Battling swirling snow and raging winds, the Dartmouth ski team raced to a second-place finish at its home Carnival this weekend, after the alpine portion of competition was postponed due to high winds at the Dartmouth Skiway. The Big Green won both Nordic races on Friday and continued to see success on Saturday to reach a second-place point total of 871, behind Vermont's 977.
As this weekend's winter storm wreaked havoc on the Dartmouth Skiway, Oak Hill Cross Country Ski Center was also adversely affected when rain and warm temperatures earlier in the week destroyed ground cover. Friday and Saturday's Nordic events were moved to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Craftsbury's conditions also left something to be desired, with soft snow proving problematic for some skiers.
"We haven't skied in conditions like that in a long time," Nordic coach Cami Thompson-Graves said. "During Friday's race in particular, it was incredibly soft with a lot of snow, so some people struggled."
The Big Green had a great showing in Craftsbury, with the Nordic women defeating UVM by eight points in the five-kilometer classic and the Nordic men beating UVM by two in the 10-kilometer classic.
Leading the Big Green, Sam Tarling '13 took second place in the 10-kilometer classic with a 30:16.5. Tarling was followed by Silas Talbot '15 in third place with a 30:36.3 and David Sinclair '14 in fifth with a 30.52.9. UVM's Scott Patterson won the event with a 29:55.8.
"Last week at the UVM Carnival, we came so close to taking first place," Talbot said. "This week, we wanted to see if we could get closer and get more guys in the top spots. Hosting our own carnival is definitely a lot of fun, and it seemed like a great opportunity to ski well and try to maximize our points."
The Nordic women took the fourth, fifth and sixth spots to win the five-kilometer classic. Annie Hart '14, who recently returned to the Big Green after skiing in Europe, narrowly missed third place by half a second to take fourth in 17:05.7. Corey Stock '16 took fifth place in 17:10.5 and Mary O'Connell '16 took sixth in 17:13.8.
While UVM's Anja Gruber won the race with a 16:43.3, the Big Green trio accumulated 117 points to take first in the event. Hart said she was glad to race for the Big Green again because of the team dynamic and she appreciates that skiers are racing for a team rather than an individual victory.
"At our carnival this weekend, we just focused on building on the momentum from the weekend before," Hart said. "If you're having a good time, a good race will follow."
The alpine team got off to a solid start on Friday as well. In the women's giant slalom, Lizzie Kistler '16 placed fourth with a combined time of 2:06.89, following the UVM women's trio that took the first three spots on the podium. Abby Fucigna '15 took seventh place with a 2:08.94 and Annie Rendall '13 placed 18th with a 2:10.42. The women took second place in the event overall with 101 points, pulling ahead of Middlebury by just one point.
In the men's giant slalom, Ben Morse '14 just missed out on the podium, coming in fourth place with a combined 2:01.11. Trace Smith '15 placed 10th with a 2:01.86 and Hunter Black '15 placed 20th in a time of 2:03.37. The men combined to score 95 points, putting the team in fourth place behind UVM, Middlebury and the University of New Hampshire.
Although the men's and women's slalom races were postponed on Saturday, the Nordic three-by-five-kilometer freestyle relays were as scheduled. The Big Green men and women each posted the fastest times to sweep the Nordic events for the Carnival.
"I think the team was incredibly fired up about the relay, Thompson-Graves said. "They really enjoy working with their teammates, and it was a fun part of the carnival."
In the men's relay, Scott Lacy '13, Talbot and Tarling won the event by more than nine seconds with a 41:58.7, thanks to an outstanding push by Tarling, who brought the team from fourth place to first in the final five-kilometer leg. Erik Fagerstrom '14, Sinclair and Steven Mangan '14 placed second.
In the women's event, Hart joined O'Connell and Stock for a first place victory, winning the relay by almost a minute with a 47:57.7. Megan Killigrew '13, Emily Blackmer '13 and Carly Wynn '15 took sixth place with a time of 51:05.8.
After Saturday's cancellations, the women's and men's giant slalom scores were doubled to calculate the final results of the carnival. UVM placed second in every race, giving the Catamounts the victory at the Big Green's Carnival. Middlebury finished third with 785 points.
Although the men's and women's slalom races will not contribute to the carnival standings, they will take place on Sunday at the Dartmouth Skiway as standalone NCAA collegiate races.
