Men's SL Results
Women's SL Results
Today was the third and final day of an extended stretch of Carnival racing. The 13 EISA teams traveled from Smugglers’ Notch to nearby Sugarbush Ski Resort in the Mad River Valley to make up the previously canceled Colby College Carnival Slalom (SL) race. That contest, originally scheduled for last weekend, was canceled when extremely high winds pummeled Sugarloaf, hampering its chairlift operations.
Colby College Head Coach Danny Noyes regretted having to cancel the original event, but was pleased to hold the makeup SL in such a convenient location after the St. Mike’s races.
“It was unfortunate that we had to switch our Carnival and be off our home hill,” Noyes said. “But to make up the race over here in Vermont…We were racing over here anyways this weekend at Smuggs’, so it made a lot of sense.”
Team scoring for the Colby College Carnival concluded officially after last weekend (the GS results were doubled to make up for the lost race). Today’s races count only for individual athlete NCAA Championships qualification, so in some sense the pressure was off. Or at least eased a bit.
That doesn’t mean it was an easy day. Though the race hill was straightforward (no trail turns: just a pitch into a compression and a short 10-gate flat, before a moderate roll down to a level finish), It. Was. Icy.
There were more than 50 DNFs, many due to the extremely slick surface. It had the kind of sheer finish that insists an athlete trust his or her skis. Without full commitment, your race was toast.
Even the coaches had a tough time. If you kept a sharp eye out, you might’ve seen one or two making their way ungracefully down the hill on their derrières.
The women’s race resulted in two familiar faces atop the podium: UVM’s Paula Moltzan made it two-for-two in SL competitions this season, winning in a combined time of 1:36.30. Her second run was nowhere near as fast as many of the other competitors. Her first run, however, was an act of utter domination. She took it by nearly 1.5 seconds over eventual runner-up Alexa Dlouhy of Dartmouth (1:37.08). The third podium spot went to Francesca English, a first-year at UVM who came through in 1:37.27.
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| (L-R): Alexa Dlouhy (2nd, DAR), Paula Moltzan (1st, UVM), Francesca English (3rd, UVM) |
Catamounts Assistant Coach Tim Kelley was impressed by the performances from Moltzan and English.
“Francesca stepped up second run,” Kelley said. “She had a really good second run. She’s a freshman…and Paula kept doing her thing [winning].”
English’s finish was part of a trend in today’s women’s results. There were a lot of young faces. Seven of the top-10 finishers were first-years or sophomores. Four were first-years. Though we’re only 1/3 of the way through Carnival Season, it might be worth pausing to note the depth here. As noted earlier on this blog, EISA returned nearly all of its female competitors from last year’s NCAA Championships. And now we can add a few new names to the mix: First-years English from UVM, Colby College’s Rosie Hust (4th, 1:37.71), Middlebury’s Lucia Bailey (5th, 1:37.82), and Bates College’s Hannah West (8th, 1:39.23).
West was part of a notable trio from Bates College today: the Bobcats had an excellent race and placed three women in the top-11. West was joined by Griffin Mueller (7th, 1:38.72) and Hannah Johnson (11th, 1:40.19).
Bates College Head Coach Micaela Holland was proud of her team’s performance, especially that of Mueller, who’s run today caps a long recovery from a knee injury.
“I was thrilled with our ladies today,” Holland said. “They have all been pushing one another hard in training, and they just keep getting faster. Mueller was able to prove she’s back after a knee injury sidelined her last season.”
The men’s top-10 didn’t feature quite as many first-years, but there were a couple of new athletes worth keeping an eye on. Middlebury College’s Erik Arvidsson (1:27.52) placed seventh today, matching his fine finish from the St. Mike’s SL, and UVM’s David Frisk (10th, 1:28.02) finished in the top-10 as well.
The overall victory was claimed today by UVM’s Max Roeisland in a quick 1:24.85, beating his teammate Sandy Vietze (1:25.29), and improving upon his second-place finish yesterday at the St. Michael’s SL race. Dartmouth College’s Tanguy Nef was third in 42.09.
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| (L-R): Sandy Vietze (2nd, UVM), Max Roeisland (1st, UVM), Tanguy Nef (3rd, DAR) |
University of Vermont Head Coach Bill Reichelt attributed the 1-2 finish in part to the fact that today’s races didn’t involve team scoring.
“This race kind of showed us that when you take the pressure off, they [the athletes] can ski the way they ski in training,” Reichelt said. “It was great.”
Now that the weekend is over, everyone gets a well-deserved break. Especially the Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) staff, who went the extra mile in putting on this race. Colby College’s Noyes was grateful for their efforts in working to host his rescheduled SL.
“A huge thank you to GMVS for accommodating us on short notice,” Noyes said. “They put about a month’s worth of work into one week.”
Next week the EISA teams head to Main Street at Stowe for the UVM Carnival.
