2014 EISA End of Season Awards

2014 EISA End of Season Awards

EISA Service Award

Don Cutter

EISA Coaches of the Year

Alpine - Bill Reichelt UVM

Nordic - Chris City HAR

Edgewise/Winterfell Leader Bib

Women’s SL - Kate Ryley UVM

Women’s GS - Kate Ryley UVM

Men’s SL - Taylor Wunsch UVM

Men’s GS - Travis Dawson UVM

Women’s Freestyle - Linda Danvind-Malm UVM

Women’s Classic - Anja Gruber UVM

Men’s Freestyle - Scott Patterson UVM

Men’s Classic - Silas Talbot DAR

Edgewise/Winterfell Rookie of the Year

Women’s Alpine - Mardene Haskell CBC

Men’s Alpine - Chris McKenna MID

Women’s Nordic - Katrin Larusson UNH

Men’s Nordic - Patrick Caldwell DAR

EISA All-East Team

Women’s Alpine

1st Team

Kate Ryley UVM

Kristina Riis-Johannessen UVM

Lizzie Kistler DAR

Elise Tefre UVM

Mardene Haskell CBC

2nd Team

Abby Fucigna DAR

Yina Moe-Lange MID
Shannon Campbell WIL
Rebecca Nadler HAR

Meg Currie DAR

Randa Teschner UNH

Men’s Alpine

1st Team

Travis Dawson UVM

Dom Garand UVM

Hig Roberts MID

Kevin Drury UVM

Jonothan Nordbotten UVM

2nd Team

Taylor Wunsch UVM

Robin Overing DAR

Coley Oliver UNH

Ben Morse DAR

Chris McKenna MID

Women’s Nordic

1st Team

Anja Gruber UVM

Linda Danvind-Malm UVM

Annie Hart DAR

Stephanie Kirk UVM

Corey Stock DAR

2nd Team

Kaitlynn Miller BOW

Heather Mooney MID

Jennifer Rolfes HAR

Hallie Grossman BAT

Katrin Larusson UNH

Men's Nordic

1st Team

Scott Patterson UVM

Silas Talbot DAR

Jorgen Grav UVM

Patrick Caldwell DAR

Ben Lustgarten MID

2nd Team

Rogan Brown UVM

Eirik Fosnaes UNH

David Sinclair DAR

Fabian Stocek DAR
Per Lindgren UNH

EISA Skiers of the Week - NCAA East Regional/EISA Championships/Middlebury Carnival

Alpine

Kristina Riis-Johannessen UVM - 4th SL, 2nd GS

Photo: UVM Athletics

Jonathan Nordbotten UVM - 3rd SL, 3rd GS

Photo: UVM Athletics

Nordic

Linda Danvind-Malm UVM - 2nd 5k Classic, 3rd 15k Freestyle

Photo: UVM Athletics

Scott Patterson UVM - 2nd 10k Classic, 2nd 20k Freestyle

Photo: UVM Athletics

UVM Women Complete Sweep at Regionals; Caldwell Wins Again

RIPTON, VT. — EISA racing flew into the postseason for the Middlebury Carnival and EISA Regional Championships this weekend, and while UVM and Dartmouth traded race wins in Nordic competition, the Catamount women achieved a level of dominance they had been dreaming of all year: the sweep of a race podium. Yet despite their team's dominance on Saturday, none of the individuals topping the medal stands this weekend were named Gruber or Danvind-Malm.

Middlebury's Benjamin Lustgarten completely dominated the field on his home course Friday morning. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

Friday morning's 10k classic race saw periods of cold, driving rain and gale-force winds that made unprotected parts of the course feel more like uphills than flats. Teams had a difficult time finding klister that worked, and many skiers opted for zero skis over wax, as they tended to run slightly faster.

None of that seemed to bother Ben Lustgarten of Middlebury, however. Lustgarten put a massive fifty seconds into Scott Patterson by the end of ten kilometers and, incredibly, appeared rather comfortable doing so. His lap time consistency was impressive as well, skiing 25-up the first lap and 50-up at the finish. Unfortunately, Lustgarten was not available for comment due to a Saturday injury, but his show of strength on Friday has huge National Championship implications, provided that he is healthy in March.

