This year, Jesuit’s ski season has looked a little different.
Due to the lack of snow, the team has had two in season races canceled and one preseason game canceled. As of right now, these races aren’t going to be rescheduled.
“I don’t know if they’re planning to reschedule, frankly, because that bumps into spring sports. So they’re going to probably keep it as is, with maybe doing some double headers on weekends, dry land coach Mr. Sven Shoultz said.
Senior Helena Johnson agrees, and is worried about the rest of the races coming up.
“Currently, we don’t know how our season will look. Every race is kind of a maybe right now. Our State race venue, Hoodoo mountain, has already fallen through and we are looking for a replacement right now. To be honest the season might be cancelled completely, it’s not likely, but if these conditions continue, then it might be a possibility,” she said.
Although races have been canceled and there’s a lack of snow on the mountain, the season has gone well overall.
“Our season has been a struggle because not a lot of snow is on the mountain. It’s difficult to get up and train and be able to get that space, because the lack of snow has really limited the area we have to train. But despite all the struggles, our girls team is holding up well, and our boys team is currently fifth, tied right behind third. So I think if we do good this weekend, then we can maybe jump to third and then qualify for state. And then the girls, I think they just have to finish the rest of the races to qualify for state,” sophomore Xavier Crespo said.
Shoultz has noticed a difference in the motivation of the team, and has worked to keep morale high.
“This year has been really hard for the seniors, so motivation is definitely low, and we’ve got a lot of underclassmen on the team who’ve been disappointed [with the lack of snow]. However, I would say that, paired with me and the limited seniors and juniors we have, I think we’ve done a good job of keeping the group motivated. They’ve kept a pretty good morale and have continued to practice really hard,” he said.
The lack of snow has cut training time short for the skiers, making practicing for races extremely difficult.
“I think the lack of snow has really limited us from training. It made us be forced to free ski, and not ski as much as we’re supposed to. We should’ve started the first week of December, but we ended up starting the first week or second week of January. So our training time has been cut short, and we’re doing everything we can do to be on the mountain, where the snow is saturated and tracked out,” Crespo said.
Shoultz has tried to keep the season as normal as possible for the athletes.
“I’ve kept my regiment as normal as possible, even if they don’t like it. We’re still out there sprinting and still weight lifting, we’re trying to get ready and be our best version of ourselves for any hypothetical upcoming competitions,” he said.
Still, the ski team is enjoying their season and working towards the state race.
“Working towards state this year has looked a lot different because of some difficult conditions, but we have just been continuing to get up as often as possible, sometimes even on weekends. Honestly, whenever we can get a course we all jump at the opportunity to train,” Johnson said.
Their next races are this Saturday and Sunday at Mt. Hood Meadows.
