Author Archives: JDein

Nationals at Sunday River, ME

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Girls

On March 7th, 2012 Lafayette’s Women’s Ski Team competed in the giant slalom national championship in Sunday River, ME. The women’s team had never qualified for nationals before and were looking forward to seeing how they could do against some of the best racers in the country, including some racers on european national teams and junior olympic racing programs.

The girls could not have asked for better conditions, as the day brought a gorgeous blue bird sky without a breath of wind in the air. There were many schools from as far as Colorado and Canada competing, but the girls felt that their east coast skiing background would help them with the conditions in Maine. Nevertheless, the course was probably as difficult as the girls had ever raced on, with its alterations in pitch and steep top section forcing them to change their attack constantly throughout the technical sections and long 380 meter vertical drop. The course design foreshadowed a war between these 101 athletes and it didn’t disappoint.

Meg del Col was the first Lafayette girl to race and skied to a strong 34th place finish, skiing the top section well, despite the difficult headwall there throwing the skiers way out to the left. She stayed close to the gates and took a very aggressive line down the mountain. Meg and Julia Mason (57th) put their excellent conditioning to good use, skiing with great precision down this difficult course- a course twice as long as any GS course the girls had raced on during the season. On a course like this your legs really start to burn at the bottom of the 53 gates when the lactic acid is setting in and muscles are screaming in agony as you fight the fatigue, trying to negotiate the last few gates before the finish corral. Despite Lafayette’s efforts, 24 year old Matea Ferk from Croatia, skiing for Sierra Nevada College won the giant slalom national championship that day. In the Friday slalom race, Meg del Col showed her dedication in deciding to hike a missed gate on the 1st run, just so she could have an opportunity for a second run. Julia Mason came in 55th, but overall it was a tough day for the Lafayette girls. Kia Mosenthal from Brown University ended up winning the slalom title.

Rachel

For the snowboarders, freshman Rachel Shore had a brilliant 1st run, using every ounce of technical skill she possessed to finish in 4th place before stumbling on her second run. Nevertheless, she showed the nationals field she knew how to generate serious speed and still came in 13th overall after that terrific first run. You can’t keep lightning in a bottle, and Rachel kept building on her strong regular season and regionals performances, showing she could compete at each subsequent level.

Reed

Freestyle competitor and Easton rail jam frequenter, Reed Shapiro competed at nationals in the slopestyle and skier-cross competition. He made the finals in slopestyle finishing in 9th place, and came in 24th place out of 76 competitors in skier cross. His 9th place finish garnered him 2nd team All-American honors for slopestyle. 

Despite not reaching the same level of success they were accustomed to at the conference and regional level, the Lafayette women’s ski team was thrilled just to be able to compete on a world class race course with some of the best athletes in the country. They all had a great time taking part in nationals and the experience they gained from competing on such a difficult stage will translate to invaluable experience for building towards next season’s success.

-Adi

Regionals at Snowshoe, WV

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The USCSA Mid-Atlantic Regional Ski and Snowboard Championships took place at Snowshoe Mountain, WV this year. While Lafayette had qualified for regionals many times in the past, this year had a different excitement surrounding it, as our team felt for the first time that we could make a serious run at qualifying for nationals. In previous years our team had been happy just to qualify for regionals, this year we were hungry for something more, to really go out there and prove we belonged with the elite programs in the region.

On Friday, the giant slalom event took place. What should have taken three hours, dragged on all day as our patience was severely tested with a lightning and thunderstorm that threatened to call off the race entirely.  As we sat in the lodge for hours waiting out the storm, trying to stay mentally prepared was difficult as we felt the competition would never start up again. Half of our competitors were even stuck in the woods for hours in the pelting rain, unable to get to lodging as the chairlift was suspended indefinitely for safety due to the lightning in the area. Finally, just when we thought it would never end, the lightning abated and the race was re-started. However, due to time constraints all competitors were limited to just one run as opposed to the customary two, which threw off those of us who were really gambling on improving on our second runs.

