The Colby Echo

Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of Emma Balazs Douge Rooke '08 competed in the single bucking even on Saturday.

Coming in at second place at the 42nd Annual University of New Brunswick Meet on Oct. 13, the women's team performed better than any other American team has ever faired at a UNB meet. Competing against the likes of many Canadian schools that sponsor woodsmen teams as varsity sports, Colby proved that club sport status does not deteriorate the level of competition that exists in its respective division. The men's squad placed a few spots behind the women, earning a sixth place standing. McGill University, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Sir Sanford Flemming College at Ontario, Unity College, University of Maine at Orono and the University of New Brunswick all fielded a cumulative 23 teams, comprised of 10 women squads and 13 men squads. NSAC took first for the women's division, while UNB captured the title for the men.

The Colby women won the log decking competition, an event that combines strength, skill and thoughtful planning to roll a large log down a stansion and back up again using only a tool called a peavey. Women's captain Jamie Poster '08 said that the women "rose to the occasion" in order to execute the task by using their clever tactic along with the physical strength required to maneuver the log.

The Mules also excelled in the disc stack, a chain saw event that requires strength and experience to cut discs out of a log as quickly as possible. Men's co-captain Doug Rooke '08 stacked 15 discs, while teammate Margosia Jadkowski '10 stacked 11, as they swept the disc stack event.

Other highlights included senior co-captain Tom Myers' showing at the fire-building event. This event involves building a fire with only a hatchet, a piece of wood and two matches in order to boil water in a bucket. Although his hatchet broke and he needed to replace it with a new one in the middle of the event, Myers still managed to boil the water out of his bucket faster than any other competitor. Unfortunately, the victory was stripped of Myers due to unfamiliar Canadian technicalities, yet the competition remained one of the most exciting of the day.

The woodsmen team will compete next on Nov. 3 at UNH, where they plan to field four different teams. Captains Poster, Myers and Rooke, along with the increasingly large woodsmen team, look forward to the potential of the squad in upcoming meets throughout the year. "There's a lot of interest developing right now around timbersports throughout the Northeast, and it's cool that Colby is playing a such a dominant role in it," Poster said.

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