Sudbury’s Eli Hoenig is making his third trip to the NCAA Skiing Championships, which concludes Saturday in Steamboat Springs, Colo. And the Williams College junior certainly is peaking at the right time in the Nordic discipline. In his two most recent races, the Lincoln-Sudbury graduate recorded runner-up finishes in the 20K Classic at both the Dartmouth Invitational (by 3/10s of a second) and the NCAA Regionals at Middlebury (by 6.3 seconds). In his 11 races prior to the NCAAs, Hoenig registered nine top-10 finishes, placing fourth or higher on five occasions. The 21-year-old physics major is a two-time All-NESCAC Academic selection.
“Eli has a talent for always looking at the bright side, no matter the situation, and that contagious positivity has spilled over to his teammates,’’ said Williams coach Jason Lemieux. “He’s a very explosive skier, has a big engine and is technically talented. And he’s able to translate his fitness into speed on snow very well.’’
Hoenig, whose older brother, Isaac, captained the Williams team two years ago, was an MIAA Nordic champion his senior season at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional. That same year, he placed third at Junior Nationals in the freestyle (skate) competition.
Q. In what perspective do you put the two second-place finishes (at Dartmouth and Middlebury)?
A. The EISA circuit comprises the most competitive races that I’ve participated in, so second place was, for me, a great achievement. The Williams ski team has been training hard all year and looking forward to our relatively short but intense racing season; it’s a great feeling when that hard work pays off.
Q. What was the most fun you had on skis as a youngster?
A. When I was in elementary and middle school, my brother, father (Peter), and mother, (Cathy), and our close family friends, the Stocks, would play improvised games of tag on snow. They would last for hours and would end with both parents and kids exhausted.
Q. Why did you train in the summer on roller skis in Littleton and Concord?
A. Nordic skiers can only practice on snow one fourth of the year, therefore we’re made for dry-land training. Working with my home club, the Cambridge Sports Union, helped me learn how to dry-land train effectively and diligently.
Q. What was it like to have your brother Isaac as a teammate in high school and college?
A. He has been without a doubt the biggest influence on my skiing — and most things — throughout my life. It’s easy to be competitive when you have an older brother to desperately chase around.
Q. What is the most challenging aspect of Nordic skiing for you?
A. Trying to balance the amount of school work with training every day and trying to get enough sleep, at least eight hours a night.
Q. What is your training regimen?
A. I train year-round, once or twice a day. Nordic training, because you can’t ski whenever you want, has a great diversity of exercises.
Q. What is the most interesting course you have taken at Williams?
A. I’m currently taking a Physics course on general relativity. With all the hype about gravitational waves and the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, it feels pretty cutting-edge. The math and the concepts are challenging, but the course is allowing me to think about the universe rigorously and in entirely new ways.
Q. What is your family’s favorite getaway destination?
A. Mont-Sainte Anne, Quebec has been my family’s — and now the Williams ski team’s — vacation destination for years. It renews my love for skiing every year.
Q. What is the hardest Nordic course you have ever competed on?
A. Every course is difficult in different ways. Some have huge hills, some do not. In the end, it doesn’t matter because you have to push yourself as hard as you can regardless.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about Williamstown?
A. The running trails are fantastic. From campus, you can run into the woods, up the surrounding mountains, and all along the Taconic crest. Long runs in the woods are a staple of my training, and necessary for my well-being.
MARVIN PAVE
