WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- An influx of new talent, coupled with ongoing development of his returning athletes, has coach Nathan Alsobrook expecting a more competitive season ahead for the Whitman College cross country ski teams.
"We're excited about the talent and depth we've developed and added with both the men's and women's teams," Alsobrook says. "We still face a big challenge in trying to keep up with the NCAA Division I schools, but we might surprise some people this season. We're going to be more competitive than we've been in the past, especially on the men's side."
The Missionaries make their season debut this weekend with the University of Utah Invitational at Soldier Hollow, Utah. The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) season then continues Jan. 19-20 with the Montana State Invitational at Bohart Ranch, Mont.
Alsobrook plans to take five women and five men to each of the five RMISA weekend events. "Our travel teams could change from one weekend to the next," he says. "We have more intrasquad competition for the travel teams than weve ever had before."
RMISA, a collection of 10 western schools, will send 19 men and 19 women to the NCAA National Championships in March. Whitman is the only Division III school in a conference that also includes seven Division I and two Division II schools. Each school can qualify as many as three men and three women for the national championships.
"The depth of skiing in our conference is so strong," Alsobrook says. "Our skiers almost need to hit a few home runs in the qualifying races to have a good chance to qualify."
Although the Whitman women's team lost NCAA All-American Laura Valaas to graduation last spring, it returns one skier with national championship experience. Emma Lohr, a senior captain from Anchorage, Alaska, qualified for nationals as a sophomore but then missed last season while studying in Norway.
"Emma's sophomore season was a real breakthrough for her," Alsobrook says. "She had great results during the season, qualified for nationals and then had some respectable races there. She obviously has a very strong background in training and racing. She's a bit rusty after missing last season, but what's positive about that is that she should get faster with each each race this season. Right now, I'd say Emma is our No. 2 skier among the women, but there are others breathing right down her neck."
Devon Spika, a first-year skier from Ontario, Canada, figures to be the best skier on the women's team. "It was clear from the start of our training this fall that Devon has excellent technique and is a very talented skier," Alsobrook says. "She's very motivated, and she's a very smooth, graceful skier. I think she's ready to be competitive at this level from day one.
Spika, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, spent part of her high school years in Denmark, where her parents were working. "She was able to do a lot of serious ski training while she was in Denmark, and she was very successful at it," Alsobrook says. "She spent all of last year at a ski gymnasium in Norway, where she was surrounded by top quality coaches and outstanding skiers. She made skiing her central focus last year, and she benefited tremendously from her time in Norway."
Others with an inside track on the travel squad are sophomore Lindsay Records (Boulder, Colo.), first-year competitor Marcella Dent (Anchorage, Alaska) and senior Emma Catmur (Crested Butte, Colo.).
"Lindsay gained a lot of valuable experience with us last season, and she's skiing quite well right now," Alsobrook says. "She ran cross country this fall, improved steadily throughout the season, and was running fast by the end of the season. Her running season gave her a nice boost, and she's been really solid in all of our dryland fitness testing and a few time trials we've had on snow. Lindsay has a good feel for ski technique, and she's one of our best athletes.
Dent worked her way into travel team considerations as a walk-on athlete. "Marcella contacted me in the spring and said she wanted to be on the team," Alsobrook says. "My expectation was that she was someone who would focus this season on qualifying for the Junior National Championships. She can still do that, but as an added bonus, we're going to see how she does in the college racing. She's been a very pleasant surprise. She's a very smooth technical skier, and she trained hard all summer and fall."
Catmur, who raced her first year at Whitman, was injured as a sophomore and then missed her junior season while studying in Argentina. "Emma also ran cross country in the fall and has maintained a strong fitness base," Alsobrook says. "She's one of the most fit athletes on the team. She's a very experienced skier, and we expect she'll have some good races this season, especially in the freestyle events."
Others on the women's team this year are sophomore Whitney Heyvaert (Maple Plain, Minn.) and first-year skiers Liz Forbes (Burlington, Vt.), Kelsi Evans (Fairbanks, Alaska), Adele Mery (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Holly Bailey (Bend, Ore.).
"Liz is someone else who is right there, knocking on the travel squad door," Alsobrook says. "Both Liz and Kelsi played on the soccer team last fall, but both are talented skiers. Kelsi is an experienced skier who qualified for Junior Nationals as a high school senior and then took last year off to study in Europe."
Heyvaert, after competing on the travel squad last season, might focus this winter on qualifying for Junior Nationals, which is for skiers 19 years of age and younger. "Whitney has made good improvements with her skiing and has been very dedicated with her training," Alsobrook says. "Her fitness and technique are better this season. She's going to have some good races."
Bailey will also focus on Junior Nationals, Alsobrook says. "Holly went to Junior Nationals for the first time last winter as a high school senior, and she's looking forward to going back."
