By Miriam Brown ’21
Apparently, Colorado College’s climbing team has never heard of the “sophomore slump.”
In just their second year of existence, the team finished third at the regional championships in Denver, with only a quarter of the competitors brought by rivals University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University. Two of CC’s climbers, Claire Bresnan ’19and Rin Gentry ’19, were named regional champions in their respective categories. Of CC’s 11 competitors, seven will be headed to the National championships in Murfreesboro, Tenn., April 26-27.
Instead of having a hired coach, the team is led by three of their athletes who double as coaches: Katherine Hade ’22, William Abbey ’22, and Emily Barga ’21. Captain Zach Levy ’21credits their leadership as having been crucial to their success thus far.
“This year our team has a group of students who are extremely devoted to bettering their climbing and training to prepare themselves the best they can for this climbing season,” Levy said. “A lot of our success can be attributed to the student coaches who have stepped up this year to lead the team and guide our athletes down a successful path.”
The team holds simultaneous practices three days a week at three different climbing gyms, using workout regimens designed by Hade, Abbey, and Barga to test their strength and conditioning. They try difficult boulders and timed workouts to simulate a competition environment and to prepare themselves for anything they might face at nationals. The competition at nationals will be steep, but Levy thinks they’re prepared.
“We are very excited to be heading to Tennessee over the first weekend of Block 8 and can’t wait to see what nationals has in store for us,” he says.
Best of luck with the competitions guys!