At the same time, the warm weather coupled with the rain caused the snow on the course to get soft and rutty, and made it especially difficult for our skiers skiing in the latter half of the group.  Yet somehow, our women’s team skied to an amazing 2nd place finish that day with Meg (4th), Julia (5th), and Catey (27th), managing to edge out Virginia Tech by 2 seconds. In a competitive race where tenths of a second could decide several place spots, Rebekah Scharfe and Sam Ladell did admirably as they were forced to ski on longer, stiffer skis they weren’t accustomed to due to the FIS minimum ski length restrictions imposed at regionals. They managed a solid 28th and 41st place finish respectively out of the 57 skiers competing despite unfamiliarity with their equipment. The women’s team came in hot with the 1-2 punch of Meg and Julia, but couldn’t overtake the 1st place Penn State juggernaut led by Pennsylvania all-state racer Heather Derr that day.

The men, despite having more temperate expectations coming into regionals, had a surprisingly strong showing that day as well, skiing to a 4th place finish behind Tanner Flanigan (9th), Matt Bernhard, and Kyle Brinkerhoff (both tying for 27th) out of the 17 schools and 72 competitors qualifying. Navy, Penn State, and Lehigh were the only teams that placed ahead of them.  The snowboarders raced that day as well, with Freshman racer Rachel Shore laying down a smoking 3rd place finish at regionals and Andrew Sanders pacing the men’s team with a solid 9th place out of the 46 boarders competing. Meanwhile in the Slopestyle competition, Reed Shapiro, our free-style specialist competed and got the silver, being less than a point behind the 1st place winner after throwing down a back flip to 720 combination.

Connor and Matt at Snowshoe

After that first day of competition both of our teams were in prime position to grab that elusive nationals bid which had escaped us for so long. Going into the Saturday slalom our team was fired up and ready to keep skiing fast. The conditions were drastically different that day as the temperature dropped and brought heavy snowfall. Along with the flat lighting that day, it was difficult to differentiate crucial details in the texture of the snow on the course and see gates up ahead. Nonetheless, our women’s team again raced to a 2ndplace finish edging out James Madison University by a collective 1 second! Meg paced the team with a 3rd place finish. Julia (5th) and Catey (22nd) also contributed to the win. The only team able to overtake them again remained Penn State.

The men’s team, after a solid run the day before had put them in great position to advance to nationals, was in trouble from the get go in the slalom when top racer Tanner Flanigan, skiing blazingly fast down the headwall couldn’t maintain control on the more technical flats near the finish and skied out. When the competition is as good as it is at regionals, losing your best racer is often unrecoverable. While our depth proved solid enough in our own conference to finish top 1 or 2 even when a teammate or two fell, our team could not handle the loss at regionals.  Kyle skied hard to a great 15th place finish, Matt placed 24thand Connor 28th, but it wasn’t enough to advance.  While it was disappointing that men’s team didn’t qualify for nationals, they still have a lot to be proud of as they dominated in the conference and had a great 1st day showing. There is a lot of youth and talent on the men’s team and it is right on the cusp of being nationals bound.

Women with Medals

With 2nd place finishes both days, the Lafayette women’s team was guaranteed a berth to nationals (the top 3 teams advanced) and are eagerly awaiting the next chapter of their dominant skiing season taking place march 5th-10th at Sunday River, Maine.  There they will be tested against some of the best ski racers in the entire country and we are all eagerly awaiting to see what kind of noise they can make at the national championships. They will be making history as it is the first time a Lafayette team has qualified for nationals from regionals. They are also looking forward to avenging their loss against the big time Penn State program, which remained the only team that could handle them at regionals.  

