For the ski team, the regional race usually serves as a measuring stick for the team to end its season. But for junior captain Brian Bresee, the Eastern Regional Championships from Feb. 20−21 at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire were simply another stepping stone.
With impressive runs in both the slalom on Feb. 20 and the giant slalom on Feb. 21, Bresee finished 15th individually and qualified for Nationals next weekend. It will be his first time competing at that level. For Bresee, who had struggled down the stretch in the team events in prior weeks, the performance was quite a relief. He had failed to finish three of his last four races and knew there was no room for error going into the weekend.
"It definitely crossed my mind," Bresee said. "But you always have some races where you fall. I wasn't too worried about it and tried to not let it affect me."
Bresee wasted no time getting off to a good start. In the first run of Saturday's event, he recorded a 45.27, putting him in a comfortable 11th place position.
"Starting off with slalom was good because it's always my stronger event," Bresee said. "The biggest part of both races this weekend was simply to finish both of them, but the slalom definitely had me feeling good."
Bresee, however, stumbled a bit in the second run of the day, and with most competitors putting up better times than their first by almost a second, he was forced to settle for a time of 45.76. He dropped to 14th place, but was still in good position going into the second day of competition.
Sunday brought another day and a new event: the giant slalom. Bresee once again earned a strong position on his first run, and his 1:03.68 showing had him sitting in 17th place. But like on Saturday, his opponents became more familiar with the course and posted substantially better times in the second run. Unable to keep up with the competition, his 1:02.76 dropped him to 20th place on the day.
"After the first run on Sunday, I was definitely worrying about qualifying, and it started affecting my races a little bit," Bresee said.
His two races earned him a total of 29 individual points, which put him in a tie with Boston College senior John Ramer for 15th place. As the highest−placing skier on a team that did not qualify for nationals, Bresee was awarded the sole individual invite.
"On my second run, when I came down, I thought I got knocked out of the spot," Bresee said. "Another skier was only a couple of points behind me, and it wasn't until someone came down and told me that I knew I had qualified."
Bresee's performance was also integral to Tufts' success in the team competition. He was the Jumbos' best finisher on both days, though fellow junior Arlin Ladue finished second on the team in both events, taking 31st on Saturday and 30th on Sunday. For Ladue, who seemed to find his form late in the season, it was a very satisfying result.
"Personally, it always feels good to finish strong," Ladue said. "I thought I skied well both days, and it's always fun to do well on the last day of competition."
In the absence of injured junior Thomas Valentin, it was up to other team members to step up. Freshman Nathan Goldsberry closed out the team scoring for Tufts on Saturday with a strong 43rd−place finish in his first−ever race at Regionals. Senior Joseph Tonelli took 40th and was the last skier to count for the Jumbos' overall point total on Sunday.
Tufts finished with 15 team points on the weekend, tying the team with Worcester Polytechnic Institute for seventh in the region and second in the Thompson Division. The squad finished just outside of the top six, which are given team invites to nationals.
"It was a really positive thing that we could prove we are the second−best team in the division," Ladue said. "We feel we could have been right there with Castleton all season. The fact that we could compete with Tom out really says something about the strength of our team."
It was an encouraging result for Tufts, which, due to a series of bad breaks, had finished outside of the top two in the division for the first time since 2007.
"We were really looking for experience so that hopefully next year, with Brian, Tom and I all seniors, we can make a run for nationals," Ladue said.
But for Bresee, there is still more skiing to come. He will have a chance to compete in nationals at Thunder River in Maine this coming weekend.
"It is definitely a tougher field," Bresee said. "I have never been there, so I can't say exactly where I hope to place. If I can finish strong and do my best I will be happy no matter where I end up."
