Skiers take third in home carnival

Author: Martin Breu

Despite a solid effort across the board by the Panther ski team, Dartmouth and UVM stole the show last weekend at the 86th annual Middlebury Carnival. Dartmouth extended its winning streak to five straight victories but the UVM Catamounts weren't far behind in second. Middlebury had numerous strong performances but lacked the consistency to place higher than third.

On Friday morning, Middlebury woke up to six inches of new snow that caused both the alpine and nordic events to be delayed to allow for more grooming. The UVM alpine skiers must have liked the new snow, as David Donaldson and Megan Ryley won the men's and women's races, respectively.

Co-captain Andrew Wagner '09 led the Panthers at the Snow Bowl with a solid third place finish in the slalom race, while Jake Lund '11 placed tenth.

On the women's side, Mattie Ford '09 and Natasha Woodworth '11 shared the top Middlebury finish, as they tied for sixth place. The women's alpine team finished the day in third, while the men placed in fourth.

Over at the Rikert Ski Touring Center where the nordic races were held, the skiers raced a 10k classic mass-start race. Just behind the yellow buildings of the Bread Loaf School of English campus, the races unfolded as the skiers tore up the course.

The UVM men were dominant, taking the top two spots - Franz Berstein broke away from fellow German skier Juergen Uhl in the final home stretch to take the individual win. Patrick Johnson '11 had a solid race to finish ninth and lead the Panthers; Simi Hamilton '09 started the race strong but faded to finish tenth.

In the women's nordic race, Dartmouth dominated, placing four skiers in the top 10, with Rosie Brennan and Sophie Caldwell taking the top two spots. Robyn Anderson '10 was the lone Panther finisher in the top 10, as she came in seventh place. The Middlebury men's and women's nordic teams started the carnival in third and fifth places, respectively.

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear for the second day of racing. At the Snow Bowl, the Panther alpine women had an excellent race in the giant slalom - Leah McLaughry '10 took top honors while Ford was third and Nicole Dvorak '11 was fifth. Just after the women's competition concluded for the day, McLaughry, a Vermont native, watched as her brother Luke finished 14th for Dartmouth in the men's giant slalom race.

The men's giant slalom saw some stiff competition as well as standout performances. Eric Mann of Williams scored his first individual win of the season, while Middlebury's Bobby Poehling '11 had a great race to finish fifth. Wagner proved his consistency, placing eighth. The stellar Panther women's results placed them first, while the men also improved to third place.

Back at Bread Loaf, the nordic events continued with a three-person 5 km freestyle relay race. The Panther men's team of Johnson, Hamilton and Tim Reynolds '09 displayed an impressive performance to upset Dartmouth and take the victory. Middlebury's second team of Graham Egan '11, Michael Mommsen '10 and rookie Chase Marston '12 also raced well, finishing ninth. On the women, it was the Dartmouth team that skiied to victory, with Rosie Brennan, Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell comprising one of the toughest women's alpine teams in the country.

The Panther women - Kate Barton '09, Cassidy Edwards '09 and Robyn Anderson '10 - raced well, but ultimately finished in fourth. The team scores were based on the first relay team from each school, so the men placed first and the women were fourth. Next weekend, the racing continues with the EISA (Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association) championships hosted by Colby College. Dartmouth will try to remain undefeated, as the alpine teams race a slalom race on Saturday and a GS on Sunday. The nordic teams will be back in action with a 5/10km classic on Saturday.