Much to my chagrin, I am no longer living in South Mass 111. My sophomore year room draw number was Lodge-worthy, and I needed an out. So fellow opportunistic Jew Sam Worth '13 and I contacted our extraordinarily talented and recently injured friend, Keith Moffat '13, to see if he wanted to bunk up with us. A member of the United States Ski Team and a chronically smooth talker, Keith parlayed his leg injury into a prime South Mass triple, which Sam and I happily inhabited. Keith is back from competition for Homecoming in Hanover, and he graciously granted me a rare in-person interview.
MTHC: So Keith, I understand you're on the U.S. Ski Team. Can you tell me about that?
KM: I'm on the men's Europa Cup team. We focus on the NorAm and Europa Cup circuits, which are a level below the World Cup and the Olympics. Essentially, it's a group of young skiers trying to break through to the World Cup circuit.
MTHC: What kind of skiing are you involved in? Is it the kind with the bumps or the flags?
KM: The flags.
MTHC: And that's called?
KM: Alpine skiing.
MTHC: Wonderful. And how fast can you alpine skiers go?
KM: In downhill, which is what I'm best at, you can get up to 80 or 90 miles per hour.
MTHC: Wow, that sounds pretty dangerous. What happens when you crash?
KM: Sometimes, you can tomahawk 100 or 200 yards down the hill and be fine, but what you really have to worry about are the awkward crashes. I broke my leg a year and half ago at the World Junior Championships after I collided with some kook in the warm-up zone.
MTHC: What a schlemiel.
KM: More of a schlimazel, but whatever.
MTHC: So you bounced back successfully?
KM: Well, it wasn't as smooth as I would've liked. After the doctors told me I was fully healed and cleared for racing, I was still dealing with some significant leg pain. Then, with just a month left in the season, upon further examination, my doctor told me I had a fibular non-union. Essentially, my fibula was still broken because it hadn't fused itself back together as expected.
MTHC: Did they rush you in for emergency surgery?
KM: No, I had been competing with the injury all year, so I ignored the recent developments and finished off the season. I had the surgery the day after nationals, a week into last year's Spring term.
MTHC: And by Spring term, you mean the only term you're ever actually on campus.
KM: Yup.
MTHC: So, you started out at Dartmouth as a member of the Class of 2013. If my calculations are correct, you will receive your Dartmouth diploma somewhere around 2021.
KM: I'm doing the B.E. program, so it's actually looking more like 2024. I'm not too worried about it, though, because some of my best friends are also on the national team and Dartmouth 12-year program with me. Tommy Ford is a '12, Michael Ankeny is a '13 with me, Kieffer Christianson and Nolan Kasper are both '14s, and I think Andrew Weibrecht is like an '05 or something, but he won a bronze medal in Vancouver, so nobody really gives a sh*t. (Editor's note: Weibrecht is a '09.)
MTHC: That's a great group of guys, Keith! As you know, I personally have a track record of facilitating my roommates' successful contributions to the wide world of sports. Could you elaborate on how the South Mass 111 triple aided you in your quest for athletic success?
KM: It was really the defining moment of my career. The access to around-the-clock food scraps, unlimited Clippers knowledge and a brand name "Shake Weight" has yet to be matched.
MTHC: And how do you feel about losing your spot as South Mass 111's most accomplished member of the Dartmouth sports community?
KM: What?
MTHC: I'm of course referring to Sam Worth, fellow South Mass 111 resident, advertising director of The Dartmouth, and the prodigious senior member of Dartmouth's freshman rugby development team.
Sam Worth: Don't forget about my IM softball genius. I've been starting for the Fighting Maccabees since freshman year.
