"I found a fossil." ~ Kelsey Chenoweth

After receiving the text, "I found a fossil," from Kelsey a few weeks ago, accompanied by the following picture:

I decided it was time to resurrect the blog. While I could sit here and write a novel about what the girls have been up to since November, I will just give you a look into what has been going on this season. We have a different look team this year with only three athletes. We had four, but a semi-final soccer game claimed the ACL of Katelyn O'Toole, ending her season before it began. The team, dubbed 3's Company, is comprised of Sandra Schoepke, Ingrid Klinkenberg, newcomer Ashley Houser, and (entering his 5th winter at MMSC) Michael Nigro.

They are a special group.

The girls started the season off with an extended trip to Copper Mountain, CO. They worked hard on fundamentals for two plus weeks of skiing on perfect Colorado snow. The girls returned home to be reintroduced to school and having to sit in class for half of the day. However, the race season started soon after that, so their time in the classroom would start to be reduced as their number of starts increased. The girls have raced a challenging schedule from Canadian FIS Sports Expert Super Series, Eastern FIS Open Series, FIS Eastern Cup Series, and Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association FIS University Series. They have been competing against the strongest girls in the Eastern Region and have held their own. As we move into late February and March, the girls will head into their Championship season, they will be skiing against competition that more aligns with their peer group. Hopefully, the first half of the season will have prepared them to be relaxed in their competitions as they will not see stronger fields than they have at Eastern Cups and FIS University races.

Here are some picture highlights from the season thus far.

Day 1 on snow in Colorado

Team picture with Lori.

Hero snow

Sports Psychologist Dr. Jim Taylor spoke to our group in Colorado.

Ashley's first time helping set. Ever.

3's Company in Canada

Start at Val St. Come, QC Canada.

Canada. Pretty.

Above the clouds at Stowe.

3's Company and special guest/blog inspiration/Bates Superstar, Kelsey Chenoweth

Fearless Leader, Igor Vanovac, standing proud of his trail.

MMSC/MMWA Legends Alita Rogers, Sophie Leiter, and Linley Shaw at the Middlebury Carnival.

It is my hope that the resurrection of the blog will not end here. The blog is alive and well!