 -Adi

End of Conference Season

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As we approached mid-season with the school semester finally getting underway, Lafayette’s Ski Team looked forward to getting some talented skiers back who couldn’t make the races over winter break.  On January 28th we traveled to Hidden Valley, NJ for a GS race, and enjoyed beautiful, warm, sunny weather all weekend, as the men’s team welcomed back sophomore Reed Shapiro and finally saw what experienced freshman Connor Kennedy offered.  Reed’s return could not have come at a better time as he immediately made an impact on the A-team skiing to a respectable 16th place finish in his first race of the season behind Tanner (3rd) and Kyle (8th). Unfortunately with DNF’s to Matt and Jake, the men’s team could only manage a 3rd place podium finish that day. Meanwhile the women’s team welcomed back sophomore Catey Condit and didn’t miss a beat with continuing their dominance. They skied to another 1st place finish behind Meg (1st), Julia (2nd), and Catey (9th). Not only did they come in 1st, but they were a full 18 seconds ahead of 2nd place Fairfield that day, a huge margin.

 On Sunday 1/29, the men’s team finally skied back into 1st place form as everyone turned in an inspiring run. The depth was outstanding as five of the men skied to top 10 finishes, the most we had ever had. The team was paced by Tanner (3rd), Matt (5th), Kyle (7th), Connor (9th), and Reed (10th). The women on the other hand, flip-flopped with the men that day and skied to an unusual 3rd place finish. The margin was small, as they were less then a second behind 2nd place Fairfield due to an unusual DNF from normally consistent top racer Meg del Col. Julia (2nd) and Catey (7th) paced the women, and Lake Tahoe California girl Suzanne Feutz was welcomed back to the team with a 19th place finish out of the 43 or so women racing that day.

 The following week the men’s team wasn’t sure what to expect as they were missing top racer Tanner Flanigan for the notoriously difficult Hunter Mountain slalom on February 4th. Normally the Hunter course is the most difficult of the season as it is the biggest mountain we race on. Despite all this, the men breezed through to a 2nd place finish behind solid runs from Kyle (5th), Matt (11th), and Jake (14th). The women avenged their loss from the previous Sunday with a 1st place finish behind Meg (1st), Julia (2nd), and a rounding into top form Rebekah and Jess, who skied to impressive 16th and 18th place finishes respectively. The margin of victory was less then 2 seconds, but the girls pulled it out over Lehigh despite unusual DNF’s from normally consistent Sam and Suzanne.

 On Sunday, we were still without Tanner and we needed Kyle, our own prep school star from Loomis Chafee to step up for us, and he did, skiing to a brilliant 2nd place finish, the best of his career, and nearly upsetting Lehigh’s star Matt Kryzwicki. Our own Matt Bernhard continued his dominance contributing to the men’s team 2nd place podium with his own 4th place finish, and freshman Connor Kennedy continued skiing well for us (coming in 7th). Meanwhile the women, in their most impressive victory of the season, came in 1st place on Sunday despite a DSQ to top skier Julia Mason. The depth of the women’s team came through despite Meg skiing (what was for her) a rare 2nd place finish. Along with Meg, Rebekah Scharfe skiing to a career best 10th place finish, and Sam Ladell skiing to an 11th place finish were able to overcome the veteran Lehigh girls squad by a full five seconds. This was a true team victory as the underclassmen racers, often overlooked because of superstars Meg and Julia, were able to keep improving all season and come into top form right when the team needed it most with Julia going down and experienced racers Suzanne and Catey unable to make the race.  

 Coming into the last weekend of the season on 2/11, again at Hunter, the men’s team was ecstatic with senior captain Matt Bernhard being in 1st place overall after the first run of the day. We know how hard he works at this sport and it showed in his senior year, as he had put together his finest season. Matt skiing to a 1st place finish finally in the last weekend was therefore fitting and amazing to see. Seeing him beat out more experienced skiers who had raced their entire lives was awesome to witness. Unfortunately the pressure to finish 1st was too much to overcome, as he was unable to finish strong on the 2nd run.  The men’s team ended up being paced by seniors Jake (6th), Steve (14th), and Adrian (18th) and skied to a 3rd place finish behind Lehigh and Columbia due to a DNF from Tanner. The women again fighting for position with a DSQ to Julia Mason placed 4th, with Meg (2nd), Rebekah (15th) and Sam (16th) leading the way.

