MIDDLEBURY, VT – The Williams ski team ended the Middlebury Carnival on a high note, with senior Eric Mann winning the GS and the men’s nordic team taking third place in the 3 x 5K relay. The team moved into fifth place overall, after being in sixth on Friday, and finished 49.5 points behind fourth place UNH, the closest Williams has finished to the Wildcats this season.
After taking a gate to the face and loosing a tooth in yesterday’s slalom race, Eric Mann ’09 returned to capture the giant slalom title. After winning the first run, Mann was able to ski a clean second run to remain atop the leaderboard and clinch the first carnival win for a Williams skier this year. Close behind, Alex Dyroff ’10 moved up from 13th after the first run to place 10th overall, marking the fourth time in five races that Dyroff has placed in the top ten in GS. The third Williams skier, Jeff Putnam ’11 in 41st, ensured that the Ephs placed fourth as a team, contributing 93 points to the team score. Eirik Burass ’09, Ian Simmons ’09, and Sean Cummiskey ’12 all hiked on their first runs, and skied solid second runs, but ultimately finished towards the back of the pack.
The women’s alpine team found their speed in the GS and placed three women in the top twenty and one in the top ten to take fifth overall. Emily Porter ’10 led the team with her ninth place finish, her second-best GS finish of the season. Kelsey Levine ’10 and Laurel Carter ’12 finished together in 18th and 19th place to give the Ephs 82 points towards the team score. Backing up the top three, Kelly Kirpatrick ’09 placed 26th, with Amy McLaughlin ’12 in 37th and Annie Hanson ’11 in 41st. Middlebury’s Leah McLaughry won the race.
The nordic men had a successful day at Breadloaf with their top 3 x 5K relay team placing third. Alex Taylor ’10, Sam Kapala ’09, and Keith Kantack ’11 found themselves on the podium with host Middlebury and Dartmouth in first and second place. Taylor got Williams off to a strong start with a first leg that left his team in a pack fighting for fourth place. Kapala worked with the pack, dropping the second team from Middlebury and moved up to third place. Kantack led the anchor legs from UVM, UNH, and Colby around the 5 kilometer course before narrowly edging out UVM at the line to snag the final spot on the podium. The second team of Dimitri Luthi ’12, Erik Anderson ’12, and Caleb Lucy ’11 skied strong legs throughout to capture 11th place, nearly beating the first teams from Bates and St. Lawrence.
Keith Kantack '11, Sam Kapala '09, and Alex Taylor '10 on the podium in third place in the men's 3 x 5K relay.
The women’s nordic team fielded two relay teams that placed seventh and 13th in the 3 x 5K relay. Alice Nelson ’10 led off for the “A” team with a strong first leg that left the team in a competitive pack of racers. Holly Whitney ’12 paced the team through the middle leg and sophomore Kirsten Johnson held off the top teams from St. Lawrence and Bates to take seventh, but receiving sixth place points due to two teams from Dartmouth finishing ahead of them. The second team of Liz Kantack ’09, Sarah Tory ’11, and Maddy Wendt ’11 kept it closed with teams from Harvard and UNH, ultimately finishing 13th, less than two minutes back from their teammates.
The ski team will conclude the regular season with the EISA Championships next weekend, hosted by Colby College at Sugarloaf in Maine.
Listen to Eric Mann talk about his GS win at the Middlebury Carnival:
