The EISA season has come to an end, however, two individuals worked hard this past weekend at the Bates Carnival to prove themselves the last EISA Skiers of the Week. Congratulations to Anna Bizyukova (UVM) and Callan Deline (DAR)! Both Bizyukova and Deline have succeeded this season in placing top 20 every Carnival and several top ten finishes.
Anna Bizyukova from UVM earned 7th place on Friday in the women's freestyle 5k and 3rd place on Saturday for the classic 15k. The course at Black Mountain was difficult on athlete's legs with a few long and steep hills throughout the course. The first portion of the loop featured rolling downhills but High School Hill quickly crept up on each skier as they completed the latter sections of the course. Bizyukova earned two first place finishes this year, one at her home UVM Carnival in the 15k classic race and again at the Dartmouth 3x5k relay with her teammates Lina Sutro and Margie Freed. Bizyukova is a strong classic skier and demonstrated this again on Saturday in another 15k race. Even though skiers knew the difficult course made completing three laps challenging, Bizyukova powered through and placed third out of 61 other female athletes. Great work Anna Bizyukova at the Bates Carnival and this 2019 season!
The male Skier of the Week goes to Callan Deline, a senior from Dartmouth College. Deline placed 7th in the men's 10k freestyle on Friday and 3rd on Saturday in the 20k classic race. Deline proved himself a talented nordic skier throughout past seasons and this year as he placed top 20 in all of the 2019 Carnivals with his best finish this Saturday. Deline did not race at the UVM Carnival, however he earned 7 top ten spots this year. His other three finishing places were 12th and 20th at the SLU Carnival and 11th at the Dartmouth Carnival. Deline is noticeably peaking as the NCAA Championships grow closer, making him a stand-out skier to watch for. Deline is a mentally and physically experienced skier who knows how to work transitions on tough courses like the one at Black Mountain this weekend, which can be seen in his amazing podium finish of Saturday. Congratulations to Callan Deline for skiing fast and earning Skier of the Week for the Bates Carnival!
The next races will be the NCAA Championships from March 6th-9th where Skiers of the Week will also be established. Congrats to Anna Bizyukova from UVM and Callan Deline from DAR for working hard and skiing well this weekend, let's see how the NCAA Championships go with skiers from all across America!