EISA Skiers Put in Strong Performances on Home Snow at NCAA Championships

The 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships in Jackson, New Hampshire wrapped up on Saturday. The Championships which ran from March 8-11^th, were hosted this year by the University of New Hampshire. Nordic races were hosted by the Jackson Touring Center and consisted of classic interval start races on Thursday, March 9^th and freestyle mass start races on Saturday, March 11. On both days, many EISA skiers posted top results to cap off a successful reason of racing.

In the women’s 5k classic, it was Petra Hyncicova of the University of Colorado who won with a time of 14:55.5. EISA All-American performances included Alayna Sonnesyn (UVM) in 3^rd place, Elizabeth Gill (UNH) in 9^th place, and Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth) in 10^th place. UNH’s Katrin Larusson and Colby’s Olivia Amber placed 15^th and 18^th respectively.

In the men’s 10k classic, University of Utah’s Martin Bergstroem wo the race in 25:33. The lone EISA All-American was Ian Moore (UVM) with a 9^th place finish. Several EISA skiers finished just outside the top-10 including Eli Honeig (Williams) in 11^th, Fabian Stocek (Dartmouth) in 12^th, Cully Brown (UVM) in 13^th, Luke Brown (Dartmouth) in 14^th, and Braden Becker (Williams) in 15^th.

In the women’s 15k skate, Hyncicova earned her second national title of the week, winning the race in 39:21. Soon after, Sonnesyn crossed the line to become the national runner-up. Other EISA All-Americans included Elizabeth Gill in 9^th and Hannah Miller (Bowdoin) in 10^th. Jana Klaiber (UVM) finished 16^th while Colby skiers Olivia Amber and Amy Bianco finished 18^th and 19^th respectively.

In the men’s 20k skate, Bergstroem also scored a double victory for the week with a winning time of 46:02. Two Dartmouth skiers earned All-American honors in Stocek and Luke Brown in 5^th and 9^th respectively. Other top EISA performances included Jordan Fields (Williams) in 12th, Zane Fields (Colby) in 13th, Eli Honeig (Williams) in 15th, and Callan Deline (Dartmouth) in 16th.

The University of Utah won the overall NCAA team competition with 541.5 points. Top EISA school finishes included Dartmouth College in 4^th with 400 points and the University of Vermont in 5^th with 355 points. The University of Vermont was the top EISA school for the Nordic competitions in 5^th place as a team.