Maddie Morgan: Thank you, El Niño!

I know I know, I've been terrible about updating my blog this season. Soooooo much has happened since the last time I wrote a post, I don't even know where to begin.

The boys (and Sarah) of WNSA

Some sunny February skiing at SoHo

First, Team Wasatch and I have officially made it through all of the Junior National qualifiers and with our results, 5 out of the 8 skiers on my team will be representing IMD at nationals in Cable, Wisconsin.

Next, I think it's pretty fair to say that this season has been one of the best one's that Utah has ever seen. We have had snow all winter long and it only keeps getting better. Right now, the crust skiing is absolutely amazing. My team and I have been driving over to Soldier Hollow for the past few days to enjoy the endless amounts of trails that it provides, and aside from that, it has the best crust skiing.

So proud of my U16 teammates

February 24, 2016

The final Wasatch Citizen Series race of the season

Now for some race updates. Our first qualifier was in Boise, Idaho where we raced in two distance races. The trails were amazing and they actually had a surprisingly large amount of snow. Lina made us all proud with a 2nd place in the skate 5k on the second day and everyone else finished top 10. After that we had two weeks off before the Soldier Hollow Super Qualifier but in between those two races, some of my teammates skied in the Wasatch Citizen Series race.

Soldier Hollow brought many surprises. On the first day of racing, which was a classic sprint, every girl on the team qualified for the heats. This was one of my best days ever. I qualified 2nd, finished 1st in my quarter, 2nd in my semi, and placed 3rd overall in the A final. It was the first time that I had ever gotten to stand on the podium and I couldn't have been happier to stand up there with Leah Lange and Hannah Halvorsen (two incredibly speedy girls). Anyways, the next day I think the snow Gods wanted to test us with a little bit of hell because once my race started it was a full on blizzard. It was too snowy to race without glasses because the instant you did, snow would pelt your eyes and blind you. Racing with glasses was also impossible because the snow stuck, so with each moving minute the trail became harder and harder to see...Overall though, Soldier Hollow presented Team Wasatch with some stellar racing.

The last of the IMD qualifiers was in Bozeman, Montana. The conditions were quite different from SoHo due to the lack of snow in Bozeman. We traveled up early because the drive took 7.5 hours and we wanted to get some prime thrift shopping in before the weekend of racing took off. We have our priorities in order, I know. But back to the races. The crew in Bozeman actually did an AMAZING job of keeping the race course in prime condition for the JNQ. They worked hard to make sure that we had a 5k course and a sprint course to race on. The first day of racing was skate sprints (my favorite). The day started off sunny with some clouds in the sky but by the time the qualifiers rolled around it was a flurry of sideways blowing snow. Another SoHo situation, the snow clung on to your glasses...But we persevered! THIS WAS OUR BEST SPRINT QUALIFIER EVER. Everyone that was representing WNSA qualified for the heats. Lina, Sarah, Jenae, Savanna, Logan, Aidan, and me. Everyone! The finals turned up some fantastic results for us as well. Savanna podiumed with a 3rd place and so did I! After a celebratory afternoon in Bozeman, we rested up and prepared for the classic distance races the next morning. I am typically not the best distance skier and classic is even harder for me, so I was a little worried about how the next day was going to play out. They also didn't have enough snow to fully warmup on so I had to do a bit of running. But it was alright! Bill insists that we run no matter the season and in that moment I understood why.

Savanna racing her way to the finish in the classic 5k

Alright, so the race was kicking off and I was standing in the chevron waiting just like all of the other U18/U20 girls. My heart was pounding out of my chest and then before I knew it, we were off. Right from the start I got a very good placement. I lined myself up behind Leah and followed behind her for the first lap. Coming into the second lap, Leah dropped me but I just kept on skiing. I couldn't really feel my limbs at that point, probably because they were in so much pain, but I do remember thinking, "holy sh!t, you're doin' this! You're racing a 10k and you're doin' it!" I had all of the support in the world alongside that course, my teammates, my family, but most of all, my amazing coach. Whenever possible, Bill was there, cheering me up the hills and giving me coach-like advice. My lungs were burning but he kept reminding me why I was out there, killing my body on that race course.

(Before I finish this I want to give a HUGE thanks to Bill. He is the most wonderful coach in the whole entire world. His passion for the sport is what inspires me everyday and is what encourages me to ski my absolute best. If anyone is out there on the course working harder than the racers, it's Bill. I don't think that there has ever been a moment where I didn't see a huge smile on his face. He is always proud of our accomplishments, no matter how big or how small they are. He loves the sport more than anyone I've ever met and I am so thankful that he gets to share that with my team and me.)

No picture could capture the moment better. Thank you for the photo, Ari!

Aaannnndddd before I knew it, I was up the last herringbone hill and I was into the finish, in 2nd! I had finally proven to myself that I can be a distance skier. It was the best weekend of my life.