Ski Team the Feature Attraction in Middlebury Winter Tradition

Author: Andrew Zimmermann

Alpine Team to Challenge

The Middlebury ski team is inching closer towards its goal. Last week the team as a whole finished just 10.5 points behind Dartmouth in second place. This weekend marks the Middlebury Carnival, the last race before the NCAA National Championships in Alaska. In the past few weeks the Panthers have hit their stride with some of their racers winning events and others following not far behind.

Last weekend at the Williams Carnival was just more of the same for the alpine team as it had two of its racers win their respective events outright. Jim Cochran '05 fronted an attack by the men's team on the giant slalom (GS) course by winning the event and helping the men to first place in that event. Jessica Smith '04 was not to be outdone as she took the slalom event decimating the field by over one second.

The women's GS was also closely contested as it saw Smith finish second to University of Vermont's (UVM) Alexandra Krebs. Smith who is recovering from a leg injury last season said that she is still not 100 percent recovered with respect to the rigors of the GS but that in the slalom she feels very comfortable. Ensuring the success of the squad with strong finishes were Brie Pike-Sprenger '04 and Captain Sarah Brophy '02 who finished the GS fifth and sixth and the slalom 37th and 14th respectively. First-year Lea Davison proved her ability to finish quickly between the tight gates of the slalom ending in third for that event.

The men had their best collective effort of the year in their victory in the GS race placing four racers in the top six. Cochran won the race in a time of 2:01.23 followed by veteran racer Scott Kennison of UVM. First-year John Rusten cruised to third-place finishing strong as he has all season. Tyler Conrad '02 and Eric Rygg '03 provided crucial point-getting finishes with Conrad in fifth and Rygg in sixth. Derek Shields '05 who has slowly been creeping up in the standings each week tripped the line in 13th.

The slalom provided a bit of a stiffer challenge for the men's team as Rusten mustered a team-best seventh nearly three second off the blistering pace of Roger Brown of Dartmouth. Rygg claimed a steady 13th for the Panthers and Carnival standout from last year Chad McConathy '04 showed his resurgence with a respectable 23rd.

The next test will be the final race of the regular carnival season for the Panthers, as they will remain home this weekend to host the Middlebury Carnival at the Snow Bowl. The advantage for the team will be its distinct knowledge of the dips, rolls and irregularities of the terrain on Worth Mountain, which should parlay to continued strong results. For many of the younger racers this will mark their first Middlebury Carnival and in just three weeks their first NCAA National Championship race. Smith said of the upcoming challenges, "I have been nervous about next week because we are on the home snow and many of my friends will be watching but I am trying to approach the NCAAs as just another race." The next two races, of course are not just like any other race as the Middebury Carnival could determine which three racers will ski competitively in Alaska, which will be the crowning place of the nation's collegiate champion.

Nordic Team Hits Stride

With one race left before a long trip across the continent to the NCAA Championships the nordic ski team is leaving behind a slow start for a hot streak. The past month as seen a steady increase in top ten finishes and solid team results. The Williams Carnival last week was among the most consistent finishes of the year for the team as both the women's and men's sides were quick and strong.

The first event of the carnival for the Nordic team was the 10-kilometer classic race, which saw a pair of strong finishes on each side. The two Kates, Whitcomb '04 and Newick '04 blazed their way to third and fourth respectively earning 61 points for the team. Whitcomb's consistent performances all season put her seventh in the classic discipline for the season in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA). Hillary Patzer '02who ranks ninth for the season finished above her average with a seventh in the race Friday.

On the men's side Shams Helminski '02 provided a solid fifth-place just 30 seconds behind the leading skier. Colin Rogers '04 perhaps the team's fastest skier muscled out a seventh en route to a balanced meet for both the men and the women's squads.

On the second day of competition it was the likes of Rogers and Helminski teaming up with Captain Tim Weston '03 in the three by five-meter relay race to produce a result of fourth behind the powerhouses of UVM, Dartmouth and UNH. Middlebury's number-two men's team of Simon Isaacs '03, Bryce Roche '05 and Marshall Greene '04 came in a respectable 10th ahead of many college's number-one teams.

For the women the same format applied and Whitcomb, Newick and Patzer did not disappoint as the top ranked Middlebury women's relay team by combining for a third-placed finish. In sixth-place led by the leadership of Captain Megan Sands '02, the Panther's second team finished well above the likes Williams, Bates and Bowdion's top teams.

The team now will train for both the Middlebury Carnival, which it will host at the Rikert Touring Center in Ripton, Vt. and the NCAA National Championships in the great north of Alaska. Middlebury's trend in the past few weeks would predict a strong showing by the nordic team on both its home snow and that in the National Championships nearly three weeks away.

Friday at Breadloaf the men and women will compete in the classic event with the men running for10 kilometers and the women five. The following day will be a mass-start freestyle race which is sure to be thrilling in both its finish and format.