Patterson, to his credit, skied just as consistently and was similarly far ahead of the rest of the field. He and his teammates Jack Hegman, Rogan Brown, and Jorgen Grav occupied the 2, 3, 4, and 6 spots, giving UVM a formidable chokehold on the top-10 and a sizeable win in the team points competition. Patterson, Grav, and Brown are the Catamounts' top three scorers on the qualifying list for the NCAA championships, hosted by the University of Utah.

UNH turned in a solid team performance, slotting second on the day. Eirik Fosnaes led the way in fifth and in doing so, recorded his third top-5 of the season. Per Lindgren was 11th and freshman Gavin Hess was the third scorer for the Wildcats in 21st. Both Fosnaes and Lindgren have qualified to compete in Utah next month. Johnny Springer currently sits in the first alternate position.

Dartmouth was third on the day, with Patrick Caldwell, David Sinclair, and Silas Talbot finishing 7th, 9th, and 10th respectively. The Big Green has five skiers inside qualifying range, including Talbot, Caldwell, Sinclair, Fabian Stocek, and Cam Woodworth. Coaches Cami Thompson and Ruff Patterson often use discretionary picks in order to send their senior skiers to compete.

Will Wicherski of Williams College was 8th on Friday, completing the top-10.

Dartmouth's Annie Hart took a narrow victory over Linda Danvind-Malm in the 5k classic. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

The morning's rain cleared slightly, but the women faced much the same conditions as the men on Friday afternoon. Annie Hart of Dartmouth skied to a six-second victory over Linda Danvind-Malm of UVM, ending Anja Gruber's classic race winning streak. Hart has skied consistently in classic races all season, never finishing worse than fourth, but was still searching for the elusive victory going into Friday. "It's a great confidence-booster going into NCAAs," she said of her performance. "I've been second a lot this year...so it's encouraging to know that on any given day I'm in contention for wins." Hart was joined on the podium by Corey Stock in third—her first podium of the year. Isabel Caldwell finished off Dartmouth's scoring, in 9th, to beat UVM by a mere two points. Hart, Stock, Emily Hannah, Carly Wynn, and Isabel Caldwell are all inside NCAA qualification range.

UVM scored Linda Danvind-Malm, Anja Gruber, and Maggie Williams, in 2nd, 4th, and 6th respectively, a performance that would get them a win most days. Gruber, Danvind-Malm, and Stephanie Kirk are UVM's top three qualifiers for NCAAs.

Bates College put up impressive numbers on blazing fast skis on Friday, with three women in the top 20. Tara Humphries skied to the first top-10 result of her career in 8th, Sadie James was 14th (a season-best) and Grace Wright was 20th (another season-best). The Bobcats will send Hallie Grossman to NCAAs for the second year in a row.

Amy Bianco of Colby was 5th on Friday, and Katrin Larusson was 10th.

Patrick Caldwell of Dartmouth celebrates at the finish of the 20k freestyle mass-start. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

Patrick Caldwell is hitting excellent form at just about the right time this season. Caldwell matched Scott Patterson stride-for-stride for about 19 kilometers on Saturday, then won a spectacular drag race with Patterson down the final 300 meters of Rikert Nordic Center's race course. With two individual wins in the last three races, Caldwell is poised as one of the East's top competitors heading to Soldier Hollow. His win on Saturday gave his team the lift it needed to overpower a strong UVM team performance by just four points. "Scott and I sort of went back and forth as the race went on, and I just felt stronger at the end," Caldwell remarked after his race. "Really pumped for the Championships." Caldwell was followed by David Sinclair in third, his second skate podium of the year, and senior Cam Woodworth in seventh. Also finishing well were Silas Talbot in 8th, Fabian Stocek tied for 9th, and Erik Fagerstrom in 11th.

Led by Patterson in 2nd, UVM took 3 of the top 6 spots, but wasn't able to get the team win. Patterson was followed by Rogan Brown in 4th and Jorgen Grav in 6th. Jack Hegman tied for 9th as well.

The Williams men were third on the day, led by Will Wicherski (5th) who skied to his second top-5 of the year. Eli Hoenig was 12th, and his brother Isaac was 19th to score points for the Ephs. Will Wicherski and Eli Hoenig will represent Williams at NCAAs.

