Men's Woodsmen's Team Bring Home Spring Meet Trophy

Men's Woodsmen's Team Bring Home Spring Meet Trophy
April 30, 2024

Paul Smiths, NY ~ The Paul Smith's College woodsmen's team hosted the Collegiate Timber Sports Annual Spring Meet for the first time in nearly a decade over the weekend as the Men's 1 Team outlasted eight other schools to finish in first place in the sport's de facto national championship.

Bobcat teams dominated the chopping and sawing events on their way to the championship trophy, winning 11 of 17 events and beating second place SUNY ESF by more than 100 points.  Daniel Miner (Hopkinton, NH) and Owen Probst (Clarence Center, NY) continued to lead the way in Standing Block, cutting through their piece of wood in just 16 seconds.  It was the first time in Miner's career that he won the Spring Meet trophy, and he spoke about what it meant to him as a senior captain and what it meant for the team.  "This is the best Paul Smith's College men's team I've ever been a part of," said Miner.  "The boys all knew what needed to be done and did it - each guy did his part and magic stuff happened.  Can't ask for a better way to go out as a senior winning your senior year Spring Meet."

Women's Underhand Chop finished in first place as well, as Hannah Aldrich (Cortland, NY), Sydney Krompasky (Hamlin, PA), and Allie Howald (Newport, NH) won with a time of 1:50, almost 30 seconds better than SUNY ESF.  "We pride ourslevess on our chopping, so it was really great to win that event at home and it was really awesome to be able to host Spring Meet at PSC - we've been talking about it since we were freshmen," said Aldrich, a graduating senior who has been on the woodsmen's team for her entire collegiate career.  "It was really cool to hold the events on the Great Lawn on Saturday and see all the members of the campus community come out and supoort us," she added. 

Men's 1 Stock Saw was dominated by Justin Perry aka "Moose" (Degrasse, NY) as his flawless run of three chainsaw cuts went through the pine log like butter in just 7.9 seconds.  The Bobcat men showed their dominance in other areas as well, taking the overwhelming majority of first place finishes in the various events.  Miner, Probst, and Ian Dynda (Port Allegheny, PA) won Underhand Chop with a time of 42 seconds, as every other school finished in 1:00+.  Miner and Dynda also took first in Canoe portage as their Men's 1 team and the Men's 2 team of Kyle Joray (Goshen, CT) and Jarod Verblaauw (Warwick, NY) finished in the top-two positions, the only two teams who completed the event in under three minutes.  And the Men's 1 Splitters Justin Perry, Ethan Alexander (Wurtsboro, NY), and Cal Barber (Voluntown, CT) split their block in 4:57 on their way to a first place victory.  

"I'm so proud of the PSC woodsmen's team - everyone gave it their all and showcased their talents that have developed as a result of their hard work and dedication to the sport," said PSC woodsmen's men's coach Keith Braun.  "There is no better feeling than seeing one of those gorgeous, hand-crafted Spring Meet trophies hoisted into the air by a bunch of Smitties after a long, hard weekend of competition."

The win marks the first time since 2019 that the men won the Spring Meet trophy, which represents the best collegiate TimberSports team in the country as the event acts as the sport's national championship.

Also competing were the Women's 1 (fourth place), Jack & Jill (third place), Men's 2 (seventh place), Open (third place), and PSC Alumni (first place) teams.  The Jack & Jill team finished first in both Team Bowsaw and Team Crosscut, and Pole Climber Samantha Wheaton (Dartmouth, MA) finished her 40' climb in a blazing time of 12.4 seconds.  The PSC Alumni edged out Finger Lakes CC 1712 to 1697, winning by a mere 15 points in a back-and-forth battle that lasted the entire weekend.  It was an event with an estimated 1,000 people in attendance, and something that the college prides itself on hosting.  

The event wouldn't have been possible without the help of Andrew Krompasky Logging and Estemerwalt Log Homes.  Andrew Krompasky is the father of Women's 1 team member Sydney Krompasky, who is also the captain of the team.  "My father trucked the logs from Estemerwalt Log Homes who will be my sponsor post-graduation for my TimberSports career.  My father is always helping out the team when he can - he cut up all the blocks on Friday and then on Sunday he was the belayer for our climbers.  Estemerwalt Log Homes and Andrew Krompasky Logging love helping where they can to help grow the sport, and this big of an event helped show the school what TimberSports are all about!" said Krompasky.

Braun echoed Krompasky's sentiments about hosting the event, speaking to the history of Paul Smith's College TimberSports and its storied woodsmen's team.  "Paul Smith's College has a strong tradition of excellence in our sport and we were happy to be able to host this year's championship on our home turf.  Thanks to the entire Paul Smith's College community for their support - we're grateful for the way our sport is embraced and celebrated at PSC!" 

 

28 teams from 11 colleges participated in the event

PSC
ESF
FLCC
SUNY Alfred
Colby
Dartmouth
UVM
UNH
Morrisville
 
 
Final results
 
Mens:
  1. PSC 1 - 1737 points (Placed first in 11 of 17 events)
  2. SUNY ESF - 1622 points
  3. SUNY Alfred - 1421 Points
  4. Colby - 1316 Points
  5. UNH 1 - 1297 Points
  6. UMaine - 1211 Points
  7. PSC 2 - 1181  Points
  8. UCONN - 1112 Points
  9. UNH 2 - 1101 Points
 
Jack and Jill:
  1. SUNY ESF - 1615 Points
  2. UCONN - 1490 Points
  3. PSC - 1464 Points
  4. SUNY Cobleskill - 1362 Points
  5. UVM - 1215 Points
  6. Colby - 1181 Points
 
Womens:
  1. FLCC - 1730 Points
  2. SUNY ESF - 1520 Points
  3. Colby - 1469 Points
  4. PSC - 1455 Points
  5. UNH - 788 Points
  6. UVM - 760 Points
 
Open:
  1. SUNY Alfred - 1739 Points
  2. FLCC - 1453 Points
  3. PSC - 1417 Points
  4. SUNY Morrisville - 1408 Points
  5. Dartmouth - 909 Points
 
Alumni:
  1. PSC Alumni - 1712 Points
  2. FLCC Alumni - 1697 Points

 

Men's 1 Spring Meet Champions!

 

You can follow the woodsmen's team on Instagram at @psc_woodsmen or you can follow the general athletics account at @smitty_nation for scores, schedules, highlights, and more!

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At Paul Smith's College, it's about the experience. As the only four-year institution of higher education located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, Paul Smith's provides real-world, hands-on learning in fields such as business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences, and natural resources. We can draw on industries and resources available in our backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. Our community of resourceful, enterprisingg, supportive, and adventurous individuals collectively provides experiential education, student support in the classroom and beyond, and meaningful opportunities for our alumni. We pride ourselves on research and advocacy on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people who inhabit it. Learn more at www.paulsmiths.edu.