STOWE, VT – Three top-ten results by the men’s alpine and nordic ski teams kept the Williams ski team in fifth place during the second day of the UVM Carnival. The team sits 49 points behind fourth place Middlebury College and 42 points ahead of sixth place Bates College.
Junior Alex Taylor and sophomore Keith Kantack had career-best races to lead the men’s nordic team to third place overall, behind Dartmouth and Bates. Taylor, following up on his 11th place result at the UNH Carnival last weekend, took an impressive sixth place finish in the 10K freestyle race. Taylor is the first athlete from the men’s nordic team to place in the top six at a carnival since Noel Johnson ‘01’s third place finish at the 2001 Middlebury Carnival. Kantack, consistently finishing 20th in freestyle races this year, broke his habit with a career-best 13th place finish, just four seconds out of the top ten.
Senior Sam Kapala and sophomore Evan Dethier kept it close with their 20th and 21st place finishes, respectively, crossing the line just two seconds apart. Freshman Dimitri Luthi followed up with a 30th place effort, with sophomore Caleb Lucy coming across the line in 37th. Robby Cuthbert ’11 and Nick Fogel ’12 raced as part of the NENSA Eastern Cup/SuperTour race and finished well.
The men’s alpine team was led once again by senior Eric Mann and junior Alex Dyroff, taking sixth and ninth, respectively, in the men’s slalom race. Sophomore Alex Reeves took 20th to ensure a fourth place finish for the men’s team, behind UNH, Dartmouth, and UVM. Senior Eirik Burrass slipped into the top thirty with his 28th place finish. Freshmen Sean Cummiskey and Will Hadden did not finish.
As they did in the GS, Kelsey Levine ’10, Laurel Carter ’12, and Emily Porter ’10 took the top three spots for the Ephs in the slalom, skiing well to finish in a tight pack in 14th, 16th and 17th. With those three results, the Ephs finished sixth overall. Kelly Kirpatrick, the lone senior on the team, took 31st place to finish out the racing for Williams. Amy McLaughlin and Annie Hanson did not finish.
The women’s nordic team was led by junior Alice Nelson with her 14th place finish, six seconds outside the top ten. Kirsten Johnson ’11 followed up with a 22nd place effort, with senior Fiona Worcester eight seconds back in 27th place. Freshman Holly Whitney finished in 30th place with Liz Kantack ’09 and Maddy Wendt ’11 taking 41st and 48th place. Sophomore Gabrielle Joffe raced as a part of the NENSA Eastern Cup/SuperTour race and finished with a time that would have put her 33rd in the collegiate race.
The Ephs will conclude the racing at the UVM Carnival on Sunday with the final day of nordic competition. The women will compete in the 10K classic race at 10:30 AM with the men taking to the trails for the 15K classic event at 12:30.