Scott Patterson (Leader bib), Patrick Caldwell (3), and Ben Lustgarten (11) lead the pack on the second half of their first lap. Lustgarten was injured in a fall on the third lap. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

Ben Lustgarten, Middlebury's standout men's skier, was injured in a crash during Saturday's competition. Lustgarten has qualified for the NCAA Championship. Hopefully he will be able to compete at Soldier Hollow, but at the moment his health is in question.

Linda Danvind-Malm (2) and Stephanie Kirk (7) on their way to third and first on Saturday. Not pictured is Anja Gruber, who finished second. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

The women's race, discussed above, featured several interesting results. While UVM took the top three spots, Dartmouth took the next five, and just two non-UVM or Dartmouth skiers had top-10s. Stephanie Kirk outsprinted her teammates for the first win of her career and shortly after, the elated trio embraced in the finish chute. Kirk said that the team had been trying to achieve this result all season without success. "When we realized we were 1-2-3, we let out little screams...we were all just so pumped. And it didn't matter at that point where we finished," she said after the race. "At the finish, I couldn't even stop fast enough to turn around and hug them." It's been rare this year to encounter such team dominance, but UVM put up a performance reminiscent of the strongest UVM and Dartmouth teams of years past, and made a serious statement about their focus on winning a national title in Utah.

Dartmouth finished a distant second, but made a statement of their own with five skiers in the top-10. The Big Green placed Annie Hart (4th), Corey Stock (5th), Carly Wynn (6th), Emily Hannah (7th), and Isabel Caldwell (8th) all within two minutes of each other.

UNH just barely eked out Colby for third, with Elizabeth Izzo skiing to 11th, Annika Taylor 12th, and Katrin Larusson 20th. Larusson and Taylor will represent the Wildcats at Soldier Hollow in two weeks.

Rounding out the top-10 were Hannah Cole of Williams in 9th and Amy Bianco of Colby in 10th.


The NCAA Skiing Championships will run March 5-8 (Nordic races will be held at 10am and 12pm on both the 6th and 8th) and will feature the same venues used in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. The events will be broadcast live via the web on the NCAA's official Championships website.

Carnival Season Concludes as it Began, with UVM on Top

Hig Roberts of Middlebury College, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Dustin Satloff

HANCOCK, VT. - The University of Vermont secured its second straight undefeated EISA carnival season on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock, VT.  UVM swept the women’s podium in the giant slalom, while the men took three of the top four spots.  UVM has won its 13^th straight carnival, finishing in first at the end of every event since the Williams Carnival in 2012, where the Catamounts finished runner-up to Dartmouth College.

Vermont used a very strong performance in Saturday’s GS to pull ahead of the pack, and ensure a team victory.  Vermont’s men scored 132 points in the giant slalom; well ahead of second place Middlebury’s 94.  Kevin Drury finished in second place, 0.45 seconds behind Middlebury’s Hig Roberts, who took first.  Drury has finished in second place in three of the last four races.  Jonathan Nordbotten, had the fastest first run, but struggled in the second run.  “First run was good.  It was a pretty straight course,” Nordbotten said.  “I thought I skied well on the pitch, and I skied well on the flats as well.  I knew people were skiing fast [on the second run] so I had to try my best.” Nordbotten finished in third position.  Nordbotten finished in third in Friday’s slalom as well; Saturday’s finish was his third podium of the season.  Travis Dawson took fourth, and rounded out the scoring for UVM’s men.  Dawson made his tenth appearance in the top 5 this season, out of 12 races.

Kate Ryley of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Snapping back from a weather-shortened slalom that saw no UVM women on the podium, UVM’s women swept the GS podium on Saturday.  Kate Ryley continued to show her giant slalom dominance, as she won the giant slalom at every carnival this season.  “[The hill] was fun,” Ryley explained.  “Both courses you could just go for it.  There was no point that you really had to worry, so I could just focus on the one thing I was working on and go as fast as I could.”  Kristina Riis-Johannessen once again finished runner-up to Ryley.  For the third straight carnival, Ryley and Riis-Johannessen finished one-two in the giant slalom.  Riis-Johannessen, who sat 0.21 seconds behind Ryley after the first run tried to make up that deficit in the second run.  “I’m a little mad at myself because I made the same mistake both runs,” Riis-Johannessen said.  “I feel like I should have been able to change that.”  Riis-Johannessen did post the fastest second run of the day, but only made up 0.12 seconds of that deficit, and finished nine hundredths of a second behind her teammate.  Elise Tefre finished in third and helped UVM to score the maximum 141 points. 

