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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.

Tag: elizabeth simak

  • Midwest, Rocky Mountain Girls Top OJ/J1 Relays at Junior Nationals

    Midwest, Rocky Mountain Girls Top OJ/J1 Relays at Junior Nationals

    Elizabeth Simak (right) finishes first in the OJ/J1 girls 3×3 k relay on Saturday to give the Midwest the OJ victory at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Emily Hannah (left) as the first J1 anchored Rocky Mountain's winning relay.

    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 – There’s something about racing for others that makes pain more tolerable.

    Elizabeth Simak and the girls from the Midwest found it on Saturday as they stayed in contention and sealed the OJ 3×3-kilometer freestyle relay victory at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals. She and her teammates, Sharmila Ahmed (Go Training) and Alice Flanders (Sisu Ski Club), combined for the winning time of 20:01.1.

    Third at the handoff, Simak (F.A.S.T. Performance Training) powered through the rolling course at Soldier Hollow and caught the leaders, Rachel Hall (New England/Middlebury) and Emily Hannah (Rocky Mountain/Steamboat Springs), on the final hill.

    OJ girls 3×3 k freestyle relay podium at 2012 Junior Nationals. 1. Midwest (center), 2. New England (left), 3. Alaska (right)

    It was the longest, steepest one of all, and the OJ girls had already raced up it four times this week.

    Although Hannah was a J1 and contending for a different podium, Simak had to pass Hall if she wanted to win. After placing second in the freestyle mass start, third in the 10 k classic and fourth in the classic sprint earlier in the week, that’s probably what Simak was hungry for.

    She also had her team to race for.

    “I felt like, if things didn’t go right, I would have felt really bad for my teammates,” Simak said. “They put so much hard work into it.”

    Simak posted the fastest split of the OJ girls race in 6:31, beating Hall and New England (with Isabelle Pelletier and Mary Kate Cirelli) by 7.2 seconds. Alaska (with Kinsey Loan, Kimberly Delfrate, Annie Liotta)was third. Liotta as the anchor recorded the second-fastest time (6:33.5), and finished 11.9 seconds after Simak.

    Coming down the backside of Hermod’s Hill on a 50-degree day and curving into the stadium, Simak said she took everything in at her last Junior Nationals.

    2012 Junior Nationals
    New England OJ anchor Rachel Hall (Middlebury College) skates out of the exchange zone after receiving the tag from Isabelle Pelletier (Stratton Mountain School). New England ended up second to the Midwest in the 3×3 k relay on Saturday at the 2012 Junior Nationals.

    “The finishing stretch was so much fun,” she said. “With this gorgeous weather, you can’t help but feel good coming down that stretch.”

    The 19-year-old commented on how strong her team was – how they hung in the top five from the start with Ahmed as the scrambler.

    “I did best I could,” Ahmed said. “I stayed on my feet. Hermod’s was super fun. I was right with [Midwest teammate] Nicolette [Amber]. We pushed each other up it and it was amazing.”

    After Amber tagged off in first, the Midwest’s second team went on to place sixth in the OJ race.

    The second leg of the winning squad, Flanders brought her team from fifth to third.

    “I tried to get back up with lead, hold onto that and hopefully get in good position for anchor,” Flanders said. “Simak’s a really strong skier. We knew she could pull it together if she had the setup for it.”

    Note: A day after competing at the NCAA Championships in Bozeman, Mont., Joanne Reid of the University of Colorado/Auburn Ski Club anchored the Far West team to a fifth-place finish at Junior Nationals. Reid was 19th in the 15 k mass start on Friday.

     

    Rocky Mountain Girls Win J1 Title

    Finishing just 2.7 seconds after Simak, Hannah brought home the J1 victory for her Rocky Mountain teammates, Mary O’Connell (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club) and Rachel Hampton (Durango Nordic Ski Club).

    J1 girls freestyle relay podium at 2012 Junior Nationals: 1. Rocky Mountain (center), 2. Alaska (left), 3. New England (right)

    The three claimed the championship in 20:03.8. Alaska finished second (+5.1) with Teagan Yutrzenka, Sarah Freistone and Marion Woods. New England pulled off third (+6.1) with Heather Mooney, Olivia Meyerson and Corey Stock.

    Hampton skied the fastest second leg to bring her team from fifth to second, and Hannah kept up the pace to pass New England’s Hannah Benson for the victory.

