Nordic coach Kaitlyn Lindaman said the team skied really well despite the icy course conditions. Due to these conditions, the skiers had to use their poles to propel them forward instead of a skiing motion.

“I know there were some nerves going into the race because the conditions are obviously not ideal, but Elm Creek is a relatively flat course with a few hills,” Lindaman said. “I think while double poling might not be everyone’s strongest or most favorite thing to do, there was a lot of improvement there and people showed how strong they were doing that.”

According to sophomore Ivy Houts, the conditions forced the skiers to focus on double poling during the race as opposed to classic ski technique.

“Because the snow is really bad, we were just double poling the whole time and we didn’t really get any other technique in the race,” Houts said. “It’s super fast and the course is really flat, so you can’t stride because it won’t make you go faster.”

Lindaman said double poling can get tiring and repetitive for skiers, so she told the team to focus on switching up their pace.

“With these conditions (where) you need to double pole, you don’t want to get stuck in a long rut of going a slow cadence, so on the course I was telling people to take a few quick steps. Everyone looked really good going up the hill that I saw,” Lindaman said.

According to senior captain Emmett Foner, the fact that the majority of the race was double poling was beneficial to some skiers, while detrimental to others.

“I think it went really well. We had a couple of people do really well, a couple people weren’t so happy about the race, so there’s kind of mixed feelings. I did good, better than usual, so I’m happy,” Foner said.

Lindaman said Houts’ performance stood out at this meet as she did well at passing people.

“I think Cece looked really good, she always does. I also think Ivy was moving up and passed a lot of people throughout the race, so I’m excited (with) where she fell in the race,” Lindaman said.

According to Foner, the Nordic team has a winter ski trip in northern Minnesota to look forward to over break.

“We’re doing the winter trip, which is over winter break and that’ll be really fun because it’s a lot of skiing,” Foner said. “We do like 50k a day. It’s just skiing all day, but it’s more about the team bonding honestly. We’re not out there busting ourselves, we’re just having fun.”

Houts said the distance training and multiple practices over winter break help to keep the team conditioned and focused moving into the rest of their season.

“It’s really important because otherwise you get out of the rhythm and then once you come back, you’re slower than you could’ve been,” Houts said.

The next Nordic meet will be a classic race at 3:45 p.m. Jan. 3at Elm Creek Park Reserve.