From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Photos from the final day of the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships, with the men’s 20-kilometer freestyle mass start taking place on a 5 k loop at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, N.H.
Read more about the races and click here for professional photos by FlyingPointRoad.
(Click each photo to enlarge)
In Part I of “The Road to Jackson” series, three Williams College skiers — Eli Hoenig, Braden Becker and Jordan Fields, who qualified for this week’s NCAA Skiing Championships — reflect on their team and their season.
“I am so excited for NCAA’s. … This is the first time Williams has sent a full team quite a few years. Probably one of the strongest teams we’ve ever sent.” — Jordan Fields
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/08/Boys-NTG.jpg" "Boys NTG")
Members of the U.S. Ski Team’s National Training Group (NTG) spent last week in Park City, Utah, for a training camp centered on group training and exposure to the resources at the Center of Excellence. Athletes joined interval sessions with the national team on the rollerski track at Soldier Hollow and underwent a series of physiological tests for assessment and feedback on their development.
The camp was a new addition over last year’s schedule; the result of a decision by USST coaches to further focus on development.
“Back in the spring we sat down and decided that we’d put in another camp into our development pipeline specifically for this NTG and have them come out to Park City with the intent to get them into the COE,” said Bryan Fish, USST development coach.
Quality training was the camp’s primary goal, but with the COE nearby athletes were also able to work with the USST’s staff of physiology, strength and nutrition experts.
“The feedback we got was very positive; the athletes felt like they got a lot of education out of being here,” Fish said. “We could send them home with test results and feedback, which we provided to their club coaches, on areas where they’re strong, areas where they can improve.”
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/08/Hannah-Woods-OConnell-NTG.jpg" "Hannah Woods OConnell NTG")
Over the course of the week, Fish said the workouts and test results he saw were encouraging.
“What I’m seeing in the REGs and the J2 camp is that our athletes are indeed getting more fit and more prepared, tactically and technically. We’re seeing that in the physiology results that come in house,” Fish said. “For us, from the national team coaching staff, what we saw was hugely positive. It’s a testament to the clubs and these athletes that we’re training more; training better.”
One such workout to provide positive feedback were threshold skate intervals at Soldier Hollow, which the NTG athletes completed alongside resident national team athletes across multiple disciplines — cross country, nordic combined and biathlon were all represented in the same workout.
“Our general premise, from my perspective, is to get our best athletes together on occasion to train and compete,” Fish said. “They don’t have to train together 24/7 but getting together and going head-to-head they all learn and they all improve.”
With most of the U.S. nordic combined team, biathlete Jeremy Teela and several U.S. cross-country athletes on the course with the NTG skiers at the same time, the threshold workout got “kinda frisky,” said nordic combined skier Billy Demong.
“With all these cross country skiers and our guys, we went a little harder than we planned.”
Too fast or no, Fish thought the collaboration was a valuable experience.
“There’s a part of the training that’s intensity-based and another that’s tactical,” he said. “There’s a balance, and I feel you have to let a little bit of that go and train like you’d race. It was a prime opportunity to get in good tactical training on the Soldier Hollow courses, and for the most part they did a good job.”
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/08/IMG_5475.jpg" "Billy Demong leading the pack through the flats. Photo: Bryan Fish/U.S. Ski Team.")
National Training Group Park City Camp Roster:
Women:
Emily Hannah (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
Mary O’Connell (SSWSC)
Becca Rorabaugh (Alaska Pacific University)
Marion Woods (Alaska Winter Stars)
Jesse Knori (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation)
Nichole Bathe (Central Cross Country)
Heidi Halvorsen (Green Mountain Valley School)
Men:
Ryan Scott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail Team HomeGrown)
Will Wicherski (Williams College)
Patrick Caldwell (Stratton Mountain School)
Eli Hoenig (Cambridge Sports Union)
Cal Deline (SSCV)
Adam Martin (CXC)
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1girls.stock_.storey.2.jpg" "Corey Stock, Sloan Storey")
All 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of The Memory Clinic, in Bennington, Vt., committed to caring for the mind since 1987. Currently conducting clinical research on the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine.
MIDWAY, Utah – As Corey Stock glanced up Hermod’s Hill, the grueling climb at Soldier Hollow made famous by the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, she thought about the three racers in front of her.
The 17-year-old from New England couldn’t get over how good they looked.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1girlspodium.ms_.jpg" "Corey Stock, Sloan Storey, Marion Woods")
That’s Stock for you. After winning eight Junior Nationals titles, including Wednesday’s J1 10-kilometer freestyle mass start, she still shifts the focus to others.