It was an emotional day for many seniors, who were racing in their final carnival of their collegiate careers.  It may have been more emotional for Hig Roberts than for any other competitor in Saturday’s giant slalom.  Not only was Roberts was racing in his final carnival, but it was also his home hill.  “[The day] was really emotional overall,” Roberts said.  "First run I was sitting in a good spot, and I knew that I could do better.  I really had nothing to lose.  I just went.”  After the first run, Roberts sat in fourth place, and 0.54 seconds off the lead.  Roberts bounced back and posted the fastest time of the second run and took the victory in his final carnival at home.  “I actually switched skis [second] run,” Roberts explained. “I went on a different pair that I thought might be running a little bit faster.”  It was the right decision; it was Roberts’ third consecutive GS victory.  Middlebury’s second scorer was Liam Mulhern, who finished in 17^thplace, and Ghassan Gedeon-Achi also scored, finishing 21^st.

Elle Gilbert of Middlebury College, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Elle Gilbert took fourth place for Middlebury’s women.  Gilbert had never cracked the top 10 in a carnival in her career until Saturday.  Gilbert sat in third after the first run, but wasn't quite able to hold her position on the podium.  After the first run, Middlebury had two women in the top 10 and a third skier in the top 20; however neither Yina Moe-Lange, who sat in sixth place after the first run nor Kara Shaw, who was in 17^th were able to finish.  Middlebury’s second scorer was Isabel Kannegieser who took 22^nd, and the third point-scorer was Lisa Schroer in 26^th position.  Kannegieser scored for Middlebury for the first time in her career.  Middlebury’s women finished in fourth place in the giant slalom, scoring 83 points, nine points behind third-place Colby and three points ahead of Williams.

Dylan Brooks of Dartmouth College, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Robert Overing once again was Dartmouth’s top point-scorer.  After struggling the last few races, Overing was able to crack the top 10 for the fifth time this season.  Overing used the second-fastest second run time to pull himself from 16^th place into seventh.  Overing finished four hundredths of a second ahead of his teammate, Dylan Brooks, who took eighth place.  Dartmouth’s third point-scorer was Sam Macomber, who took 18^th.  Friday saw three Dartmouth men reach the top 10, including a podium for Ben Morse, who took second in the slalom.

Dartmouth’s women were able to place two skiers in the top 10 finishing in a tie for second place with Colby, behind UVM.   Sara Kikut was Dartmouth’s top finisher taking ninth place.  Anne Strong finished in tenth, only 0.23 seconds behind her teammate.  Lizzie Kistler used the fifth-fastest second run to pull herself from 21^st place to 13^th.  Kistler was Dartmouth’s third point-scorer, following up on a strong performance in Friday’s slalom, where she finished first in the one-run race.

Colby’s men had their best team performance of the season at Saturday’s giant slalom.  The men finished in fourth and scored 87 points, four points behind third-place Dartmouth and three points in front of UNH.   Michael Boardman posted his second career top 10 finish, taking tenth place.  Matt McKenna matched his career best finish, using the fifth fastest second run time to pull himself from 28^th into 11^th position.  Craig Marshall was Colby’s third point-scorer, finishing in 13^th place.  Marshall also had a very productive second run, advancing from 26^th into the 13^th spot.

Jeanne Barthold of Colby College, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Colby’s women had another strong performance.  Jeanne Barthold led Colby, finishing in sixth place.  It was her third time cracking the top 10 in GS this season.  Mardi Haskell, who finished second in Friday’s abbreviated slalom competition, finished in 12^th place.  Paige Whistler was Colby’s third point-scorer and she finished in 17^th.  Colby’s women finished the giant slalom in second place, tied with Dartmouth, with 92 points.  Colby has finished the last three carnivals in fourth place; their best finish in several years.

