The regular season wrapped up this weekend with frigid
conditions at the Middlebury Winter carnival. It was a weekend of tough racing
on slow, squeaky snow. The normally fast and challenging Rikert downhills were
made agonizingly slow by the low temperatures, and racers were clearly
struggling to glide on all parts of the course. Despite the challenging
conditions, all the college racers showed impressive perseverance. They raced
through frozen fingers and feet, sporting a rainbow of KT tape on their faces
to protect from windburn and frostbite.
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| Tara Humphries of Bates sports pink tape to protect against the bitter cold. (Silke Hynes/EISA) |
The first day of the carnival was forecast to begin far
below safe race temperatures, and the organizers made the decision the night
before to significantly delay the race starts. The women were first to race,
with the start of their 10 km classic delayed until 1 pm. Start intervals were
also reduced, from 30 seconds to 15, allowing racers, organizers, and coaches
alike to spend less time out in the cold. Through it all the women’s podium was
topped by the same girls who have put in top performances week after week. Heather
Mooney (MID) raced to home course victory, just 10 seconds ahead of second
place Annika Taylor of UNH. Cory Stock (DAR) raced to her fourth podium
appearance of the season in third. Stephanie Kirk (UVM) and Hallie Grossman
(BAT) duked it out for fourth place, with Kirk edging Grossman by just 3 tenths
of a second. It was the Middlebury women who claimed victory on the day, with
strong supporting performances by Stella Holt and Nicolette Amber.
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| Heather Mooney powers to victory in the women's 10 km classic. (Silke Hynes/EISA) |
The men’s 10 km classic race went off at 2 pm, 2 hours later
than originally planned. Jorgen Grav (UVM) raced to first in his third straight
podium appearance, less than 6 seconds ahead of Silas Talbot of Dartmouth.
Frederic Touchette of Laval was a close third, just over 2 seconds back of
Talbot. Per Lindgren (UNH) and Luke Brown (DAR) rounded out the men’s top five.
The Dartmouth men secured a win on the day with a 7th place finish
from Fabian Stocek.
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| Frederic Touchette of Laval powers his way to the podium in the men's 10 km classic. (Silke Hynes/EISA) |
Condition were little better on day two of the carnival. While
the temperatures had risen enough for the races to stay on schedule, the
previous days sun had disappeared, replaced by flurries and high winds. Once again
it was the women who raced first, with their 5 km skate getting underway while
most people outside the nordic community were hunkering down somewhere warm. Once
again Mooney, Taylor, and Stock left the rest of the women’s field racing for
fourth. Annika Taylor (UNH) reclaimed the top of the podium, less than three
seconds ahead of Heather Mooney (MID) in second. Stock remained consistent,
notching third place ahead of Hallie Grossman of Bates. Mary-Kate Cirelli (UVM)
rounded out the top five, less than a second back of Grossman. Teammates Stephanie Kirk and Marion Woods
helped the UVM women bring home victory on the day.
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| Annika Taylor heads to the finish in the women's 5 km skate. (Silke Hynes/EISA) |
The men’s 10 km skate saw the return of Patrick Caldwell,
the Dartmouth powerhouse who was unbeaten heading into the carnival weekend. It
was Rogan Brown of UVM who finally managed to steal the top of the podium from
Caldwell, claiming victory by a little over 10 seconds. Caldwell raced to
second, barely edging out another UVM skier, Jorgen Grav. Frederic Touchette
(LAV) snuck into fourth, less than a second ahead of Jack Hegman. With three
men in the top five, UVM claimed a decisive overall victory on the day.
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| Jack Hegman on his way to a top 5 finish in the men's 10 km skate. (Silke Hynes/EISA) |
The carnival circuit is taking a breather next weekend
before heading into the post season in 2 weeks time. The Saint Lawrence Winter Carnival/NCAA
Eastern Regional Championship will take place in Lake Placid, NY Feb 27th-28th.
