Midd ski teams remain productive Alpine and Nordic squads continue to raise expectations

Author: Kellan Florio

With the 2005 carnival season fastly approaching, the Middlebury men's and women's alpine ski teams competed in several national FIS races over this past weekend to prepare for the start of their season.

The women's side battled the steep and icy slopes of Smugglers Notch for a pair of slaloms on the eighth and ninth before heading to Sugarbush on the 10th for a giant slalom. The men's circuit was stationed in Maine for the long weekend with a slalom at Sunday River on Sunday, followed by two giant slaloms at Sugarloaf.

Leading the Panther women at Smugglers Notch was highly touted first-year Megan Hughes '08, placing second in the first slalom. UVM's Jamie Kingsbury topped the podium, blowing away the field with a combined time of 1:28.90, nearly two seconds ahead of Hughes. Lindsay Brush '07 skied to a fourth place finish with a time of 1:31.44, and Jess Smith '04.5 rounded out the top 10, 1.5 seconds behind Brush. Tara Martin '07 turned in a solid effort with a 15th place finish, followed by Anna Furney '08 in 28th and Kelly Brush '08 in 44th.

Sunday yielded similar results for the women's team with Hughes notching another second place finish with a combined time of 1:37.49, a half-second behind Dartmouth's Courtney Calise.

"Both days I knew I had to punch it second run after making a few mistakes in the first runs," commented Hughes, "I wanted to ski aggressively and go for the win and knowing that I took second with some mistakes I'm excited to step it up in the carnival season."

Smith's time of 1:40.44 put her in a respectable 13th position, while Martin, Krissie Poehling '08, Kelly Brush and Amy Witherspoon '07 all finished in the top 50, coming in 18th, 19th, 40th and 47th respectably.

With a slimmer squad competing in Monday's Giant Slalom at Sugarbush, the women still produced quality results, placing four racers in the top 35. Martin led the Panthers with a 20th place finish, followed by Kelly Brush in 23rd Furney in 28th and Molly Russell '05 in 32th.

On Sunday, senior co-captain John Rusten '05 led the men's squad to a successful day at Sunday River, placing fifth in the slalom with a combined time of 1:46.52. Rusten clung to a 0.12 second lead after the first run over Green Mountain Valley School's Cody Marshall, but could not hold on as Marshall eclipsed the slim margin in the second run to take the victory in 1:45.75. Dave Coriell '06 finished in an impressive eighth place with a time of 1:48.13, while rookie Alex Tarberry '08 claimed the 13th spot in 1:49.74. Joey Swensson '08, Andrew Everett '07 and Scott Coriell '07 were the other Middlebury finishers, placing 23rd, 26th and 35th, respectably.

Monday proved more challenging for the men, as Coriell's eighth place finish at the Sugarloaf Giant Slalom was the only Middlebury finish in the top 20. Following Coriell was Derek Shields '05, who carved his way to 21st place, less than five seconds off the pace set by repeat winner Cody Marshall. Tarberry continued his strong bid for a carnival spot with a 23rd place finish, followed by Everett in 30th and Jed Yeiser '08 in 35th.

After an encouraging weekend competing against much of the same field they will face on the carnival circuit, the alpine team looks poised to defend their Eastern title. Next up is the Bates Carnival at Sunday River on January 21 and 22.

Over the holiday break the men's and women's nordic ski team headed west to Soldier Hollow, Utah to train and compete at U.S. Nationals. The venue for the 2002 Olympic cross-country events, Soldier Hollow lived up to its reputation of being one of the toughest courses in the country. Despite facing the nation's most elite field, a challenging course and high altitude, the Panther skiers held their own.

Garrott Kuzzy '06 led the men with an 18th place in the 30km freestyle event in a field of over 100 racers, before capturing 27th in the 10km classic. Former Middlebury skier Andrew Johnson claimed the gold in the 30km freestyle, the first U.S. title of his career.

Rookie Matt Johnson '08 posted a 10th place among junior skiers in the 1.3km classic sprint race, while Dan Skold '07, Beau Baldock '07, Jake Whitcomb '06 and Tom Wisdom '05 also turned in solid finishes throughout the week.

Claire Anderson '06, Evelyn Dong '07 and Taylor Leach '06 represented the Panther women at Soldier Hollow. Anderson and Dong faired best in the 15km freestyle, placing 26th and 30th respectively among 100 racers. Dong also claimed the 15th fastest qualifying time for juniors out of 57 finishers in the 1.3km sprint.

Encouraged by the trip, junior co-captain Jake Whitcomb commented, "It was great to challenge ourselves this early in the season. Training and racing at altitude will definitely give us an edge, and competing against the best skiers in the country will only make us more hungry to live up to the standards we set last season."

Defending the 2004 Eastern title begins on Jan. 14 and 15 with the nordic portion of the St. Michael's carnival.