by Jay Feinstein

Clashing outfits and crazy costumes clothed nordic skiers Wednesday as they walked into the Mass Bay East and Mass Bay West scrimmage race, one of the traditional last races of the season. Full of team spirit, these skiers were celebrating a successful season.

While having fun, members of both the boys’ and girls’ teams met their goals, despite struggling with unseasonably warm weather, said senior Abby Dalzell, a captain with seniors Tiphaine Kugener and Isabel Meigs. Dalzell dubbed the season “fantastic,” in general.

The girls’ team managed to beat long-time rival Dover-Sherborn in two out of five races, and the boys’ team came close to beating them, she said.

“Unfortunately, they won in the league, but we had more points then them, so we joke that we we won,” Dalzell said.

The squad had its fair share of struggles. There were many new members only first learning how to ski, and the boys’ team battled with their numbers, having less than half as many members as the girls’ team. However, according to Dalzell, the season ended up being a good one. “We meshed really well as a team–watching everyone on the team getting better was a highlight of the season.”

Dalzell attributes the positive season to perseverance. “We kept going, even through warm weather and bad conditions. It was tough to keep skiing in half-melted snow, but we did.”

The team is optimistic about the future. “We’ve been building stronger, much stronger than from when I joined the team,” Dalzell said. “I think they have a good chance next year. I think the teams might prevail and do even better than this year.”

Currently, skiers are looking forward to States, a meet which was previously scheduled for Valentine’s day, but was rescheduled to Friday, March 2, due to a lack of snow.

“Every single team in Massachusetts is going to be there, so it’s really exciting,” Dalzell said.