In recent weeks, Nordic Skiing has come to the forefront of the Macalester community and turned into a rallying point for the student body against the administration. After the ski team was demoted from varsity status, there was an outcry against the Athletic Department for the way that the situation was handled. Lost in the wake of the situation was the fact that the team still had to complete the remainder of the season. Overshadowed by the administrative furor was the actual athletic aspect of the sport. The skiers still had to train for the most important meet of the season: the MIAC Championships.

The men’s and women’s Nordic ski teams returned to Graystone Trails Saturday, Feb. 21 and Sunday, Feb. 22 for their final meet of the year. The teams traveled to St. Cloud, Minn. to compete in what may be the last MIAC Skiing Championships. While the future of Nordic skiing at Macalester is relatively unknown, the current Scot skiers concluded the season with dignity and class. Amid all the added attention and activity of the past few weeks, and despite the controversy, the ski teams were able to perform well at the championships.

The weather conditions changed shortly before the start of the race. As a result of the unanticipated weather change, the skiers had applied what was ultimately the wrong type of wax for the snow. Led by strong efforts from Renee Schaefer ‘04 on the women’s side and Ari Ofsevit ‘06 on the men’s side, both teams were able to persevere and earn fourth-place finishes in the two-day, two-event competition. Schaefer, a senior in her final Macalester ski race, was proud of how the team was able to weather the storm and maintain its focus on skiing.

“We are a very strong-willed group of people and the last thing we wanted was to let the decision to cut the team affect our performance or our enjoyment of the sport in any way,” she said. “Sunday’s race was quite possibly the most brutal race I’ve ever skied in, but we rolled with the punches and made the best of the situation.”