Nestled in the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains just over an hour north of Calgary, the Maine Winter Sports Center Biathlon Team has been training for the past 10 days in Canmore, Alberta. Skiing on a 2.5-kilometer loop of manmade snow, the team has spent their days getting used to being back on snow, testing new skis and ski grinds or structures and fine tuning their shooting skills.
Racing for the MWSC team are Bill Bowler of Wasau, Wisc., Russell Currier of Stockholm, Walt Shepard of Yarmouth, Eliot Neal of Wilson, Wyo., BethAnn Chamberlain of Caribou and Andrea Mayo of Wallagrass.
The racing season kicked off with a bit of a bite. After nearly two weeks of unusually warm conditions the athletes were greeted with high winds and some of the coldest temperatures they’ve seen this season thus far. With just over a three-kilometer loop of manmade snow in place, the course was hard packed and very fast.
Shepard placed fourth in the 10K competition. Hitting 8 of his 10 shots, Shepard was locked in a tight battle as places three through eight all shot the same. Shepard’s final loop was a strong one as he placed four seconds in front of Canada’s Tyson Smith and was only 11 seconds from the podium.
Currier placed ninth with three penalties. Bowler kick started the season by wearing bib number 1. Bowler had just one penalty in prone, but faltered in standing to place 14th.
Chamberlain had one of just a handful of clean stages in the women’s race, however four penalties in windy conditions during standing left her working a little harder the final loop. Chamberlain finished eighth overall. In the Youth Women’s race, Mayo was ninth with five penalties.
Shepard skied another strong race in the Pursuit competition. Hitting 13 of his 20 shots, Shepard dropped back to seventh place overall.
Entering the range in third place, Shepard had two shots miss their mark in his first shooting. Dropping back a few places, Shepard stayed just out of reach from the lead pack with five more misses in his final stages.
“My skiing wasn’t quite there today”, Shepard stated after the race. “I didn’t quite have the feeling today like I did yesterday. Nevertheless it has been a decent start to the season.”
Shepard’s teammate, Currier, also struggled with his shooting by hitting just 10 for 20 to place ninth.
“Russell skied very well today, he looked like his usual self on the course today, just flying out there,” commented MWSC Biathlon Coach Gary Colliander.
Neal joined the team after a few weeks of training in West Yellowstone, Mont.
In his first NorAm Cup of the season, Neal skied solidly and shot on par with the field. Missing just one in each of his prone stages Neal moved up into the top five. With two penalties in each of his two standing bouts, Neal slipped back to finish ninth overall.
The MWSC team will spend the rest of this week training in Canmore and will race Saturday in the second NorAm of the season.
