On October 17th a group of 14 Eastern Jumpers and Combiners (pronounced KOM-bine-erz) left airports in Boston and Albany to meet up in Minneapolis and proceed north to Coleraine for the Summer Junior Nationals. They were led by team leader Marianne Fairall and coaches Larry Stone and John Swanson. Skiers from Lake Placid were joined by a group from Andover and the Lebanon Outing Club. Training and competing on the Coleraine K70 is always a good opportunity for serious progress for all our skiers but especially the younger skiers who rarely get the chance to train on a hill in this size range. As usual, Mark Johnson and the Itascan Ski & Outing Club put on a great event and our Easterners had not only good training but also outstanding competition results. The Junior 2 Class was our showpiece with Andrew Baker notching his first win in a significant comp and Willy Graves right behind him in 2nd place. Kyle Kessler from Central scored third with a touch and Matt Delaney, Nick Fairall, Robbie Goodwin, and David McCahill grabbed the rest of the top 7 spots. The Andover Air Force was led by Nick Fairall's 5th place. Pete Freire and Chris Lamb placed 9th and 11th, Sean Kaulbach in 20th. Ten year old Fuzzy Bliss served notice of things to come jumping very well for 13th place and Peter Roland was right behind him in 17th. In the J-1 class Marshall Ambrose fresh from his Alaskan Summer jumped to 2nd place behind Central's Dave Edlund with Ryan Nicholson in 4th. In a very tough Senior field dominated by Jim and Jeff Denney in 1st and 3rd, and Glynn Pederson in 2nd, was Steve McNeill - looking good with his customary awesome landings and great attitude, placing sixth. This was a great showing and super progress for the Eastern group on the sweet flying Coleraine hill. It once again demonstrates the need for a summer facility in this size range in the East. This user-friendly facility gave the younger skiers a good chance to work on their flying skills without the inherent worries of skiing a K90. John Swanson did a good job helping coach the flyers and will take this experience back to share with his Salisbury club. The real hero of the trip was Marianne Fairall (Team Leader Extraordinaire). The athletes and coaches all appreciated her work in setting up the trip and the fantastic meals she prepared for this voracious group every day. Thanks, Marianne! This trip concluded Eastern Summer training for this year and our group went home to prepare for the next phase: Olympic Winter Season 2002. Think Snow!!!
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The Eastern gang in Coleraine (as serious as they ever get)
Flaming Leaves 2001 was a good event for Eastern ski jumping. With 44 skiers competing from IMD, RMD, Central and East, Casey Colby showed he was back with a decisive win over Eastern Teammate Taylor Hoffman and Hartman Rector third. With Logan Gerber fourth, Carl Van Loan fifth, Jeff Denny and Brendan Doran in 6th and 7th , respectively, the field was strong. Hoffman had the first round's longest jump with a 92 meter ride, but Casey's 99 meter second round effort gave him an 18 point victory over a resurgent Hoffman. It was a good performance by both Lake Placid natives, both skiers bringing out the best in each other. In the Junior Class the East also had a good day with Brian Welch notching the win with jumps of 93 and 90 meters. Tim Nelson, IMD was second and Jonathon Kling solidly third. The win for Welch also resulted in the NSA Senior being named to the National Development Team by USSTCoach Matt Terwillegar. Jessica Jerome, IMD also had two jumps over 90 meters for the win in the Women's Class over her Park City Teammate Lindsey Van and Veronica Myhra third. The annual NYSEF Golf Ball Roll and Eastern silent auction were successful and two Bluegrass Bands added atmosphere to the festivities. Next year, rumor has it that more bands might be added starting a new tradition for the popular Fall Jumping Meet. Congratulations to ORDA, NYSEF and Eastern Skiing for putting on a top level event.
2002 Eastern Elite Team Named
The 2002 Eastern Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Elite Team has been named based upon results from the Summer 2001 competitions and training. The Elite Team Special Jumping has added a Senior Team. The 2002 Senior Team includes Casey Colby, Taylor Hoffman and Chris Decker. The Junior Jumping Elite Team named Jonathan Kling, Andrew Baker and Evan Bliss. Brian Welch was also named but then moved up to the USST Development Team. The Nordic Combined Elite Team members are Matt Delaney, Marshall Ambros and Willy Graves. The Elite Team skiers receive Adidas warm-ups, Uvex Helmets. The Nordic Combine skiers also received Briko eyewear for their cross country skiing. The Elite Team status recognizes and rewards these top Eastern Nordic athletes for their accomplishments and will provide them accelerated training and competition opportunities. CONGRATULATIONS!
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