NCAA
David Donaldson
OpeningGrand
Vermont and New Mexico alpine squads impress, but Colorado and
Dartmouth nordic racers carry teams to victory BY BRYCE HUBNER
36 | Ski Racing JANUARY 25, 2010
EISA
The St. Lawrence University Carnival kicked off near Lake Placid,
N. Y., on Jan. 15 and 16. Conditions were tough as temperatures oscillated
between above and below freezing, making waxing tricky at the classic races
on day one and leading to rodeo-style ruts on both days at the alpine venue.
Despite the challenges, Dartmouth nordic racers dominated, the Vermont
alpine squad owned Whiteface, and New Hampshire announced that it’s an
EISA contender.
When all the points were tallied, Dartmouth boasted a 108-point victory,
staking its claim as the East Coast’s team to beat. Again. Though UVM won
both the slalom and GS on the men’s
and women’s sides, Big Green’s nordic
machine proved too strong to overtake
and carried the weekend.
Dartmouth annihilated the competition by claiming the top five spots on
the opening day of races in the women’s
5K classic. Ida Sargent led the charge
with a 16-second win, followed by
teammates Rosie Brennan, Katie Bono,
Erika Flowers and Stephanie Crocker,
respectively. The Big Green women
nearly equaled that performance in the
15K free on the following day when they
claimed four of the top six spots, again
led by Ida Sargent who skied to her second straight victory, this time narrowly Nils Koons
edging out Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson.
Dartmouth men showed they’re a force, too, as Nils Koons and Patrick
O’Brien each garnered a pair of top-five finishes to start the season, including
a victory for Koons in the 10K classic.
“Friday was a tricky waxing day with tough conditions — a mix of rain and
snow,” Dartmouth nordic coach Cami Thompson said. “So I’m very proud
of the team because of how tough they
were, how they handled the challenge.
They just put their heads down and
went out there and skied smart. It’s a
great confidence booster, especially for
new athletes. The trick now is to stay
healthy and keep the momentum going
right through the season.”
Schwartz says he was particularly excited by two individual performances.
Anya Bean — whose father, Howard, was a U.S. Ski Team and UNH standout
As a team, New Hampshire nordic ath-
letes skied to second-place finishes in
three of four races, which vaulted New
Hampshire to a third-place overall fin-
ish at the carnival.
“You probably know our alpine team
has been one of the best in the country
the past couple years, so I’m really happy
our cross country skiers had some results
to complement what they’ve been doing,” New Hampshire program director
and nordic coach Cory Schwartz said.
