College Circuit Meets SuperTour at Dartmouth Carnival

The carnival circuit met the SuperTour at this weekend’s Dartmouth winter carnival, and it made for an exciting two days of collegiate racing. College racers had the chance to test their mettle against the likes of Kris Freeman, Jennie Bender, and a host of former top EISA skiers. The results were impressive, with college skiers in the mix, and on the SuperTour podium.

The weekend began with Skate sprints, 1.6km for the men and 1.4 km for the women. With only one set of sprints each season in the EISA, athletes were eager for a chance to make their mark as the top EISA sprinter. In the men’s race the 125 SuperTour racers were quickly cut down to the top 30, with 10 collegiate men moving through to the heats. In the final college results, the UVM men continued to show their dominance with 3 men in the top 5. Jorgen Grav took home the win followed by UVM teammate Cole Morgan in 2^nd. Dartmouth’s Fabian Stocek snuck into third ahead of another UVM skier Tobias Trenkle. Tyler Smith of UNH rounded out the men’s top five.

Teammates Cole Morgan and Tobias Trenkle of UVM head out on course in the semi-finals of the men's 1.6 km skate sprints. (Silke Hynes/EISA)

The women’s sprints proceeded in much the same fashion with the 119 person SuperTour field being cut down to 30 qualifiers, with 18 collegiate women moving through. After an exciting afternoon of heats the final collegiate results bore a strong resemblance to those of past weekends, with Heather Mooney (MID) leading the field, followed by Cory Stock (DAR), and Annika Taylor (UNH). Kelsey Phinny (MID) and Stephanie Kirk (UVM) rounded out the women’s top five.

Heather Mooney (MID) crosses the line in the final of the women's 1.4 km sprint. (Silke Hynes/EISA)

The second day of the carnival gave the women a chance to try and out ski the men with both genders racing the same 10 km distance. In the men’s race it was a UVM who owned the podium lead by senior Rogan Brown. Jorgen Grav claimed his second podium of the weekend in 2nd place, followed by Jack Hegman to round out the UVM sweep. Raleigh Goessling (UNH) continued his strong debut season with a 4^th place, with Frederic Touchette of Laval less than 2 seconds behind him in 5th.

Jack Hegman heads out on course on his way to third in the men's 10 km skate, rounding out a UVM sweep. (Silke Hynes/EISA)

Over the course of 10 km the women’s top 3 saw a bit of a reshuffle, but the three women who have been so dominant all season left the rest of the field racing for 4^th. Annika Taylor(UNH) moved in front to take the win, followed by Heather Mooney (MID) and Cory Stock (DAR). In an incredibly tight race for 4^th, Hallie Grossman (BAT) edged out Katrin Larusson (UNH) by just 4 tenths of a second. Impressively, Annika Taylor put in a performance that beat more than a third of the men’s SuperTour field on the day.

Annika Taylor on her way to winning the women's 10 km skate. (Silke Hynes/EISA)

Complete results can be found here. The carnival circuit is off to Rikert Nordic Center for the Middlebury Winter Carnival this upcoming weekend.