RUMFORD — No more homework, no more books.
Nearly two years after wrapping up his All-America career at Bates College, Sylvan Ellefson has the freedom to focus on his first love.
“This is pretty much my job now,” Ellefson said Saturday, boots firmly planted within his element at the U.S. Nordic ski championships at Black Mountain.
That dearth of distractions paid dividends in the freestyle sprint, with Ellefson, 23, finishing fourth in the ‘B’ main — 10th overall — for his best-ever finish on the national stage.
Seeded a modest, ultimately lucky No. 13 after morning time trials, Ellefson was second by a nose to eventual silver medalist Simeon Hamilton in his quarterfinal race.
After a brief hiccup in the form of a last-place run in the semis, Ellefson beat two of his challengers in the consolation final.
“It was a great day. I’d never made the A or B final at nationals, so I couldn’t be happier,” said Ellefson, who was making his sixth appearance at the national showcase.
Ellefson represented Bates in four of those competitions. His experience with the Bobcats benefited him on multiple levels this week.
Although it is about an hour from campus, Black Mountain is Bates’ home trail. In addition to four years of training and home carnivals, Ellefson also competed in the 2009 NCAA championship here.
“I’m pretty excited to be back,“ Ellefson said. “I have the experience here. It’s a beautiful venue.”
Just don’t make the mistake of chalking up all of Ellefson’s Saturday success to home-course advantage.
“It’s a mixture of things,“ he said. “My fitness is way better. Obviously the experience of being in a sprint is a lot better than it used to be.”
Ellefson has returned home to Vail, Colo., a training haven for U.S. Ski Team hopefuls in the Nordic and Alpine disciplines, alike.
Thanks to the recent success of Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong in Nordic combined, cross-country skiing has gained stature in the United States.
It’s still far behind the national pastime status the sport enjoys in Europe. That could benefit Ellefson, currently on the developmental squad, as he eyes a spot on the 2014 Olympic team.
“There’s only four U.S. Ski Team members right now on the A and B team. It’s a small team. It’s a small sport in the U.S., but it’s definitely growing,” Ellefson said. “Obviously I think the U.S. is starting to contend a lot more in international competition. I’m here to help that out.”
While Ellefson has strong Maine ties, the only native to crack the top 30 in the men’s freestyle sprint was Farmington’s Welly Ramsey.
Ramsey, a Mt. Blue High School graduate now competing at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, qualified 22nd and finished fourth out of six racers in his heat to claim 18th overall.
The finish was a mild surprise to Ramsey, who fancies himself more of a distance racer.
“That’s a lot better than I could have hoped for,“ he said. “I could stay with them.”
Ramsey felt run down following two hard weeks of training. He scaled back the days between Christmas and New Year.
“This week’s kind of an enigma to me. Probably up until three days before the races, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull it together,“ Ramsey said. “Sometimes the cards fall your way.”
Now comes the college season. UMPI will compete at Lake Placid. N.Y., in an event hosted by St. Lawrence University next week.
“I’d like to win a carnival,” Ramsey said. “That’s my goal for the season, really. That would be pretty cool.”
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