WOODFORD, VT -- The University of Vermont rode a wave of Alpine domination combined with strong Nordic performances to first place on the first day of the Williams Carnival.
At Nordic Skiing venue of Prospect Mountain, the childhood hill of Olympian Andy Newell of nearby Shaftsbury, the blustery weather and earlier snow flurries certainly contributed to a general unsettled feeling throughout. However, the temperatures remained steady and the snow abated resulting in conditions that were difficult, rather than impossible, to wax for. On the alpine side at Jiminy Peak the winds were the story of the day, some coaches having to literally hold the athletes in place so they would not be blown backwards out of the start. Flat light and some inevitable ruts also contributed to a challenging situation.
On the steeps those who very much mastered the situation were those hailing from the University of Vermont, with four of the top six finishers being Catamounts. First place in both races went to a Catamount, with Chris Colpitts nailing his first EISA win for the men with a time of 1:31.97 and Valerie Kechian posting her second EISA win with a time of 1:42.91 for the women. One the men’s side Dartmouth’s Ace Tarberry skied a 1:38.12 for second followed by the University of Vermont’s Erik Gilbert with a time of 1:38.52. On the women’s side it was Williams’ Emily Porter who took silver by a scant sliver, schussing a 1:42.95. While we’re on the Olympic theme, the bronze went to Catamount Lyndee Janowiak with her time of 1:43.08.
At Prospect the win for the men’s 10k classic went to the University of Vermont’s Franz Bernstein who skied the winning time of 28 minutes and 40 seconds despite a very sore back. Following him was Middlebury’s Patrick Johnson who filed a 29 minute ten second time for the Panthers while Dartmouth’s Patrick O’Brien wrote a 29 minute 24 second time to round out the top three. On the women’s side Ida Sargent continued to garner first place honors, this time posting a dominating 15 minute 37 second time in the Women’s 5k Classic. Following her was the University of Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson with a 16 minute and 25 second time while Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell took home a valuable third place time of 16 minutes and 27 seconds for The Big Green.
For host Williams College, it was a great day, with the team ending the first leg of competition in fourth. Williams has placed fifth in every carnival this season and has not been fourth even on day one. Strong skiing by both nordic teams and women's alpine are the reason for this jump.
The big news is clearly Emily Porter's 2nd place finish in the women's GS. Porter had been struggling with her consistency since being the team's only NCAA qualifier last year, but she appears to have regained her old form. Porter's 2nd place, combined with Kelsey Levine in 11th and Geordie Lonza in 17th, gave the women 103 points, which placed them in 2nd, behind UVM. UVM's Valerie Kechian won the race, just four hundredths ahead of Porter.
Men's alpine continued to struggle, finishing 7th on the day. The team was led by senior Adam Carman, who finished 18th. Following Carman was Alex Reeves in 23rd and Sean Cummiskey in 26th.
The women's nordic team had a strong day at Prospect Mountain, placing 3rd in the 5km classic. Captain Alice Nelson had her best race of the year, placing 5th. Close behind was Kirsten Johnson in 8th place. Freshman Christina Knapp had her career best race, placing 24th. Dartmouth’s Ida Sargent won the race.
The men's nordic team continued its strong skiing, with a 5th place performance. Sophomore Dimitri Luthi finished 4th, his best this season. Junior Keith Kantack was ninth, making this the second consecutive race these two have skied in the top-10. Kantack's classmate Evan Dethier was 17th to give the boys a team total of 96 points, just 16 points off the win.
The team
totals now are the University of Vermont in the lead with 494
points, Dartmouth second with 435 points, and Middlebury narrowly
leading Williams College with 358 and 355 points respectively. Join
us tomorrow to see who can fire on all cylinders and post a high
ranking. Dartmouth and the University of Vermont will be vying for
first while Middlebury and Williams fight for third with the
University of New Hampshire not to far behind
For more results, images, and videos please go to eisaskiing.org
