Ripton, VT - The Nordic team woke up to eight inches of fresh new snow for the final race of EISA Regional Championship. And despite the big storm, the groomers had been going constantly throughout the night to get the course as firm as possible for their 20k skate mass start.

It was a great day for the Mules as James Underwood was skiing with the chase pack for the entire race to finish in 5th just a couple seconds away from 2nd place, and Ben Lewis also finished in the top ten in 8th. Andrew Defor finished in 19th, and Simon Goldstein also found the top 30 in 28th. This was enough for the men to finish the season with another 2nd place team finish.

The women also skied well with Natalie O'Brien leading the team in 28th, and Lola Villafranco rounding out the top 30. Margo Nightingale finished in 44th, and Lydia Kraker in 45th.  

This was the final qualifying race for the NCAA National Championship and the Nordic team has officially qualified four athletes to attend the championships, one more athlete than they've sent to the championship in the past two years. The men are sending a full team of three, Andy Defor, Ben Lewis, and James Underwood who earned All-East second team honors for finishing the season in the top 10 of the EISA rankings list. And the women will be represented by Lola Villafranco. 

Next up the Nordic team will compete in the Chummy Broomhall Cup which functions as our Maine Collegiate Championship with Bates and Bowdoin. That will be on Saturday February 28th at home at Quarry Road Trails. And then next will be the NCAA National Championships which will take place on Thursday March, 12th and Saturday March, 14th at Soldier Hollow in Midway, UT.

Men's results
Women's results