    “Truthfully, my goal was to not let Corey catch me,” Hannah said of this year’s three-time individual champion with nine Junior Nationals titles total.

    Stock came out of the exchange zone in third and finished third.

    “Rather than try to catch people, I was trying to not be the rabbit and not get caught,” Hannah added. “But it worked out pretty nicely.”

    Hampton tried to stay patient while catching people, and said it wasn’t easy to sprint for 3 kilometers.

    “[Coming] down the downhill, all I could think about was giving Emily enough room,” she said. “I’m pretty sure this is the cherry on top of the week for all of us.”

    O’Connell said that while they were new to the course at Soldier Hollow, some 5,500 feet above sea level, they were well-conditioned for it. O’Connell trains at nearly 7,000 feet in Steamboat Springs.

    “Altitude helps,” she said.

    “This was basically an extended sprint,” Hannah added. “I love relays.”

    Complete 3×3 k freestyle relay results

    Audrey Mangan contributed reporting.

  • Talbot, Hall Notch Long-Awaited OJ Wins at Junior Nationals

    Talbot, Hall Notch Long-Awaited OJ Wins at Junior Nationals

    The OJ girls 5 k podium at 2012 Junior Nationals in Soldier Hollow on Friday: 1. Rachel Hall (NE/Middlebury), 2. Mary Kate Cirelli (NE/Green Mountain), 3. Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.)

    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 – Altitude, schmaltitude.

    That’s probably what the New England racers have been thinking all week, as the crew has won 11 of 18 races at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals.

    Rachel Hall of New England/Middlebury nears the top of Hermod's Hill at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, on Friday. Hall won the OJ girls 5 k classic individual start.

    Friday was no exception for those in the snowflake-speckled green and blue suits, racing higher than home at Soldier Hollow (nearly 5,500 feet above sea level). New England topped the podium in four of six classic individual starts, and its girls earned a championship in every age category.

    For Rachel Hall of Middlebury College, the OJ victory in the 5 k classic race was her first in four years at Junior Nationals. She placed third in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle mass start, which was a personal best at the time. Learning from that experience, she went for it on Friday.

    It didn’t matter that Hall typically trained at an elevation below 2,000 feet in southern Vermont. The 18-year-old knew she could handle one lap around Soldier Hollow.

    In a staggered start mixed with J1 racers, Hall was the fastest OJ around the modified Olympic course in 14:43.5. She edged New England teammate Mary Kate Cirelli (Green Mountain Valley School) by 6.2 seconds. Elizabeth Simak of the Midwest and F.A.S.T. Performance Training placed third (+9.5).

    “My skis were awesome,” Hall said. “I tried to ski fast over the tops of the hills and work the flats. Everything went well.”

    Aware of her lead based on splits around the course, Hall said she tried to ski relaxed and even took in the scenery, noting how beautiful it was.

    But when it came to the last hill, she put her head down and powered through the lengthy climb. Mentally, she had everything going for her. She felt good, was confident in her improved classic technique and loved the 5 k distance. Also, her lungs didn’t hurt as badly as in the 10 k.

    “I didn’t feel altitude as much,” she said. “It’s shorter. I think that helped New England.”

    On Monday, the team won five of six sprint finals.

    “It’s later in the week and we’ve been proving we’re still strong,” Hall said. “We’ve shown in distance races we have that top notch.”

    Also in the top 10: Felicia Gesior (GL/Northern Michigan) finished fourth, Sarah Cresap (AK/APU) was fifth, Annie Liotta (AK/Alaska Winter Stars) was sixth and Paige Schember (MW/F.A.S.T.) was seventh. Rachel Mason (GL/MTU) placed eighth, Nicolette Amber (MW/CXC) was ninth, and Hannah Boyer (AK/NSCF-FXC) was 10th.

    Talbot Wins 10 k

    Two days ago, Silas Talbot dogged it a little in the 15 k. The Dartmouth College freshman said he probably approached the mass start too conservatively and had to catch several people as a result.

    Dartmouth and New England skier Silas Talbot (l) passes Cal Deline (RM/SSC Vail) on his second and final lap in 10 k classic interval start at Junior Nationals on Friday. Talbot won the OJ race at Soldier Hollow.

    Fortunately, saving some for the end worked for the New Englander as he finished third in the mass start for his best-ever Junior Nationals result in five years. Talbot went two notches higher on Friday, winning the OJ boys 10 k classic race in 25:45.5.

    He beat Wednesday’s 15 k freestyle winner, Ben Saxton (Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club) by 20 seconds. After Saxton as the runner-up, Sam Reed (New England/University of New Hampshire) was third (+30.0).

    “That went really well,” Talbot said. “I decided to take it out hard. I had a really aggressive start up the first hill and kept going. The splits I was getting were good, and I ended up first.”

    After getting a taste for the podium on Wednesday, Talbot wanted more.

    “[I] wanted to get to that next level today,” he said. “I figured the way to do that was to start strong and control the race, hopefully not die.”

    With granulated conditions that held up despite 40-degree temperatures, Talbot said the snow was a little slower than on previous days, but was great for classic racing with several hard hills and enough places to recover.

    He went hard climbing out of the hollow and felt the burn the second time around. To keep up his tempo, Talbot said he focused on his rhythm and later held on while ascending the infamous Hermod’s Hill on the backside.

    After Talbot and Reed picked up two of the top three spots for New England, Rocky Mountain had three racers in the top 10. Mike Vigers (SSC Vail) led the way in fourth (+32.5), Tucker McCrerey (Summit) was seventh, and Charlie Von Thaden (Steamboat Springs) was ninth.

    Also in the top 10: Kevin Bolger (IM/Sun Valley) placed fifth, Austin Meng (FW/Auburn) was sixth, Alexander Mahoney (Canada/Rocky Mountain Racers) was eighth and Sawyer Kesselheim (IM/Bridger) finished 10th.

    OJ boys 10 k podium at Junior Nationals: 1. Silas Talbot (NE/Dartmouth), 2. Ben Saxton (MW/Minnesota), 3. Sam Reed (NE/UNH)

     Audrey Mangan contributed reporting.

    Complete results from Friday’s classic individual starts

  • Saxton, Ahmed Surprising OJ Winners at Junior Nationals

    Saxton, Ahmed Surprising OJ Winners at Junior Nationals

    Ben Saxton (l) of Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club edges Canadian Daviod Palmer (Black Jack) at the finish of the OJ 15 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, on Wednesday.

    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 – A lone Canadian more than 30 seconds ahead of the pack, Daviod Palmer seemed untouchable at some points of the OJ boys 15-kilometer race at the 2012 Cross Country Junior Nationals on Wednesday.

    Either that or just plain risky.

    Daviod Palmer (Canada/Black Jack) leading Wednesday's 15 k freestyle mass start, at least 30 seconds ahead of any OJ competitors. Palmer went on to place second after losing a sprint to the finish with Ben Saxton (MW/Minnesota).

    An 18-year-old from Black Jack Ski Club in Rossland, British Columbia, Palmer jumped out to an early lead in the freestyle mass start at Soldier Hollow, cruising ahead with at least 10 kilometers to go.

    Some might have wondered what he was doing. He had two laps left, and all that time to lose the lead.

    Meanwhile, Ben Saxton of the Midwest/Minnesota Valley Ski Club hung on with about seven others, trying to chase Palmer without blowing up. Saxton didn’t think Palmer was out of reach, and he proved he wasn’t on the last downhill before the finish.

    On the corner before the stadium, Saxton came up on Palmer’s heels. The Canadian must have felt it because the two sprinted down the straightaway, and Saxton threw himself over the line.

    When he picked his head up, Saxton realized he did it. He edged Palmer and won the OJ title outright.

    “I knew he was Canadian, but never want to win a race by default,” Saxton said after winning the photo finish by 0.3 seconds in 41:50.3. “I just went my hardest. It was a wicked race. I loved it.”

    Palmer said he had fun as well; he just didn’t have much left on the last climb.

    Ben Saxton (l) leads a chase group at the start of the last lap in the OJ 15 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow on Wednesday.

    “I just felt that it was time to pick up the pace on the second lap so I just went my own pace,” Palmer said. “I was getting pretty tired on that last hill, but it was super fun.”

    Saxton seized his opportunity on the long climb after taking most of the hills easy throughout the race. Recognizing his skis’ speed on the first lap, when he sped by the others on a major descent, Saxton reevaluated his game plan.

    “From then on, I tried to take it easy on the uphills and hammer down,” he said. “I knew I could make a move. I wasn’t expending a ton of energy up there.”

    Dartmouth freshman Silas Talbot finished third (+14.5) for New England after skiing outside the top 20 at the beginning of the race. He picked off competitors as he plugged along, eventually catching the chase group and challenging its contenders.

