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Happy Friday, MAST Family! What a fantastic day for MAST at the Section Final on Wednesday! The sun was shining, and the slope was filled with an amazing crowd of spectators who cheered on our athletes with incredible energy. Though our teams didn’t quite reach their goal of advancing to the State race this year, it was still a day to remember, showcasing the hard work, determination, and sportsmanship that makes MAST racing so special. On an individual note, we are thrilled to announce that three of our racers will be moving on to compete at the State race at Giant’s Ridge! Congratulations to Washburn’s Sam Moore for earning 14th place and Southwest’s Lucy Renz and Lia Rulf for securing fantastic 5th and 8th place finishes! These athletes have shown exceptional skill and resilience all season long, and we can’t wait to see them race at the State level. While the day might not have gone exactly as planned for the team as a whole, it was a celebration of an amazing season, filled with progress and a ton of fun. If you weren’t able to witness Sections in person, there are a few ways to soak in the excitement of the day.
Coaches Corner Our last Supplemental Training on Saturday night was an adventure of sorts. Just as we started setting our training course, electrical power to half the ski area went out—the half we were training on. Wild Mt started a massive generator to power the lifts, but not enough to power the lights as well. Athletes got one run in a course on the race hill. For a short while we were under the impression that the ski area was going to close early so we called the bus back to the hill. Fortunately, we were allowed to move our course to a well-lit run on the other end of the ski area that had some nice pitch to it, and we succeeded in having a fantastic practice in spite of the initial interruption. Our athletes skied hard, and they skied extraordinarily well. For much of the night I was in the start, but toward the last half hour of the evening I dropped to the knoll and just watched them ski. I marveled at how good they had become at this difficult, unforgiving, yet exhilarating sport. Their technique was beautiful to watch. Their tactics spot on. They were fast, quick, agile, aggressive, fearless. They were ready to compete at the Section IV Championships. They had not let the confusion and delay at the beginning of practice derail their training or their effort. They adapted and they shined. I celebrated with a stop at the DQ in North Branch for a medium sized chocolate malt on the drive home, but don’t tell anyone. Wednesday brought us perfect race conditions. Electrical power was restored. The sun was shining. The snow was rock hard, but not icy. Our athletes looked great warming up. Their race day preparation was perfectly executed. But as we all know, our sport is unforgiving in the same way gymnastics or figure skating are unforgiving. One out of balance moment can de-rail a fantastic effort. This was, unfortunately, the case for several of our skiers on the first run. They skied the top half of the course with grace and speed, attacked the knoll, only to get tossed off track as they entered the last quarter of the course. There is no shame in failing to achieve a goal. You pick yourself up and learn from the mistake. This is just what our athletes did. They came out and skied great second runs and they did this from the back of the pack. For many of you, this was a great learning experience. Most athletes who go on to win the Section Championship had similar mishaps before claiming success. In fact, the two Hill-Murray girls who finished first and second on Wednesday both fell at last year’s Section IV Championships. One big highlight on the day was the number of girls who finished in the top thirty on the first run and made the flip. More remarkable is that for many, this was the first time they had ever competed in the Section Championships. Josie Bitney had the thrill of starting 1st on the second run after starting 63rd on the first. She finished 29th overall. Phoenix Ehlers started 3rd on the second run and finished 27th. Amelia Moertel started 6th and finished 22nd. Ella O’Connor started 9th and finished 25th and her MAST/Roosevelt teammate Violet Mueller started 12th and finished 26th. Lucy Renz and Lia Rulf dazzled on both their first and second runs, finishing fifth and eighth overall. Both qualified to compete on Tuesday at the State Alpine Championships. I want to recognize Stella Wedren who was the Washburn Girls alternate. She was called into duty the morning of the race and performed wonderfully, finishing 42nd overall. When team results were calculated, the Southwest girls finished 4th, the Washburn girls finished a very impressive fifth, and the MAST girls finished 10th. Well done girls. For the boys, our top finisher was Sam Moore who came in 14th overall. This was Sam’s first opportunity to ski in the Section Championships and he made the most of it. Sam will be joining Lia and Lucy at Giants Ridge on Tuesday. Finally, thank you to all of you who worked the race on Wednesday. MAST shines when it comes to providing volunteers at Section Championships. A special thank you to Dave Mueller who has been volunteering to serve on the course crew every year since 2013 if my calculations are correct. You are amazing Dave. If he had a dollar for every slip run he made over the years…. And thank you parents for the terrific support. I have to say, that was a fantastic lunch you provided and your cheering from the finish arena was noticeably loud from my perch on the knoll. You can listen for yourselves just by watching some of the clips from the race on Sprongo. In the end, it was a great day. As each of you came down the hill, I marveled at how much improvement you have made over the course of the year. If the results you hoped to achieve alluded you, I encourage you to take pride in all that you have accomplished this year. And if you are senior, I look forward to hearing the coaches singing your praises at the banquet. Thank you for your leadership, example, energy, enthusiasm and trust. You have enriched our team deeply with your spirit of goodness. -Mark *Complete Race Results are attached.  Lia Rulf ~ Sam Moore ~ Lucy Renz TOMORROW ~ Saturday, February 8 7:45 - 10:30 Practice - ALL Pods ***Don’t miss this! It’s our annual CRAZY COSTUME DAY and our last Saturday Morning training of the season. We look forward to seeing all kinds of creatures and characters skiing the courses on Saturday.  MOTHERSHIP’S MONTH-LONG MAST Promo!!! For in-house dining or takeout orders from Feb 6 through Mar 6, Mothership Pizza Paradise will donate 10% of all purchases as a donation to MAST! If you have yet to experience this amazing new place, now is the time! Customers just need to let the server know to add promo code MAST25 to their bill or to enter it online. HUGE THANKS to Carrie Erickson and Tommy Begnaud (Phoenix Ehlers)! When you see them, make sure to show your appreciation for their incredible generosity!!! Let’s eat!  SAVE THE DATE for our MAST Banquet - Sunday, March 23 - 5:00PM - 8:00PM! Join us to celebrate our amazing team and recap another fantastic MAST season at Annunciation Church. 509 W 54th St, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Invitation and details to come. Again, bravo to our stellar SECTIONS athletes, teammates, and spectators! Make sure to take a look at the upcoming Weekly Update for some team fun next week! COACHES and SUPPORT TEAM, Mpls Alpine Ski Team (Jen Peterson - Communications) Key Contacts if you have questions (preferred to replying to this e-mail): CORE PARENTS for each school (for questions about registration, season schedule, etc): Washburn/Page Erik Addy [email protected] 952-270-0934 Southwest/Anthony Bill Bray [email protected] 507-301-7109 MAST-All Other Schools Owen Moldow [email protected] 612-730-4818 COACHES (for questions about ski equipment, sizing, skiing instruction and technique). Head Coach Southwest/Anthony Boys Joel Hedrick [email protected] 612-716-3186 Head Coach Southwest/Anthony Girls Paige Alampi [email protected] 612-718-1440 Head Coach Washburn/Page Boys Matthew Polland [email protected] 612-220-1010 Head Coach Washburn/Page Girls Eleanor Goodnow [email protected] 612-723- 9559 Head Coach MAST Boys (All other Schools) Daniel Polland [email protected] 612-558-0526 Head Coach MAST Girls (All other Schools) Andréa Savage [email protected] 612-508-6214 FOLLOW MAST: MAST Facebook MAST Instagram
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