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Men’s, Women’s Teams Win Timber Sports Spring Meet
The ESF Woodsmen's Team won both the men's and women's championships in the final timber sports competition of the academic year, topping a large field at the annual northeastern spring meet.
In addition, team President David Andrews won the northeast Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Challenge and qualified to compete in the national collegiate championship in June.
"We both came out on top, both the men and the women," Andrews said. "We're just incredibly happy, ecstatic. We won our home meet my senior year and we won the spring meet my senior year. You couldn't ask for a better ending."
The two-day event began with canoeing 8 a.m. Friday, April 27, and lasted until mid-afternoon the following day. The competition consisted of 19 events worth 100 points each. The ESF men tallied a total of 1,621 points, 144 points ahead of second-place Unity College of Maine. The women garnered 1,654 points in their division, 70 points ahead of Colby College.
The teams' performance earned ESF the right to display the competition's traveling trophies in Moon Library until next year.
The ESF men's team placed first in the singles canoeing, doubles canoeing, packboard relay, disc stack and vertical chop events. The women placed first in the birling, disc stack, horizontal chop, team bowsaw, packboard relay, obstacle course, singlebuck, team log roll, and scoot load events.
The men's team competed against 19 teams from 14 colleges and universities from the northeastern United States and Canada. The women's division consisted of 10 teams.
Members of the men's team were Ian Freeburg, Pat Craner, Alex Jacobson, Max Weisner, Jason Schenck and Andrews. Paul Scannapieco was the alternate for the men; team member Mike Eveland was injured and unable to compete at Dartmouth. Competing for the women were Natalie Scheibel, Alexandra vonBieberstein, Jess Nicholas, Shannon Hennessey, Cassandra Pinkoski and Mariah Taylor. Miranda Nunn was the alternate.
After the team competition ended, attention focused on the Stihl Timbersports Series event for individual competitors.
Scheibel, a graduating senior, represented ESF against the top female competitors from the University of Connecticut, Finger Lakes Community College, Paul Smith's College, SUNY Cobleskill, the University of New Hampshire, Unity College, Alfred State, Dartmouth and Colby College. Scheibel placed third overall in the event with strong showings in the singlebuck and underhand chop, placing second and third in those events respectively.
Andrews took the men's overall northeast title, winning the stock saw and vertical chop events, and placing second in the singlebuck and fourth in the underhand chop. He competed against students from the same group of schools plus the University of Maine at Orono.
Andrews earned a spot competing for the national championship against the winners from the other four regional competitions (western, midwestern, southern and mid-Atlantic) plus one wildcard pick. That event will take place in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., June 1 through 3, 2012. It is expected to be televised at 7:30 p.m. July 20 on ESPNU. In addition, Stihl, a manufacturer of handheld outdoor power equipment, will make a $1,000 donation to the EF Woodsmen's Team.
The ESF team is coached by alumnus Matthew Marks '07, who competes professionally in the Mid-Atlantic Stihl Timbersports Series. He finished second in the Mid-Atlantic Stihl competition in April and is scheduled to compete in the next round, which will also be held June 1 thorugh 3 in Pigeon Forge. Elements of the competition are scheduled to be broadcast on the Outdoor Channel at 2 a.m. May 18 and 4 p.m. May 20.