watson, Eric Dye and, of course, Christi and me."

Going the distance

The UW men's team, behind the spirited comeback effort of freshman Ben Clough, rallied for a third-place team finish in the 15m mass start race, which took place Friday, March 13. The Cowgirls, without Veauthier, managed only a fifth-place team finish in the distance race.

"Because of the difficult race March 11, many of our men were seeded poorly, so they had to work their way through the crowd at the start," Watson says. "The skier who shone today was Ben Clough. Ben only qualified in this race, and he ended up being our top skier. He worked his way up through the field, passing 23 people, and ended up placing ninth."

Clough, of New London, N.H., skied to a time of 38:32.6. He was followed by Diego Lobatos, a Lander sophomore, in 11th (38:40.5); and Jendro finished 14th (39:23.2).

"Diego felt great but, with the slightly icy conditions, he struggled with lower leg pain on the downhills," Watson says. "We were particularly proud of Jack Jendro because he has fought a season-long injury in his back. It has taken constant physical therapy and me giving him almost daily massages in order to get him through a long skate race. Jack was our third man and finished in 14th."

The Cowboys and St. Olaf College each scored 34 points, but UW won the tiebreaker and took the third podium spot behind winner Paul Smiths College, which compiled a low score of 27. Clarkson College finished second, with 31 points.

Other UW finishers were Quillinan, in 26th (41:07.9); Kramer was 28th (41:44.6); and Drew Crouch, a freshman from Salt Lake City, Utah, was right behind in 29th (41:57.8). In all, 80 skiers from 11 teams started the race.

After the week's three individual races were completed, Jendro and Labatos both were named second-team All-Americans. Jendro finished seventh overall on the week, and Labatos was 15th. Quillinan ended the week of three individual races in 19th place, and Crouch was 27th.

Without Veauthier, the Cowgirls did not fare as well. They could only muster a fifth-place finish, with 66 points. UW ended up behind winner St. Olaf College, which scored a low point total of 10. Paul Smiths College was again second, with 27 points, followed by CMU in third (43 points). The University of Maine at Farmington scored 58 to secure fourth place.

"The women had a really tough day. Eleanor Veauthier had fallen during the skate sprint (March 11) and, that afternoon, we realized she likely had a concussion. We ended up taking her to the hospital and, while the concussion was mild, she simply could not race today," Watson explains. "… Without our top athlete, we felt that their fifth-place team finish was pretty good."

Ines led the Cowgirls with a 19th-place finish in 51:53.9; Babits was close behind in 21st (52:40.8); and Mahood rounded out the scoring in 29th (57:34.3). Morgan Gelwicks, a freshman from Laramie, was right behind her in 30th (57:43.1). In all, 70 skiers stated the race.

Ines ended up a second-team All-American, placing 15th overall with combined results from three individual races. Babits just missed All-American honors, finishing 16th in the individual standings.

"While we had some individual struggles this week, it's important to celebrate our standout finishes. Jack Jendro and Eliot Kramer have been dedicated to year-round training, doing everything right and putting all of their learning into practice. Their finishes attest to this dedication," Boggs says. "The women's team also had some incredible days as a team; they maintained poise in nearly every high-stress situation."