The Dartmouth Ski Team finished its regular season this weekend at the Middlebury College Carnival, taking third place overall, behind the University of Vermont and Middlebury.
The men's team finished in first place and the women's in fourth.
On the cross country trails, the Dartmouth men tied for second with Middlebury behind UVM in Friday's 10K Freestyle race.
Aki Partenen of UVM won the race, but Colter Leys '96, Captain Cory Smith '96 and Paul Stone '98 pulled together as a team and managed strong fourth, fifth and 20th place finishes.
In Saturday's 20K Classical event, the Dartmouth men improved their speed and came out on top. While Partenen won again, Smith and Leys were directly behind him in second and third. Stone also managed to pick up his pace, placing 13th and Brant Stead '96 -- who placed 25th the day before -- finished 14th, contributing to the Dartmouth win.
The Nordic women, still suffering from ailments which slowed them down in last week's Williams Carnival, placed fourth in Friday's 5K Freestyle race won by the University of New Hampshire and fifth in Saturday's 15K Classical races which was won by UVM.
Siri Halle of UVM, a repeated winner of this race, won the 5K. Dartmouth Captain Heather Eliassen '95 finished 11th and teammates Lara Burgel '96 and Valerie Wrenholt '97 followed in 18th and 19th.
Eliassen improved her speed and placed fourth in the 15K race, but Wrenholt's 21st place finish and freshman Elizabeth McGoldrick's 23rd place finish prevented Dartmouth from winning the event.
On the slopes this weekend, the Dartmouth men were as strong as ever, winning both Friday's Giant Slalom and Saturday's Slalom events. Brett Grabowski of UVM won the GS, but J.P. Daigneault '97, holding true his promise to ski faster this weekend, finished in second place. Behind Daigneault were teammates Ben Robinson '97 in fourth and Jeremiah Thompson '96 -- last week's GS winner -- in sixth.
Saturday's Slalom race was equally successful for the improved Daigneault and his teammates as they again took the lead from UVM. Stefan Schadinger of UVM won the race, but Daigneault finished third and Robinson, who was last week's winner of this race, placed fourth. Captain Andy Martin '96, who was disqualified from the GS race, placed sixth.
The Alpine women had a successful GS race, placing third behind UVM and Middlebury. Laura Turner '98 finished fifth and Captain Jesse James '95 followed in 13th. Pam Finnerty '97 placed 20th and Kate Buhrmaster '97 placed 22nd.
The next day's Slalom race was not as rewarding, as the Dartmouth women dropped to a disappointing eighth place. Buhrmaster placed seventh, but her teammates were not so lucky. Although Finnerty managed a modest 18th, the next Dartmouth skier, Andrea Korber '98 finished in 54th place, placing the Big Green far behind their competitors.
The Carnival races are over for this season and for the next two weeks the Big Green will focus on the upcoming NCAAs which will be hosted by the University of New Hampshire from March 8-13.
