Bolstered by its dominating women's Nordic squad, the Dartmouth ski team plowed through rough weather conditions to take first place at the St. Lawrence Carnival in Lake Placid, N.Y., this weekend.
The University of Vermont trailed in a distant second, followed by the University of New Hampshire.
The Big Green cross-country teams took resounding control of the course. The women took first in the five-kilometer classic, while the men secured a win in their 10-kilometer classic.
Women's Nordic proved its depth as five of its six skiers placed in the top five in Friday's race, with captain Ida Sargent '11 garnering first in a time of 15:10.2. Rosie Brennan '11 took second, followed by Katie Bono '10, Erika Flowers '12 and Stephanie Crocker '12.
"I don't think we have ever gone one to five in a race, and I'm just so proud of the team," women's cross country coach Cami Thompson said.
In the men's 10-kilometer classic, freestyle bib-leader Nils Koons '11 captured the first spot, while captain Patrick O'Brien '10 was the next Dartmouth finisher in fourth. O'Brien and Koons continued their strong performances on Saturday in the 20-kilometer free, coming in at second and third, respectively.
The women won the 15-kilometer free on Saturday, and Sargent again took first place with a time of 47:45.5. Brennan and Flowers followed in third and fourth place, respectively.
Saturday's race also included a mass start, which provided an added challenge for the Big Green.
"It was essentially a little more challenging because [the course] ended up having one team lane to start, rather than having most of the team starting in the front of the line," Thompson said.
Bib leader Courtney Hammond '11 gave Dartmouth's alpine teams their best result on the first day of skiing, placing second after two runs with a combined time of 2:05.00.
For the men's side, Ace Tarberry '11 led the Big Green with an eighth-place finish in the giant slalom.
On Friday, the men settled for third, while the women captured second place.
"It was a good start," captain Christine Roberts '10 said. "I think we could have done better and hopefully we will in the future, but it was a strong showing."
Saturday's slalom races saw a small gain in points for the women, as Hammond took first. Although the team placed second again, individual skiers moved up in the standings.
The Nordic teams will face a shortage of their top-performing skiers as a handful will be participating in the World Junior Championships and the Under-23 Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany, but this will give other skiers a chance to race, Thompson said.
