Ski Racing - February 22, 2010

“We’ve had really good training this year,” Ryley says. “We had an excel-
lent Colorado camp in November, and training at Stowe has been awe-
some — great conditions, always timing. But I think the real reason we’re
having success as a team is that we have awesome coaches. Their number
one goal is to make sure we’re having fun, and I think if you’re having fun
you’re going to ski fast.”
UVM has indeed been the dominant alpine force on the EISA circuit
this season, with athletes such as David Donaldson having also won five
of eight races and Lyndee Janowiak finishing just ahead of or just behind
Ryley in nearly every race. But Ryley says the best is yet to come.
“Lyndee is skiing so well,” Ryley says. “She’s got so much speed, she’s
winning training runs every day and she’s going to win a few more races
this season. The rest of the team, too. Looking to NCAAs, New Mexico
has an unbelievable alpine team, but I think we’ll give them a run for
their money.”
Because she turns 24 later this year, Ryley has only a single season left
of NCAA eligibility, but she says the focus and perspective she’s gained
while being at UVM has been invaluable, and that she’s now better than
ever at embracing the moment.
“When I was on the national team, I was always worried about what I’d
be doing next month or next year,” Ryley says. “I was never really focused
on what I was doing at the time. At school you’re just exposed to so much
more than the sport. Of course I think about the future, but I’m much
more focused on just appreciating the moment.”
Whatever the secret, Ryley is skiing fast enough so that the Canadian

Megan Ryley races the UVM Carnival slalom.

LINCOLN BENEDIC T/EISA ( 3)

national team is definitely taking notes. Though she she’s not certain she’d go back to the national team even if the opportunity presents itself, she knows she’ll be better equipped to succeed in the event that she does. She also says that, because of the perspective it lends, more people should take a serious look at using college as a stepping-stone for the next level.

“My [frame of mind] would be so much different if I went back to the national team,” Ryley says. “Four years ago, skiing was starting to feel like a job. Now, I realize it’s only a sport — and I realize how lucky I am to be doing it. I was telling my parents not long ago that I feel bad for people who never get a chance to experience college racing.”

Dartmouth Carnival Roundup

The Dartmouth College Carnival took place on Feb. 12 and 13 at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth Skiway and at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt. For the fourth time this season, Dartmouth finished first and UVM finished runner-up. There was, however, finally a shake-up in the top five, as Middlebury bumped New Hampshire from the third-place spot after UNH had a stranglehold on third throughout the first half of the season.

Patrick Johnson at the Dartmouth Carnival.

On Feb. 12, Middlebury’s Patrick Johnson, Dylan Grald, and Graham Egan dominated the men’s 3 x 5K relay, besting Dartmouth’s Patrick O’Brien, Nils Koons, and Eric Packer by more than 20 seconds. Johnson also put down the fastest individual time of the relay, and then followed it up with a third-place result in the 20K mass start classic on Feb. 13. Middlebury’s alpiners also performed well: Nicole Dvorak finished second in slalom and fifth in GS as Bobby Poehling led the men with a stellar second-place slalom result. In what now seems to be routine fashion, Dartmouth placed five skiers in the top 10 of the ladies’ 15K mass start classic, and Big Green was again led by Ida Sargent, who scored still another compelling victory. UVM’s Caitlin Patterson and Jennie Bender finished second and fourth, while teammate Caitlin Curran — who seems to get stronger each week after switching from alpine to nordic just a few years ago — pulled through with a fine seventh-place result. Bates skier Natalie Ruppertsburger finished fifth, making that her second top-five finish in as many weeks. RMISA action resumes at the Nevada Invitational in Lake Tahoe on Feb. 19 and 20. EISA schools will race the Williams College Carnival on the same dates.