STOWE, VT -- This weekend's carnival, hosted by the University of Vermont featured alpine races on Friday and Saturday at Stowe, with nordic events on Saturday and Sunday at the Trapp Family Lodge. After two days of alpine and one day of nordic racing, Williams finds itself in familiar fifth place.
A technical course on the notorious Hayride trail made for an exciting day of giant slalom racing on day one of alpine racing. The Williams women finished fifth on the day. Leading the way was captain Kelsey Levine, who finished 15th. Following Levine was first year Geordie Lonza, who skied to a 19th place finish. Rounding out the scoring was senior Emily Porter, who finished 22nd. The race was dominated by Vermont, who swept the podium and placed four in the top five.
The men's alpine team kept pace with the women, also finishing fifth. The men were also led by their captain, Alex Dyroff, who, like Levine, finished 15th. The scoring was completed by Sean Cummiskey in 25th and Jeff Putnam in 26th. The men's race was also dominated by UVM, who took the top two spots.
On Saturday, the nordic team began its weekend with a 10 km classic for the men and 5km classic for the women. Bluebird skies and cool temps made for superb racing conditions.In the men's race, tough luck took a good day and made it only solid. Sophomore Dimitri Luthi finished the race in 6th place, but was disqualified on a technicality. Luthi left his track when officials decided he shouldn't have. The ruling made junior Keith Kantack's 12th place the top result of the day. Behind Kantack was captain Alex Taylor in 22nd, his best classic race this season. Evan Dethier finished third for the team, coming home in 31st place. Dethier was hampered by malfunctions on his bindings midrace. The men finished 6th on the day. The race was won by UVM's Franz Bernstein from Germany.
The women's nordic team struggled to dial in the wax this morning, and had to settle for an 8th place finish. Kirsten Johnson, a junior, was the top result on the day, finishing 12th- her best classic race this year. Following Johnson was captain Alice Nelson, who finished 23rd, just 5 seconds out of the top 20. The scoring was rounded out by Hannah Hausman in 37th place.
On the alpine hill, the men's team continued to struggle with consistency and finished 6th. It was again Dyroff leading the way, finishing 12th. Dyroff was followed by Junior Alex Reeves, who used a quick second run to move into 20th place on the day. Jeff Putnam, the team's most consistent skier this year, finished close behind in 22nd. Ace Tarberry, of Dartmouth, won the race.
The women's team had a phenomenal day, placing four racers in the top fifteen. Leading the way was sophomore Laurel Carter, who won the first run and ended up 5th. Following Carter was freshman Geordie Lonza, in 8th. Rounding out the scoring was senior Emily Porter in 11th, just one spot ahead of classmate Kelsey Levine. The women brought home 101 points, which put them just 1 point out of third on the day.
Currently team sits 57 points behind fourth place Middlebury. The carnival wraps up tomorrow with a 10 and 5 kilometer freestyle race for the nordic team.
