2008 Woodie Awards
Nordic qualifies two for nationals
John Waller
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Sports
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The accolades didn't stop there. Tracey Cote, head coach of the nordic teams, was named co-coach of the year, and Bailey was named to the All-East team. Bailey was still in shock from the news on Monday.
"Qualifying for the NCAAs has been a dream of mine since at least freshmen year," he said. "I've been an alternate the last two years, but now I'm going and I'm really excited, but I just can't really grasp it. It's almost as if I don't believe I'm going. It's a very weird feeling."
The weekend had its share of exciting races. In the men's 20-kilometer classic race, there was a massive crash early on around one of the downhill corners. Bailey was right in the thick of things and described the chaos.
"Bowdoin's top guy slid out on a corner and fell into a Williams guy," he said. "I was too close to them to have enough time to react and plowed into them. It was just around the corner, so nobody behind us could see what happened and then the next 20 guys plowed into us and went flying into the woods and stream on either side of the trial."
Bailey said it was the biggest crash he had ever been a part of and said that a Saint Lawrence University skier ended up with a three-inch gash full of carbon and fiberglass splinters and a broken rib.
Bailey damaged his skies in the crash but skied angry the rest of the way and passed 30 skiers to finish in 24th.
Briggs was tangled in the crash as well but got out clean and finished in seventh place; Kline was right behind him in eighth place. The top ten finish for both skiers solidified their spots on the NCAA list.
Colby finished third as a team behind the University of Vermont and Dartmouth College with strong performances from Austin Ross '08, Silas Gill '09 and John Swain '08.
In the 10-kilometer skate race, the Mules were sixth with strong races by Bailey, Kline and Briggs.
The women also had a strong weekend of racing led by Captain Kathleen Maynard `09, Mandy Ivey `10 and Jennie Brentrup `10.
In the 5-kilometer skate race, Maynard finished in 14th place, just fifteen seconds away from a top six finish, and Ivey was right on her heels in 18th. Brentrup put in one of her top finishes of the season with a 36th place finish, and as a team the Mules were eighth but only a few points shy of fourth place.
Maynard put in her second best classic finish of the season with a 12th place finish at the 15-kilometer mass start classic race. Ivey was 24th in the race and Brentrup was 38th, only a few seconds off her season's best. The women finished in sixth place as a team and were in striking distance of second place.
Kline and Bailey will head to Nationals next weekend in Jackson, N.H., and Briggs will head out to the Junior Olympics in Utah, where he's expected to finish near the front of the pack.
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