Alpine Rides Rusten's Runs to Strong Finish

Author: Andy Zimmermann

The Middlebury ski team behind a massive effort from both the nordic and alpine sides, finished second in last weekend's Middlebury Carnival, which was also designated the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) championships. Teams from as far away as Western Michigan descended upon the Snow Bowl, yet it was the home team along with powerhouse University of Vermont (UVM) that stole the show.
Friday afternoon the slalom took place on the Ross ski trail. With students and faculty present the women finished the first portion of the weekend's events in fifth place behind a 10th place finish by Laura Scripture '04. Adding to Middlebury's point total was Brie Pike-Sprenger '04 in 16th and Molly Russell '05 in 27th. Jenny Lathrop of Colby College won the event with a time of 1:37.45.
On the men's side John Rusten '05 completed two slalom runs in third place overall after finishing the first run in second. UVM racers Jimmy Cochran and Scott Kennison were the only two to best Rusten on the day. Josh Transue '06 and David Coriell '06 were able to crack the top 10 leaving Middlebury in good standing for the following day's events.
Saturday saw gray skies and warm temperatures, both difficult conditions for downhill racing. In what could have been a day filled with flat light and a rutted turns, the course held up during the giant slalom (GS) event to produce some fast times and impressive results for the Panthers. The women put it all together on day two finishing the GS comfortably in second place behind a strong UVM team. Jessica Smith '05 showed a glimpse of the form that earned her many top finishes last year by speeding to a third-place finish just 0.22 seconds out of second. Her teammate Scripture, was able to let her skis run as well following suit in fourth. Russell improved upon Fridays results by moving up to 13th place in the GS.
The Panther men took after their female counterparts and finished second in the GS on a day where just 4.5 points separated first and third place. Coriell led the charge in the first run. "I skied well and was on it," said the first-year out of Killington, Vt who was 0.30 seconds behind Cochran after the morning run. Impressive first runs by Rusten, Transue, Eric Rygg '03 and Fred Emich IV '04 put Middlebury in a position to challenge UVM in the second run.
The bunching at the top continued in the afternoon. "Allen is a tough run that doesn't separate people that much," said Coriell, who finished the day in eighth after a slower second run. Rusten was the big mover in the afternoon making up time and coming third. Emich IV came in seventh behind solid skiing in both runs. Transue and Rygg finished out a group of five Middlebury racers that finished in the top 13. Cochran again led UVM by winning the event on a hill he knows very well.
A consistent day by the Nordic team along with the heroics by the alpiners was the recipe for the team's best overall finish of the year. The momentum will be key for the Panthers as they prepare for the NCAA championships just a week away at Dartmouth.
The alpine team resumes practice today after a well-deserved three day rest. This weekend it will race in an Eastern Cup race at Burke Mountain as a warm up for the NCAAs. Many of the East's top teams will be in attendance at Burke over the weekend.
This season Middlebury will send five racers to compete in the NCAA championships. Six skiers on the men's side qualified to race yet NCAA rules dictate that only three may race. Those three will be John Rusten, Eric Rygg and Dave Coriell. For the women, Jessica Smith and Laura Scripture will represent Middlebury in the biggest event of the year.