 On Sunday, the conditions were frigid, and as it was the last race, it was tradition for teams to dress up in ridiculous outfits. Tanner, skiing in red farmer flannels, finished in his customary 2nd place on the first run. However, being told to just “go all out” on the second run, in his absolute final race of the season he skied to an amazing 1st place finish on that run, showing that he could beat Lehigh’s best racer (and win wearing flannels). Unfortunately that run wasn’t enough as he was barely a combined 2/10ths of a second short of Lehigh’s Kryzwicki overall. The team was paced by Tanner (2nd), Jake (6th), and Steve (15th) for a 2nd place finish. This last race was exciting to witness because we could all see how much the freshmen guys had improved with Drew Beyer (16th), Little John (18th), and Pistol Pete (26th) all having their best races of the season on Sunday. Matt, skiing in a bright 1980’s one piece outfit instead of his usual sleek GS suit, and skiing on 190 cm, thrift store Lange straight skis that didn’t turn instead of his race skis, lacked his customary explosiveness on the hill and skied to only a 17th place finish, yet still managed to somehow beat me despite his 30 year old skis. Meanwhile the women, in a fitting end to their season came in 1st place, edging out Fairfield by less than a second, with Meg (1st), Julia (4th), and Rebekah (17th) leading the team. The competitiveness between the girls was fun to watch as Rebekah, Jess (18th), and Sam (20th) were all skiing neck and neck with each other for most of the season, trying to edge one another out each race.  Team mom, Mel Cybriwsky braved the frigid temperatures by skiing the course in a sports bra and bright green spandex pants. Luckily, we had her parka waiting for her at the bottom.

 Last Race

 After this final race, our women’s team was presented with their 1st place trophy at the conference awards ceremony and the men received 2nd place overall, qualifying both teams for the Regional Championship at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. Individually, we had a number of impressive performances this season with Jake being 9th overall in the conference, Matt 7th, and Tanner 5th. For the women, Julia was 3rd overall and Meg was 1st. We look forward to preparing for the Regional Championship in 2 weeks where our teams will be tested against top competition from much bigger schools like Penn State, Duke, and West Virginia University. This season, we feel confident that we can finally take that next step and qualify for nationals from regionals with the talent on our roster and the inspiring season we had. We proved that we were a powerhouse program in our conference, and we are finally ready to prove that we are good enough to compete in our mid-atlantic region (and hopefully we can all drive down to West Virginia in pickup trucks blasting “country roads”). We have two weeks to get ready, and I think the team is looking forward to finally spending a weekend on campus after a whirlwind 5-week season.

 -Adi

First Races and Stowe Trip

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Stowe

For Lafayette’s Ski Team, cutting your winter break short to start the season is a normal and looked forward to occurrence. Going into the first race on January 13th at Blue Mountain, Lafayette’s Ski Team got off to a blistering start to their season with the men’s team coming in 1st place out of the seven schools attending. This result was made more impressive by the fact that the team had not gone on their training trip yet, and had their most experienced young racers Tanner Flanigan and Kyle Brinkerhoff fall in the debut GS race of the season.  Despite these mishaps, this 1st place result demonstrated the depth and quality of the men’s squad as strong performances from seniors Matt Bernhard (4th), Jake Dein (7th), and Steve Lowinger (10th) prevailed, showing the conference the talent that Lafayette had going into the 2012 season. 

The Lafayette women’s team finished in 2nd place that day, with freshman sensation Meg Del Col making her presence felt with a 1st place finish overall in her first race for Lafayette, and experienced junior captain Julia Mason coming in 2nd overall. This lethal one-two punch would prove devastating throughout the early portion of the season, but unfortunately could not overcome the depth of the 1st place Fairfield squad that day. Behind experienced racers Meg and Julia, a strong youth movement has talented freshmen skiers Rebekah Scharfe and Jessica Horvath waiting in the wings learning the sport of ski racing for the first time. A breakout year from athletic-skiing sophomore Sam Ladell, making her A-team debut after a year of working on her racing technique on the B-team, has also contributed to the women’s team early success.