The University of New Hampshire finished the Middlebury Carnival in fifth place.  The UNH men finished the giant slalom in fifth, a mere three points behind Colby.  Kris Hopkins was UNH’s first point-scorer, and the only UNH skier to crack the top 10.  Hopkins finished in sixth place.  Jay Ogle finished in 15^th and Sam Coffey finished in the 20^th spot.

UNH’s women did not fare any better than their male counterparts. Katie Farrow was the top point-scorer finishing in 11^th place, with Kelly Anne DiNapoli finishing in 19^th and Celine Guilmineau rounding out the scoring for UNH in 23^rd place.  UNH’s women finished the giant slalom in sixth, with 76 points, four behind Williams.

Shannon Campbell of Williams College, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at the Middlebury Snow Bowl on February 22, 2014 in Hancock, VT. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Shannon Campbell finished in the top 10 for the ninth time this season for Williams, taking fifth place.  Graham Scott cracked the top 5 for the Saint Lawrence men.  It was his fourth top 10 finish of the season, and the best GS finish of his career.  Brad Farrell notched a top 10 for Saint Michael’s, for the best GS finish of his career.

The NCAA season comes to an end  at the NCAA Skiing Championships, hosted by University of Utah on March 5-8, 2014.

EISA Skiers of the Week - Williams Carnival

Alpine

Kristina Riis-Johannessen UVM - 2nd GS, 1st SL

Photo: UVM Athletics

Kevin Drury UVM - 2nd GS, 2nd SL

Photo: UVM Athletics

Nordic

Kaitlynn Miller BOW - 2nd 5k Classic

Photo: Bowdoin Athletics

Patrick Caldwell DAR - 1st 10k Classic

Photo: Dartmouth Athletics

Caldwell, Dartmouth Men Cruise at Williams Carnival

WOODFORD, VT. — Patrick Caldwell, a former high school nordic standout at Ford Sayre and Stratton Mountain School, is now making a name for himself on the EISA circuit. Caldwell, a freshman at Dartmouth, already had two podium finishes before this weekend, both in the skate technique. He would add one in relay competition and one in the classic discipline before the weekend was over.

Stephanie Kirk anchors the Catamount women to first place in the women's 3.2k relay. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

Prospect Mountain received 27 inches of snow in 24 hours before racing even began on Friday, and precipitation continued well into the afternoon, making relay conditions slow and soft at the Williams Winter Carnival. That didn't seem to bother the UVM women, who powered to victory over Dartmouth by nearly a minute and a half on a challenging Prospect race course. Linda Danvind-Malm led Dartmouth's Annie Hart by some 10 seconds going into the second leg. Then Anja Gruber simply took control of the race by more than a minute and paved the way for Stephanie Kirk to finish off a successful race for the Catamounts.

Dartmouth's team of Annie Hart, Emily Hannah, and Corey Stock skied a consistent race but could not withstand the attack of the the powerhouse UVM team.

Another story of the day was the incredible skiing of Bowdoin's women's team, especially that of their star Kaitlynn Miller. Starting from 6th place after the second lap, Miller skied the second-fastest time of the day to jump all the way to third and finish with a podium spot.

Patrick Caldwell and David Sinclair lead the Dartmouth men's relay teams to a 1-2 finish in the men's 3x5k race. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

With UVM suffering again from the absence of Scott Patterson, the men's race was all Dartmouth. The UVM first team was in the mix through two laps of the race, but Patrick Caldwell (Dartmouth 1) and David Sinclair (Dartmouth 2) simply skied away from UVM anchor Jorgen Grav. The second team of Erik Fagerstrom, Cam Woodworth, and David Sinclair were actually ahead of the field after the first leg, thanks to gutsy skiing from Fagerstrom. The first team of Fabian Stocek, Silas Talbot, and Patrick Caldwell got a boost from a huge effort from Talbot, who skied the fastest leg of the day, and a strong finish from Caldwell, who beat Sinclair to the line by just 1.3 seconds. The UVM first team consisted of Cole Morgen, Jack Hegman, and Jorgen Grav.