    “I knew I was going to take it out pretty conservatively and I maybe took it out a little too conservatively,” Talbot said after notching his first podium in five years at Junior Nationals. “[I] got dropped by the lead pack on the second lap and had to close that gap. … I just dug deep and pushed it over the top of the hill. Coming into the finish I just had that next gear and was able to kick it in.”

    Sawyer Kesselheim (IM/Bridger) came through in fourth (+19.2), and Tucker McCrerey (RM/Summit) was fifth (+29.7).

    Also in the top 10, Kyle Bratrud (MW/Minnesota) was sixth, Jordan Fields (NE/Woodstock) was seventh, Kevin Bolger (IM/Sun Valley) finished eighth, Austin Meng (FW/Auburn) was ninth and Alexander Mahoney (Canada/RMR) placed 10th.

    OJ boys 15 k freestyle mass start results

     

    Elizabeth Simak (l) and Sarmila Ahmed (second from left) lead at the beginning of the last lap in the OJ girls 10 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals on Wednesday.

    Ahmed Advances on Descent

    Elizabeth Simak came this close to locking up a Junior Nationals title. At least her teammate got it instead.

    Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.) at right leads a pack of OJ girls up Hermod's Hill, the last big climb of the 10 k freestyle mass start course at Junior Nationals on Wednesday.

    The OJ girls 10 k freestyle mass start might as well been a sprint given the way it turned out for the frontrunners. After Simak (Midwest/F.A.S.T. Performance Training) led for most of the two-lap race, she fell victim to her own exhaustion.

    “Coming around corner, I kind of freaked out on the hill,” she said of the steep and sweeping descent before the finish at Soldier Hollow. “My legs were so dead. I snapped my pole between my legs. A New England coach handed me a pole and my teammate blew by me.”

    Sharmila Ahmed (MW/Go Training) avoided her scrambling teammate and took the lead with a few hundred meters remaining. Fifth after the first loop, she had positioned herself in second on the final descent, and it made the difference.

    Ahmed won the OJ championship in the last race of the day in 32:18. Despite softening conditions with temperatures reaching the high 30s, Ahmed kept up her speed to win by 11.9 seconds. Simak recovered and finished second to put the Midwest in the top two.

    “I’ve never gotten a top ten in a distance race,” Simak said. “I really wanted to podium. I just got excited and went, just wanted to go my hardest. You know, it sucks not to win, but my teammate is a really good skier and I’m really happy for her.”

    Simak and Ahmed initially pulled away from the pack together at the beginning of the second lap. They figured they were already halfway done and could go harder.

    “We went for it then, kept switching off, talking to each other,” Ahmed said. “Over on the bridge, Simak pulled away. She was going for it; that was one of the best sprints I’ve ever seen.”

    Ahmed chased her teammate to the top of Hermod’s Hill. Although she said she was gaining on the downhill, Ahmed wasn’t sure what happened.

    Sharmila Ahmed (c) of Midwest/Go Training celebrates her OJ 10 k freestyle mass start at the 2012 Junior Nationals at Soldier Hollow. Elizabeth Simak (MW/F.A.S.T.) was second (l) and Rachel Hall (r) of NE/Middlebury was third.

    “I was really confused,” she said. “I don’t know, I just went. It’s crazy.”

    About four seconds after Simak crossed the line, Rachel Hall (NE/Middlebury) finished in third (+16.4) and immediately collapsed alongside Simak. The two had to be picked up and/or dragged away from where they fell just beyond the finish.

    Hall recovered soon after and was excited about her first podium in four years at Junior Nationals.

    “The lactate didn’t really hit you until the second lap so I just tried to gradually work into it so I didn’t explode,” Hall said.

    When the two leaders broke away, she helped set a manageable pace with her New England teammates Isabelle Pelletier (Stratton) and Mary Kate Cirelli (Green Mountain). Together, they formed a chase group, and Pelletier and Cirelli finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

    “I felt like I was catching number two, but not enough,” Hall said. “The finish was so slushy that it was hard to sprint to the end.”

    Also in the top 10, Emily Stitt (NE/Green Mountain) was sixth, Alice Flanders (MW/Sisu) was seventh, Paige Schember (MW/F.A.S.T.) was eighth, Claire Galvin (MW/Go Training) was ninth and Rachel Mason (GL/MTU) finished 10th.

    OJ girls 10 k freestyle mass start results

    Audrey Mangan contributed reporting.