Yes, she caught up to Sloan Storey (IM/Sun Valley), Marion Woods (AK/Alaska Winter Stars) and Emily Hannah (RM/Steamboat Springs) on that hill and took a permanent lead.
Yes, hills are one of her strengths, which is partly why the Cambridge Sports Union skier has achieved two titles in as many races at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals.
But Stock, who won Wednesday’s mass start in 29:20.6, said she went into the race without expectations. Initially second then fourth by the second of two laps, she hoped she get back in the mix.
“They had a gap on me for a lot of it so I was just trying to stay as close to them as I could,” Stock said. “But it was really cool watching them. They’re such strong climbers.”
Stock finished 6.3 seconds ahead of Storey, who was second after leading most of the last climb. Four girls converged at the bottom of the hill, and Storey started them up it.
“Corey Stock caught back up to the lead group and then I decided to try to go for it,” Storey said. “They all stayed along and it was just a fight all the way until the finish.”
As the two met near the top of Hermod’s Hill, named after the course’s Norwegian designer Hermod Bjorkestol, Stock took off.
“I realized I needed to start making a move to stay on the podium,” Storey said.
Unable to catch Stock, she successfully held off Woods by 0.9 seconds. Woods finished third (+7.2).
Smiling after the race, Stock, who won Monday’s classic sprint, talked about how much she liked the course and the girls she raced against.
“It was a great race,” Stock said. “It was a really hard one, but it was really fun. Really fun.”
Hannah finished fourth (+12.5) after mostly skiing in second. Sarah Freistone (AK/Alaska Nordic Racing) was fifth, Jesse Knori (IM/Sun Valley) was sixth, and Canadian Maya McIsaac-Jones (Rocky Mountain Racers) placed seventh.
Kelsey Phinney (RM/Boulder Nordic) was eighth, Margaret Pope (IM/Sun Valley) was ninth and Rachel Hampton (RM/Durango Nordic) was 10th.
J1 girls 10 k freestyle mass start results
Caldwell Breaks Away
Paddy Caldwell knew exactly who was trailing him and by how much in the J1 boys 10 k freestyle mass start on Wednesday. Hearing splits from his New England coaches throughout the race, Caldwell was aware of his 5- to 10-second gap as he neared the end of the first loop.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1.caldwell.jpg" "Patrick Caldwell")
With one lap to go and four New England teammates working together behind him, Caldwell (Stratton Mountain School) said he had a surge of inspiration.
He not only felt good; he knew was setting the pace for a potential team sweep.
“Coming through the lap lane, I started to put the hammer down and really pushed through the transitions as much as I could,” Caldwell said.
His skis proved they were fast as he rode them to the front of the pack on a gradual downhill before a massive climb. On the backside of Hermod’s Hill – the Whale’s Tail – he soared ahead and decided to keep pushing the pace.
With four kilometers to go, Caldwell heard four of his teammates were about 20 seconds behind him. That was great news, he thought, and soon Caldwell was 30- to 45- seconds ahead.
He crossed the finish line in 24:39.3, nearly 30 seconds ahead of anyone else. For Caldwell, it was his second individual victory at Junior Nationals and third including a relay.
“It’s huge,” Caldwell said. “It’s been a long season and this is championship time, and it’s really fun and exciting to have it all come together.”
Behind him, Eli Hoenig led a pack of New Englanders to the finish. Hoenig (Cambridge Sports Union) was second (+27.9), Fabián Stocek (NE/Holderness) was third (+28.2), and two others on the team – Sean Doherty (Mt. Washington) and Gino Pastore (Stratton) – rounded out the top five.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1.downhill.jpg" "Doherty, Hoenig, Stocek, Pasatore")
Monday’s classic sprint winner, Hoenig said it was a great feeling to be part of a New England sweep. On Tuesday night, he said one of their coaches told them to work cohesively if they found themselves in a pack ahead of the 80-plus racers.
While they were a chase pack of their own, the four maintained the momentum in an effort to catch Caldwell, switching the lead every 500 yards or so.
“We might have been slowly gaining, but we were definitely slowly breaking away from the pack,” Hoenig said.
Unsure if they’d close the gap, they tried anyway. On the final downhill, Hoenig as the group’s leader realized he needed to work for second.
“I thought [Stocek] was gonna shake-and-bake me, like, slingshot ahead,” Hoenig said. “It was a close one.”
After Doherty (+39.6) and Pastore (+41.6), Cal Deline of RM/SSC Vail finished sixth (+1:07.4). Jackson Hill (RM/Summit Nordic) was seventh, Max Scrimgeour (RM/Steamboat Springs) was eighth, Patrick McElravey (FW/Auburn) was ninth and Christian Shanley (RM/SSC Vail) was 10th.