EISA Classic Leader Anja Gruber of UVM wins the women's 5k classic by 15 seconds over Bowdoin's Kaitlynn Miller. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

The UVM women were just as dominant on Saturday, a day that featured more light snow and soft conditions. Anja Gruber looked dominant once again and skied to another win, her fourth classic victory in as many races this season. Gruber is the top skier in the east and is just one skate win away from a perfect qualifying score for the NCAA championship in March. Gruber credited the grooming and course maintenance for setting solid tracks. "I was amazed at how good a job [the staff] did. I expected it to be a lot more soft and sloppy, but the tracks held up pretty well," she said. "I had good kick and good glide today, I just tried to stride hard over the tops of hills." Linda Danvind-Malm, the current EISA skate leader, was third on Saturday. The pair was joined by Stephanie Kirk in 11th to combine for first on the day.

Dartmouth put three skiers in the top-10 to take second. Annie Hart led the Big Green in fourth, followed by Carly Wynn in 7th and Corey Stock in 10th. Wynn's 7th was a tie for her best result of the season, but currently sits just outside of Dartmouth's top-three qualifiers for NCAAs. Stock, however, currently sits in Dartmouth's second qualifying spot.

Bowdoin's women impressed again on Saturday, and again it was the elder Miller sister, Kaitlynn, leading the team to a third-place finish on the day. Kaitlynn Miller notched the first podium of her career, slotting between the two UVM skiers and demonstrating an excellent late-season rise to form. Buoying her result was a similarly impressive race from her sister Hannah, in 8th. The race was the best of Hannah Miller's career, helping the Polar Bears to third on the day. Olivia Cannon was Bowdoin's third scorer.

Rounding out the top-10 were Hallie Grossmann of Bates (5th), Heather Mooney of Middlebury (6th), and Jen Rolfes of Harvard in 9th.

Patrick Caldwell skiing to his first ever EISA win. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

The Dartmouth men cleaned up on Saturday, and it was Patrick Caldwell leading the charge for the Big Green once again. Caldwell scored his first ever win on the EISA circuit, in just his second classical start of the season. "I felt that [the tracks] set up really nicely despite the snow, and we had good kick and good glide out there," he remarked after the race. "It was a fun course; I'm feeling good about our fitness." Dartmouth's team score was dominant as they put all three scorers in the top-5. Caldwell's teammate Silas Talbot was 18 seconds back in second, and a blazing-fast second lap by Fabian Stocek put him in fifth. Also making the top-10 was David Sinclair, who finished 8th.

UVM was second on the day, with Cole Morgen and Jack Hegman in 7th and 8th, and Jorgen Grav in 15th. Morgen and Hegman skied consistently over the two-lap course, each only losing one place (to Stocek) between the halfway split and the finish.

The Williams men got the chance to impress the home crowd, using their depth to claim third as a team. Eli Hoenig was 9th, further solidifying his freshman year NCAA bid. Vanya Rybkin skied a 9th-place first lap, but faded slightly to 12th over the final 5k. Will Wicherski rounded out the Ephs' scoring in 20th.

Rounding out the top-10 were Eirik Fosnaes of UNH (3rd), Ben Lustgarten of Middlebury (4th), and Chris Stock of Harvard (10th).


With the EISA regular season now over, the focus shifts to the Regional Championships, hosted by Middlebury College, which will be the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for NCAA competition. Friday's 5/10k classical individual start races will be followed by 15 and 20k mass-starts on Saturday.

Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces Alike on Today’s Podiums with UVM Taking 13th Straight Carnival Victory

Hig Roberts of Middlebury College, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Dustin Satloff

HANCOCK, MA. - The University of Vermont won its fifth carnival of the season on Saturday, February 15, 2014 in Hancock, Massachusetts.  UVM amassed 249 points in the Williams Carnival giant slalom to help grow their lead over Dartmouth College to 136 points after Saturday’s events.  Vermont placed two men and two women on the podium. 

Kristina Riis-Johannessen of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Kate Ryley picked up her seventh individual victory and tenth podium appearance of the season in ten races.  Kristina Riis-Johannessen finished in second place thanks to the fastest second run time of the day.  Elise Tefre was once again UVM’s third point scorer, and she finished in 16^th place.  Ryley, who has been training hard and growing her confidence in giant slalom has seen her work pay off.  “I treat every run [in training] like a race,” Ryley said.  What she’s doing seems to be working; she has won each of the first five giant slaloms of the EISA carnival season.