The following day, always relaxed and cool skiing sophomore Tanner Flanigan skied with a vengeance to make up for his first day DNF, coming in a blistering 2nd place in the slalom, reminding the conference that the kid from Sun Valley, Idaho was here to stay for the next three years. Despite being unable to overtake Lehigh’s prep school star Matt Krzywicki, Tanner received help from emerging conference star men’s captain Matt Bernhard, who in skiing at the highest level of his four year career, scorched the course with a 7th place finish. Along with always reliable team President Jake Dein (10th), they were able to help Tanner propel the Lafayette men’s team to a 2nd place podium finish in a classic duel for supremacy with the Lehigh men’s squad, but ultimately failing to overtake Lehigh’s slightly better 1st, 6th, 9th place runs that day.

The women’s team exacted their revenge on Fairfield by skiing to a 1st place finish in their second race, with always-consistent Meg Del Col (1st), Julia Mason (2nd), and Sam Ladell (15th) leading the charge. A breakout performance from powerful skiing freshman Jessica Horvath, skiing to a 16th place finish in only her second race ever contributed to the win.

After several days of training in Stowe, Vermont with expert coaches, the team traveled to their second race in Windham, NY on January 21st, hoping to continue their fast start to the season. The training trip allowed the freshmen new to racing to develop their rhythm and confidence on a racecourse. The women’s team picked up where they left off, skiing to another 1st place win behind Meg and Julia. This result was quite impressive considering 3 of the top 5 women racing on our A-team were freshmen filling in for upperclassmen unable to make the race.  The men’s team meanwhile struggled with consistency that day, skiing to a 6th place finish. Top racers Tanner and Kyle took too tight of a line trying to go for gold, and crashed.  Unfortunately, the rest of the men’s team was unable to rebound from Tanner and Kyle misfiring on their runs that day. The following day the women’s team continued their dominance coming in 1st again.  Meanwhile, the men’s team rebounded and skied to a strong 2nd place finish with excellent runs from Tanner (3rd) Matt (8th) and Jake (12th) pacing the team. All this was accomplished before the semester even started.  As the season continues, the team looks forward to adding even more depth with the return of powder skiing, west-coast sophomore phenom Suzanne Feutz, and experienced sophomore racer Catey Condit on the women’s side. Meanwhile the men eagerly await talented sophomore Reed Shapiro and experienced freshman racer Connor Kennedy to make their season debuts.

The team has more depth and talent this year that it has ever had since its inception at Lafayette more than 6 years ago, and has established itself as a powerhouse in the USCSA Mid-Atlantic conference.  The team’s success can be attributed to strong marketing at the activities fair generating much interest in the club amongst skiers of all ability, having an influx of talented former high-school racers, good midweek coaching at our training mountain in the Poconos, as well as great upperclassmen leadership. Many of our athletes coming into the winter season were also in phenomenal shape from rowing together on the crew team in the fall. The freshmen have gained a lot of confidence in their racing due to the expert guidance of captains Julia and Matt explaining each course set up, how everyone should be approaching each section, and tactically showing the team where they can gain the most speed in inspections before each race. For a team to be successful it must run like a well- oiled machine. Lafayette has remained successful because of its ability to act as a single unit. Therefore, the upperclassmen have taught the freshmen how to tune their skis and maximize the effectiveness of their equipment to wring-out the most possible speed. Meanwhile on the hill, everyone helps to carry each other’s coats down the course when they aren’t racing, as well as splitting gate-keeping duties amongst one another. With these early four races under our belts we look forward to continued success in the conference, having a strong showing at the regional championships, and enjoying the growth and development of our new freshmen racers, but most of all we are glad to be back together with some of our closest friends and sharing our mutual enjoyment of skiing together.

– Adi

Ski Team on The Web

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It’s still summer, but the fall semester and the 2012 ski season are fast approaching.  And now the Ski Team has a website!!  Check it out.  The image gallery is currently lacking in recent pictures – I only have some from 2009.  Send me some good pictures and I’ll put them on the site.

– Jake