Strong Carnival for Nordic Skiiers; UVM Fast Approaching

Author: Josh Axelrod

The winter carnival season is again in full swing, and the Middlebury Panthers are showing that they can ski through the bitter temperatures outside. Beginning last weekend in Ottawa, Canada, at the Saint Lawrence University carnival, Middlebury's nordic ski teams turned in third place performances for both the men's and women's teams in the two-day pursuit.

Beginning Saturday, the Panther men went out strong in the 10km freestyle and led the field of 11 schools with stellar performances from freshman Garrot Kuzzy '06 in second place, Colin Rodgers '04 in third place and Jake Whitcomb '06 in tenth place. Marshall Greene '04, Tim Weston '03 and Andrew Savage '03.5 all finished in the top thirty as well and earned NCAA qualifying points.

On the women's side, teamwork led to strong performances as Kate Newick '03, Claire Anderson '06 and Kate Whitcomb '04 raced to eighth, ninth and tenth places, respectively in the women's 5km freestyle. Rounding out the top thirty and earning NCAA qualifying points as well were the dynamic sister duo of Taylor Leach '06 and Berkley Leach '04.

With cold temperatures persisting into last Sunday's pursuit, the men bravely took to the course for the 10km classic pursuit, a race where each contestant starts in the place they finished the previous day, racing not against the clock, but against those around them. Kuzzy again led the Panthers with a solid fifth place finish, followed by Colin Rodgers in seventh and Jake Whitcomb in 16th. Marshall Greene, Bryce Roche '05, Donovan Dums '06 and Tim Weston all turned in top thirty performances as well.

Things went equally well for the women in their 5km classic pursuit with Newick leading the Panther charge, improving to a sixth place finish. Whitcomb too moved up in the overall finishes with an eighth place performance. Losing only a little ground, Anderson showed definite poise as she finished up her first college carnival in 15th place. The Leachs rounded out the Panther's top 30.

A week later, the Panther's traveled to the University of New Hampshire Carnival. Racing only one day, the men again turned in a third place performance while the women fell just short of third with a fourth place finish.

In the 20km race, Kuzzy battled his way to the lead pack over the course of the hour-long race, finishing in fourth place. Close behind him yet again was Rodgers in seventh, while Bryce Roche turned up the heat with a fantastic 13th place finish. Greene, Weston and Dums rounded out the Middlebury top thirty.

In one of their longest races of the year, Middlebury's nordic women again showed close team comradery finishing in a tight group led by Newick, Whitcomb, and Diana Johnson '05 in 10th, 11th and 12th places respectively. The Leachs as well as Tyne Pike-Sprenger '05 rounded out Middlebury's top thirty for the women.

With less than a week to rest, Middlebury will again be out in the snow when they travel to the University of Vermont Carnival this weekend. Look for Middlebury to remain on top of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association standings, racing their way toward NCAA's this March at Dartmouth.