Jackson, N.H. - With the completion of the fourth and final day of the NCAA Skiing Championships, the Nordic Ski Team closes out the season as the 12th ranked team in the country.
"We have all learned so much this season about perseverance and the value of being a team," said Nordic Head Coach
Tracey Cote. "I'm so proud of our entire team for bringing a new level of focus every day to practice and for giving it everything they had during our hard workouts despite a very different season."
"Different" would be an understatement. Colby's Nordic team was the first varsity program from the College to compete against outside competition this season, and that came in February. That lone race was also their only college competition to gauge preparation against other schools and set goals on where they wanted to be for the national event. Normally, a full carnival season against the full spectrum of Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) teams serves as consistent self-evaluation, but this year was different.
Still, the Mules come away from the 2021 NCAA Skiing Championships with a 12th place ranking for all Nordic teams across the U.S. Only one of the teams listed ahead of Colby on the results page is a Division III institution. Western Division I universities made up the top-5 spots (Utah, Alaska-Anchorage, Colorado, Denver, Montana State). The University of Vermont was the first eastern school in 6th.
If
Kirsten Miller's 22nd place finish in Thursday's Classical race wasn't good enough, she doubled down, finishing 22nd Saturday in the Freestyle race. The Colby men exhibited true unity, taking three straight spots in 30th (
William Solow - pictured right), 31st (
Mark Young), and 32nd (
Andy Rightmire).
Cote continued, " We left nationals excited about some great performances with clear goals of where to improve. This event was a great way for Kirsten and Mark to cap off incredible ski careers as seniors, and Will and Andy have gained valuable experience to use in the future. We could not have ended our season in a better fashion!"
To view the
WOMEN'S FREESTYLE RESULTS, CLICK HERE.
To view the
MEN'S FREESTYLE RESULTS, CLICK HERE.
