PSC Dominates as Miner Breaks School Record for Underhand Chop

Paul Smiths, NY ~ Paul Smith's College hosted 130 competitors from nine different institutions on Saturday, October 21^st for their annual Fall Woodsmen's Competition.  The event, held in the Gould Hoyt Woodsmen's Team Competition Arena and the Forestry Club Cabin, was the first of the 2023-24 season. 

 

The Bobcats performed well on their home turf, with top-three finishes in all four divisions.  The Women's 1 and Jack & Jill teams both had third-place finishes in their very competitive divisions  as the top three spots were separated by just 100 points.  The Open team, comprised of mostly rookie athletes, took home the trophy in their division, just edging out the competition.  PSC entered two teams in the Men's Division; the Men's 2 team placed fourth with 901 points and the Men's 1 team took home the first-place trophy with 1259 points, a remarkable 200 points ahead of the second-place team. 

 

Some notable results from this weekend's competition:

• Sabian Griffin Placed First in the Stock Saw event for the Open team, making three cuts with a chainsaw in 7.8 seconds. 
• The women's team axe thrower, Allie Howald, placed first in the axe throw competition with 13 points, double the second-place thrower.
• Hannah Aldrich out rolled the competition in the chilly waters of lower St. Regis spinning the birling log 16 times, the second place birler scored 12. 
• Owen Probst and Daniel Miner put up a blistering time of 24.25 seconds in the underhand chop. The second-place team severed their blocks in 45.35. Men's team captain, Daniel Miner, cut his block in 8.31 seconds, the fastest known time for a PSC chopper on an 8x8 pine block.

When asked about his performance and breaking the school record, Miner said "When good wood and a good axe come together good things happen."