J1 boys 10 k freestyle mass start results
Audrey Mangan contributed reporting.
All 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of The Memory Clinic, in Bennington, Vt., committed to caring for the mind since 1987. Currently conducting clinical research on the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine.
MIDWAY, Utah — Not only did New England and Cambridge Sports Union sweep the top spots in both J1 sprints on Monday, the same high school can claim two new national champions. Corey Stock and Eli Hoenig, of Lincoln-Sudbury High School in Massachusettes, knocked off two of the first gold medals of the week in Soldier Hollow. Check out our video footage from the heats.
Sprint brackets (scroll through for J1s)
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/eli.hoenig.jpg" "Eli Hoenig")
All 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of The Memory Clinic, in Bennington, Vt., committed to caring for the mind since 1987. Currently conducting clinical research on the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine.
MIDWAY, Utah — Eli Hoenig (New England/Cambridge Sports Union) knows how to make himself hurt.
He got off to a fast start and skied in front as the A-final pack moved up the first hill.
By the time he group came within sight of the finish line, Hoenig trailed teammate Paddy Caldwell (NE/SMS). But Hoenig didn’t doubt the speed in his double pole as he gained on Caldwell, who was striding down the straightaway
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1sprint.podium.jpg" "The J1 boys' sprint podium. Hoenig (1), Caldwell (2) and Morgan (3).")
Inch by inch, Hoenig pulled ahead, and won by a slim 0.63 seconds. After crossing the line and managing to congratulate Caldwell on his race, his stomach protested to the ordeal of skiing four all-out sprints in one day and emptied itself in the finish pen.
“I don’t know, maybe it was something I ate, or I just went really hard,” said Hoenig once he’d recovered. “I feel great mentally—physically I’m kind of down in the dumps.”
It would be unsurprising if Hoenig’s finish line discomfort were simply a matter of exerting himself beyond his limit. His father confirmed in the finish area that it wasn’t the first time his son’s lunch had ended up on the snow after a race.
Hoenig and Caldwell’s battle left the rest of the J1 boys’ final a full 11 seconds back from the winning time. Cole Morgan (Intermountain/Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) took the bronze medal, Nick St. Clair (Pacific Northwest/Bend Endurance Academy) took fourth, Zach Goldberg (Midwest/Minnesota Valley) finished fifth and Harris Dirnberger (MW/Central Cross Country JDP) was sixth.
Stock Knocks off Another National Title
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/stock.j1sprint.win_.jpg" "Corey Stock (NE/CSU) raising her arms in triumph after winning the classic sprint at Junior Nationals on Monday.")
As junior skiers grow through the age-class ranks, there are certain names that routinely pop up near the top of results at Junior Nationals. Corey Stock’s (New England/Cambridge Sports Union) is one such name. But she isn’t simply fast; she consistently performs at the very top of her game when it counts the most, destroying her competition.
Monday’s classic sprint at Soldier Hollow was no exception. After posting the fastest qualifier that morning, Stock went on to win the J1 final 4.36 seconds ahead of Jesse Knori (Intermountain/SVSEF). She opened an early lead and never let up.
“I was trying to just go all-out from the beginning and open a gap early,” said Stock after her win. “There are big hills in the beginning, and hills are probably my strong suit.”
A solid double-pole was also crucial to surviving the sprint. As the sun warmed the snow to well above 40 F, the course became soft and slow. The J1 girls’ were some of the last heats to go off, and featured with the worst of it. For the finals, the weather changed its mind again, and cloud cover began to cool the tracks back down.
“It was definitely pretty slow and sluggish in the [heats], but it’s good practice to learn to change it up in the different conditions,” said Stock.
The Lincoln-Sudbury senior doesn’t take each new win lightly; her triumphant fist pump as she crossed the line could easily have been in celebration of her first national title.
“It feels really nice—to be skiing against all these awesome athletes back in the U.S.,” said Stock, who was in Erzurum, Turkey at the end of February for her first World Junior Championships.
Behind Stock, Knori claimed the runner-up spot in front of third finisher Mary O’Connell (Rocky Mountain/Steamboat Springs WSC). Heather Mooney (NE/Stratton Mountain School) was fourth, Lucy Newman (RM/SSWSC) finished fifth and Emily Hannah (RM/SSWSC).
Qualifier results (scroll for J1 girls)
Overall sprint results (scroll for J1 girls)
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/03/j1.girls_.sprint.podium.jpg" "The J1 girls' sprint podium: Stock (1), Knori (2) and O'Connell (3).")