Although the individual winner was not from UVM, UVM’s men took home the team win, outscoring Middlebury 129-119.  Kevin Drury had his second straight second place finish.  Travis Dawson also had his second podium finish of the weekend, taking third once again, this time in the giant slalom.  Dom Garand was the  team’s third point scorer, finishing in sixth.

Kevin Drury of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Middlebury’s men had a strong showing, and challenged Vermont’s team score.  Hig Roberts took his second victory of the season and his fifth podium appearance.  Chris McKenna finished in fifth for Middlebury, his fifth top 5 finish of the season.  “I love this hill,” Roberts said. “I love steeps.  I stuck to the basics, calmed myself down, and it worked out.” Nick Bailey was Middlebury’s third finisher who finished in 10^th place.  “We’re at the point in the year where there’s really only a couple of days of training between weeks, so keeping really focused is important,” Roberts explained.  For the women, Yina Moe-Lange was the first finisher, taking eighth place.  She has finished in the top 10 in four of the first five giant slaloms.  Elle Gilbert took 15^th and Kara Shaw finished in 26^th position.  Middlebury’s women sit in fifth place in scoring over the last two weekends, which is below their normal production.

Dartmouth once again finished in second, but their men struggled in the giant slalom on Saturday.  Dartmouth’s men scored 66 points, and finished in sixth place as a team.  Dartmouth’s best finisher for the men was Dylan Brooks, who finished in 18^th place. Ben Morse took 22^nd, and Sam Macomber finished in 34^th position. Dartmouth’s women performed much better than the men, however.  Dartmouth had two women finish in the top 10.  Lizzie Kistler led the scoring, finishing in fourth place, and Abby Fucigna used a very strong second run to bring herself from 13^th place back into sixth.  Maisie Ide was Dartmouth’s third point-scorer, finishing in 12^th place.

Lizzie Kistler of Dartmouth College, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Colby College finished in fourth overall at the Williams Carnival, matching last week’s finish; their best carnival performance in several seasons.  Michael Boardman was Colby’s first finisher.  “I wasn't expecting a whole lot coming into this season,” Boardman explained, “so something like this is awesome.  I was super psyched with the finish.”  Boardman earned his first career top 10 finish, taking sixth place.  “[this] was the first time I’ve ever been so deep into the flip, so I was really excited to be up there with the older, faster guys,” Boardman added.  Jim Ryan was Colby’s second point-scorer, finishing in the 26^th position.  Kieran Adams also scored for Colby, finishing in 31^st; it was the first time he has earned team carnival points in his career.  Colby’s women once again were strong.  Jeanne Barthold led Colby’s scoring, picking up her fourth top 10 GS finish of the season with a ninth place finish.  Mardi Haskell finished in 14^th, and Brittney Ziebell took 18^th place.  Colby’s women finished in third as a team, 26 points behind second place Dartmouth.

Williams had their best carnival finish of the season.  At the conclusion of Saturday’s races, Williams was in fifth place, only 1 point behind fourth place Colby.  Shannon Campbell has continued to have a solid year, picking up her ninth top 10 finish in 10 races this season.  Campbell, who finished in fifth on Saturday, was Williams’ first point-scorer.  Sarah Cottrill also was able to crack the top 10 finishing in 10^th place for the Ephs.  For the men, Williams was able to place two skiers in the top 20.  Carson Houle finished in 12^th, the best finish of his career, and Matthew Reese Davies finished in 18^th place.  Dylan Thomas was the third point-scorer for the men, finishing in 27^th position.

Allison Visconti of St. Lawrence University, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Allison Visconti reached the podium for the first time this season, finishing in third for Saint Lawrence.  Saint Lawrence finished in ninth overall at the Williams Carnival.  Max Martin grabbed a fourth-place finish in the men’s giant slalom for Plymouth State.  It was the best finish of his career.  Plymouth State finished in 12^th out of 15 schools overall. 

Max Martin of Plymouth State University, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)