Panther Skiers Combine to Place Fourth at Colby Carnival

Senior Nordic captain Kelsey Phinney ‘16 picked up her second win of the season as the Alpine and Nordic teams combined for a fourth place finish last weekend, Jan. 23-24. Alpine events took place at Sugarloaf Mountain while the Nordic team took to the trails at the Quarry Road Recreational Area in Waterville.

Carnival action kicked off Friday morning at Sugarloaf with the alpine team racing in the giant slalom. The Panther men put in another solid effort, finishing three in the top-12. Colin Hayes ’17 led the pack in sixth place, while Riley Plant ’18 turned in a great second run to finish eighth. Christopher McKenna ’17 had a strong second run to land a 12th place finish.

On the women’s side, first-year Caroline Bartlett ’19 just missed the podium, landing in fourth place for the best finish of her young collegiate career. Also contributing to the scoring was Lexi Calcagni ’19 (13th) and Elle Gilbert ’16 (22nd).

Saturday’s Nordic races were again highlighted by Phinney, who took home first place in the 15K classic race.
“Kelsey is skiing really well right now,” Head Nordic Coach Andrew Johnson said. “In Saturday’s 15K mass start classic she was able to control the race and finish strong to pull away from the rest of the field.”

Nicolette Amber ’16 (15th) and Kaitlin Fink ’16 (29th) also contributed to the Panthers’ efforts, good for a third-place finish. Pacing the men’s squad in Saturday’s race was Patrick McElravey ’17, who crossed the line in 12th place. Evan Weinman ’18 was next for the Panther men in 26th place, while Adam Luban ’17 rounded out the scoring in 28th.

On the second day of alpine racing, Rob Cone ’17 set the pace for the men’s team with a solid podium performance that landed him in second place.
“Limited snow has made the prep period difficult in both events,” Cone said.

Cone added that more training has led to his improved slalom performance.
“With the slightly increased training, my performance in slalom is closer to where I’d like it to be,” Cone said. “Two medium quality runs in the slalom paid off, especially with a difficult second run set, and I was able to get a solid finish.”

Other contributors to the men’s third place finish were Hayes, McKenna and Ghassan Gedeon-Achi ’16. Hayes registered a strong eighth place finish while McKenna and Gedeon-Achi tied crossed the line tied for 15th place.

The women’s alpine team was not able to come together as strongly as in the previous event, with only one girl finishing in the top-20. Bartlett again led the pack, placing in 18th overall. A pack of Panthers were close behind, with Gilbert, Calcagni and Katy Greene ’17 claiming spots 23-25.

The carnival action concluded on Sunday with a Nordic team sprint, which saw the duo of Phinney and Amber race to a third place finish. The pair of Fink and Katie Feldman ’18 also added to team scoring with a 13th-place finish. On the men’s side, McElravey and Luban were the first Panthers to cross the finish line, good for 11th overall. The team of Weinman and Lewis Nottonson ’19 turned in a 21st place finish.

Middlebury just missed the podium, finishing the carnival fourth overall. Dartmouth won with 921 points, with Vermont (917) and New Hampshire (912) not far behind. The alpine team will return to action this weekend at Stowe for the UVM carnival, while the Nordic racers will not take to the slopes again until Feb. 5-6.