Following a strong second place finish at the St. Lawrence Carnival, the Big Green ski team competed in the Colby Carnival this weekend, rounding it out with another second place finish. The alpine team raced in Sugarloaf, ME, while the Nordic team competed in Waterville Valley, N.H. Dartmouth placed second with 845 points, falling to the University of Vermont, which finished with 962 points. The University of New Hampshire took third with 786 points.
The Big Green solidified its second place status after the first two days of alpine events, when the team clinched victories in the men's 10-kilometer classic and second place finishes in both the women's five-kilometer classic and the slalom.
"This past weekend was a very solid team effort," men's alpine coach Peter Dodge said. "While it was extremely cold, the conditions for racing were good."
In the men's 10-kilometer classic, Middlebury junior Benjamin Lustgarten placed first but the Big Green sent many skiers to the podium. Scott Lacy '13 and Silas Talbot '15 took second and third place, respectively, with a 25:28.2 and a 25:35.0, and David Sinclair '14 placed sixth with a 25:54.2 to wrap up the team victory in the event.
"To see all our guys finishing right next to each other gives them a lot of confidence," Dodge said. "They now know that if they don't do well, someone else will step up to the plate. We're a young team but we're building with more experience."
For the Nordic women, Emily Blackmer '13 made an incredible carnival debut in her first career carnival race. Blackmer placed third in the women's five-kilometer with a time of 17:57.0. Isabel Caldwell '14 followed suit, taking fifth place with a time of 18:06.4. Despite the Big Green women's strong showing, UNH won the event, with the Wildcats taking second, seventh and eighth place to score 115 points, compared with the Big Green's 112.
On the alpine side, Hunter Black '15 placed fourth in the men's slalom with a combined time of 1:26.44. Ben Morse '14 placed 10th in the event with a time of 1:27.01 and Robert Overing '16 came in 15th with a time of 1:27.87. After one day of racing, the Vermont men's team held first place with 127 points, Middlebury second with 114 and the Big Green third with 97.
The women fared better after the first day, with the alpine women holding second, largely due to skiing by Sara Kikut '16 and Anna Kikut '16. Sara Kikut took fourth place in the slolam with a combined 1:30.70 while Anna Kikut finished 10th with a 1:32.22.
"I definitely took advantage of the situation and really went for it in my slalom," Sara Kikut said. "For the grand slalom in particular, it would be nice to have some more consistency. We're a strong team and we absolutely have the potential."
In the women's giant slalom Abby Fucigna '15 placed third with a combined time of 1:46.67, behind Vermont's Kate Ryley and Harvard's Rebecca Nadler.
"Because it was so cold, they kept delaying the start," Fucigna said. "I just tried to keep my head in the game and stay positive."
Fucigna said that the women's alpine team has a lot of potential, especially in the giant slalom.
"We have a strong team, and with the training at the [Dartmouth] Skiway this coming week, we can win at our Carnival for sure," Fucigna said.
The carnival ended with two Nordic races. Dartmouth took five out of the top eight spots for the 20-kilometer freestyle. Steven Mangan '14 placed second with a time of 47:27.4 followed by Talbot in fifth place with a time of 47:41.4. Erik Fagerstrom '14, Lacy and Sinclair took sixth, seventh and eighth. For the women's 15-kilometer freestyle, Carly Wynn '15 lead the Big Green, placing fifth with a time of 44:27.9 and Megan Killigrew '13 placed 11th with a time of 44:44.5.
"The team was a little bit behind in the pace set behind UVM, but the Big Green hopes to catch up at the Dartmouth Carnival," Dodge said.
Next weekend the Big Green Nordic team will ski the last portion of the Vermont Carnival in Stowe, Vt. The alpine portion of the carnival took place Jan. 11 and 12 with the Vermont Catamounts currently in first place with 422 points. UNH is in second place and Dartmouth is in third with 357 points.
In two weekends, Dartmouth will host the Dartmouth Carnival at the Skiway and Oak Hill Cross-Country Ski Center.
"We're looking forward to our home carnival," Dodge said. "[The alpine team] has a whole week off to prepare and get some great practice in."
Fucigna echoed Dodge's sentiments and said that skiing on home snow is a "great advantage."