Mery plans to compete in the Junior Nationals qualifying races, primarily as a way to work herself back into competitive shape, Alsbrook says. "Adele had some great results in high school, but she's been battling health problems this fall. She's rebuilding her fitness base, and she has the potential to be a very good college skier."
Junior Nationals, scheduled for March in Utah, is a "great opportunity for the youngest college skiers to make the transition between high school and college skiing," Alsobrook says. "It's important for young college skiers not on their travel teams to have a secondary focus. It's possible that we could qualify a handful of our skiers this year."
The qualifying process for Junior Nationals includes a series of six races over three weekends later this month. The races are in held in Bend, Spokane and Methow Valley.
Senior captain Charlie Erdman (Williston, Vt.) returns to anchor the Missionary men's squad this season. "Charlie trained harder this summer and fall than he ever has before," Alsobrook says. "He's a great natural athlete, and he's really focused on improving his ski technique.
"Charlie was disappointed with his season last year, so he's very motivated to come back strong this winter," Alsobrook says. "He also has been a great team leader in terms of helping organize practices. He works hard to set the right tone and keep all the athletes on the right track."
Junior Loren Schmidt (Fairbanks, Alaska) and freshman Warren McDermott (Rochester, N.Y.) figure to be the top two skiers on the men's team.
"Loren was our top skier in the freestyle events last winter, and he had our best results overall," Alsobrook says. "He made some breakthroughs last season, and he's a very intelligent athlete who has started to grasp the finer points of both training and ski technique."
As part of a study abroad experience, Schmidt spent this past summer and fall in New Zealand, where the difference in seasons allowed him to train on snow for a full two months.
"Spending that extra time on snow is invaluable for a skier," Alsobrook says. "When he came back in November, you could see a remarkable improvement in his skiing. He looks much more athletic and powerful on his skis. He's cleaned up a lot of the small technical issues that were dragging down his skiing last season. I'm 100 percent positive he's going to have some big races this winter. Freestyle is his best event, but he's also made improvements in his classic technique."
McDermott quickly established himself as one of the team's top skiers this fall, Alsobrook says. "Warren has been our top guy in all of our fitness training, all of our dryland training and our two time trials on snow. He's separated himself a little bit from most of the team."
As a high school athlete in upstate New York, McDermott had relatively little access to snow. "Warren keeps improving by leaps and bounds with every minute he spends on snow," Alsobrook says. "It's exciting to see him skiing as fast as he is, knowing that he's still playing catch-up. He asks a lot of questions and jumps on every bit of technique to make himself better."
Next in line for the men's travel team are two juniors, Robert Marcotte (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Davis Taylor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.).
"Robert was our top classic skier last season," Alsobrook says. "His fitness, strength and technique have all improved. He's just a better all-around skier than he was a year ago."
Meanwhile, Taylor committed to a full-time, dryland training program this past summer for the first time, Alsobrook notes. "For skiing at this level, having that summer fitness base is essential, and now that Davis has started to train more seriously, it's obvious he has a lot of natural ability. He's very focused on technique, and he has a very good sense of what adjustments he needs to make. He held his own last year with other skiers on the travel team, and he's continuing to move forward."
Jack Straus, a freshman from New Canaan, Ct., is also poised to earn travel team consideration in the weeks ahead. "Jack honed his ski skills at the same private academy (Holderness School, New Plymouth, N.H.) that Charlie Erdman, our team captain, attended," Alsobrook says. "You can tell that both Jack and Charlie benefited from being a part of a very good ski program during their high school years. In terms of ability, Jack is right there with others on our travel team.
Bailey Arend, a freshman from Anchorage, Alaska, is the seventh member of the Missionary men's team. "Bailey is still relatively new to the sport, so he's learning a lot every day," Alsobrook says. "As a walk-on skier, his main focus this season is to try to qualify for Junior Nationals. But he's talented and has the potential to make our varsity travel team in the future."
"There's no doubt that this is the best men's team Whitman has had in years," Alsobrook says. "We have a handful of guys right now who are skiing at a higher level than anyone on the team last year. I'm certain that we now stack up reasonably well against teams at any of the Division III ski programs back East."
The fact that Whitman competes in a Western ski conference dominated by NCAA Division I schools is not necessarily a negative, Alsobrook says. "It makes it very challenging for us to compete against schools that give athletic scholarships and recruit elite athletes from all over the world. At the same time, I'm positive our skiers improve more because they are competing against such high caliber athletes. Every single skier you beat in our conference is a very good skier."
Alsobrook, in his second season as Whitman's head coach, is assisted by Malcolm Dunn and Shannon Gilmore. Dunn is Whitman's head cross country running coach. Gilmore, Alsobrook's spouse, also works as an administrative assistant in Whitman's Grants and Fellowships Office.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902;
holden@whitman.edu