Skiers Come Home to Best Finish of Season

Author: Josh Axelrod

Sunny skies and screamingly fast snow welcomed skiers to Middlebury's Bread Loaf campus where skiers in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) faced off in the final carnival event of the year. Middlebury, coming off encouraging results the previous weekend, was looking to cap off the season with strong races on their home turf.
Racing began with the women's five-kilometer freestyle. Although they would not get splits, a few schools chose to send out their best skiers early, for better colder snow. Thus it was that Claire Anderson '06 took to the course, pounding the uphills into submission as she led the Panther charge, winning the Middlebury Carnival skate title for the first time since 1983. Close behind her and helping carry the Panthers to their strongest showing of the season was Diana Johnson '05 in fifth place. Kate Newick '04 was seventh to round out Middlebury's scoring, leaving them in first place for the day. Kate Whitcomb '04 finished ninth, Berkley Leach '04 in 17th and Taylor Leach '06 in 28th.
After spending a tense 15 minutes listening to results as racers continued to cross the finish line, it dawned on Anderson that she had won. With smiles and hugs from a crowd of teammates and friends, Anderson beamed with delight. She said, "When I heard the announcer start reading results saying that Allison Crocker was in sixth, Anna Mcloon in third, I just kept thinking, oh my God, I beat [Crocker], I beat [Mcloon], and at the end of the day I was still in first!"
After the early success of Anderson, the men began their 10-kilometer trek through the woods in temperatures that had now climbed well into the 40s, beginning to slow the snow. After one lap, Garrot Kuzzy '06 was leading the Panther charge with first place splits, dead even with the skating specialist from University of Vermont, Lowell Bailey. Five kilometers later, Kuzzy had lost less than 30 seconds on Bailey and finished the day with an astonishing second place finish. Colin Rodgers '04 continued his reign in the EISA top 10, finishing in a solid seventh place. Jake Whitcomb '06 finished out the Panther scoring in 13th place, putting Middlebury in third for the day. The Panthers' results fell six points short of first place. Tim Weston '03 and Marshall Greene '04 both finished in the top 20 with strong races, while Bryce Roche '05 was solid with a 33rd-place finish.
Day two began with weather that could have wreaked havoc upon the racers. Gray clouds hung in the sky with the promise of rain or snow while the tracks had turned to solid ice overnight, awaiting the beginning of the men's 20-kilometer classic race. After an hour of testing various combinations of klisters, the men made their way to the starting line along with more than 60 others for the dramatic mass start.
With the shot of a starter's pistol, the mass of men jumped into movement. Colors flashed and the air became alive with cheering. Weston was leading the charge, followed on his left by Rodgers. Middlebury had come out of the stadium in first and second place before disappearing into the woods to start their climb to the top of Battell. At three kilometers, Rodgers had retained the lead and was calmly kicking toward the next climb followed closely by a pack of twenty other skiers, Weston still hanging on easily in third.
Over the next 17 kilometers, as the air temperature rose and the snow thawed, skiers began to slip. The lead pack thinned to three with Rodgers still vying for second place. Weston had slipped slightly to sixth, but Kuzzy was fast approaching the remnants of the lead pack who continued to fall off the grueling pace.
As Rodgers began the final climb, he fell to fourth place but remained in contact, the crowds cheering him home. Over the top of the course he battled for position but was unable to overcome Andrew Hunter of Dartmouth for the podium spot ending in a solid fourth place effort.
Weston finished ninth in his strongest showing of the year, a race that he needed to have in order to qualify for his final NCAA appearance in two weeks. Kuzzy continued his climb from 20th place, finishing in 11th with Roche showing everyone that a slow start can be overcome by stellar skiing, finishing in 16th place. Greene finished out the Panther finishers with a strong 25th place effort.
The women's 15-kilometer race began while snow started to cling to the peak of Bread Loaf Mountain. With klister on their skis, the women prayed the snow would hold off for another hour. Another bang and the women were off, led by the technically graceful Whitcomb, who never loses a mass start. Newick got slightly wrapped up in the converging mass of women but managed a decent start while Berkley Leach '04 and Anderson snuck to the outside, avoiding the tangled mess on the inside of the turn out of the stadium.
At three kilometers, Whitcomb had fallen back a few places while Newick began her charge into the top ten. Johnson, who had started as far back as 43rd was quickly approaching the top 20 and showing no signs of slowing down there. Leach and Anderson remained close to one another while Taylor began her climb toward the top.
Allison Crocker of Dartmouth broke away from all skiers late in the first lap and easily stole the victory. Skiing hard and battling for position to the end, Newick ended the day with yet another sixth place finish. Johnson, who passed another three skiers in the final four kilometers finished with an amazing tenth place effort. Taylor Leach '06 had her strongest race of the year, finishing out Middlebury's scoring with a 14th place finish that put the women in third place for the day. Whitcomb was 16th, followed by Berkley Leach in 23rd and Anderson in 26th.
With only two weeks remaining before the NCAA competition in Dartmouth, at least five Panther skiers are preparing to improve on their results from last year. Kuzzy, Rodgers and Weston will represent Middlebury's strong men's team as they vie for a top position in the tough national field. Anderson, Newick and possibly Johnson will be leading the women. Competition begins on March 5 with five and 10-kilometer classical races on Dartmouth's challenging and interesting Oak Hill courses.