Wrapping Up CCSA

For our last CCSA race of the season, the Oles took our largest team up to the infamous hills at Al Quaal, in Ishpeming, Michigan. Unfortunately, our attempts at intimidating the NMU’s and Green Beans with large numbers weren’t super successful and they still showed up in full force.

Saturday’s races were mass start: a 15k skate for the women, and a 20k skate for the men.  It was a beautiful day, and more than a few of us went home with a sunburn!  Bri and Shelby took advantage of a great opportunity to race well, finishing 22 and 28, respectively.  The men were led by two fantastic freshmen, Tyler in 40th and Spencer in 44th.  Chris and Leif also made statements with their headwear choices: a sparkly red baseball cap for Chris, and a Pokemon had for Leif.  In their 2017 debuts Andrew and Molly performed well and we were glad to have them back from the Mediterranean.  I’d tell you where they were, but I wouldn’t want to get it wrong and make that the only mention of their season.
Al Quaal Men- SkinnySki.jpgAl Quaal Bri- SkinnySki.jpg

Following the races we headed back to the condos to dig snow tunnels, enjoy the sunshine, and get our skis ready for Sunday’s classic race.  Though it may surprise some, skiing isn’t the only reason we go to St. Olaf, so some people infiltrated a nearby McDonalds to get wifi and do homework.  After feasting on yet another gourmet packout dinner, a group headed out to the bowling alley.  Here Brochman maintained his role as a coach, having previous experience as a league bowler.  Matt and Leif had a showdown for first place, with Leif eventually cinching the coveted title and winning the first of many bets.  
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On Sunday we headed back over to the race course, this time with skis covered in Klister.   The men raced first, led by Tyler in 59th, and followed by Ethan in 63rd in the 10k individual start classic.  This was Ethan’s second gear mishap of the season, and though this time he brought the right skis to the start line, he broke a pole within seconds of starting.  Luckily Brian Gregg’s tech was there to help him out, no doubt encouraged by the fact that our bus driver was a relative of Gregg.  In the women’s 5k, Bri flew to a 38th place finish, and Rebecca came in 46th.  Meg represented the freshmen well on the women’s side and we were psyched that she joined us!
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Post race we loaded our klister-laded skis gingerly onto the bus and got ready for the long ride back to Olaf.  That’s where you might expect the adventure to end, but never count out a little something on the way back.  About 5 minutes from campus, we hit a deer.   Not a good day for the deer, but a fortunate event for Andrew, who needed roadkill for a vert. bio lab.  

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