HANOVER, NH – In day one of the Dartmouth Carnival, senior Eric Mann led the Ephs to fifth place as a team with his third place finish in the giant slalom. Mann was backed up by solid performances from all four teams, including the men’s nordic squad who led the group with their fourth place finish overall, behind Middlebury, UVM, and Dartmouth.
The men’s nordic team packed all five of their racers within thirty seconds of each other in the 10K classic race, led by freshman Erik Anderson who had the best race of his young career with an 11th place result. Close behind, junior Alex Taylor, historically a strong freestyle skier, picked it up in classic to finish just four tenths of a second behind Anderson in 12th place. Keith Kantack ’11, fifteen seconds back took 17th to score for the Ephs. Sophomore Evan Dethier and senior Sam Kapala finished six seconds apart in 20th and 21st place. Even without the help of freshman Dimitri Luthi, third at the UVM Carnival, the men managed to amass 88 points, good enough for fourth place as a team.
The women’s nordic squad delivered a sixth place finish in the 5K classic race, with Alice Nelson ’10 leading the way in 12th place. Sophomore Kirsten Johnson crossed the line in 20th place, with Fiona Worcester ’09 thirteen seconds back in 27th place to close out the scoring for Williams. Senior Liz Kantack took 29th place, with freshman Holly Whitney in 41st place and sophomore Sarah Tory in 52nd.
Mann, fourth after the first run, stepped it up to land a spot on the podium with his third place finish in the giant slalom at the Dartmouth Skiway. Sean Cummiskey ’09, moving up several places after the first run, took 24th, with senior Eirik Burrass close behind in 29th place overall. Alex Dyroff ’10 snuck into the top thirty with a 30th place effort, with captain Jim Whitledge ’09 taking 33rd, and sophomore Jeff Putnam rounding out the day for the Ephs in 47th.
The women’s alpine team remained a tight pack on the hill, with the top three Ephs finishing within thirty-five hundredths of a second and four places of each other. Emily Porter ’10 led the way with a 16th place finish, with Laurel Carter ‘12 following up in 18th and Kelsey Levine ’10 in 19th. Sophomore Annie Hanson, freshman Hannah Mangham, and senior Kelly Kirpatrick had tough first runs, but managed to nail down 37th, 48th, and 49th place, respectively.
The Ephs continue racing at the Dartmouth Carnival on Saturday with the slalom and 10K/15K freestyle races.
Complete Results: www.eisaskiing.org
