Well, the Carnival season is over. But don’t worry: it’ll start up again in 46 weeks.
Dartmouth College claimed the NCAA East Regional title with 979 points at the Middlebury Carnival this weekend. The University of Vermont was second with 841, and Middlebury College was a close third with 816 points.
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| Dartmouth College: EISA East Regional Champions |
The Midd Carnival is a favorite of many on the circuit. Every weekend this season has featured high-end racing, but no Carnival has an atmosphere like Middlebury’s. Students lined up 10-deep behind the B-net today, their roars audible near the top of the trail as each skier passed by. Alums and parents came to watch. I even saw parents of alums (they didn’t even have kids racing today!) watching the races. These races are historic, and they draws fans — and they maintain much of the character I hear in descriptions of the good ol’ days of Carnival racing.
A lot of what makes the Middlebury Carnival distinct is everything happening around the races. And though much of it is a continuation of decades of tradition, this Carnival has evolved and added something greater. After the races, the EISA field joins together to ski a run in honor of Murphy Roberts, a Middlebury skier who died tragically two years ago at the age of 22. All of the athletes ride the lift together and then descend in a free-spirited romp towards the crowds below. I think it says all we need to know about EISA: the last act these skiers take each season isn’t tucking past the last gate and across the finish to stop the clock — it’s joining together as a group to celebrate one of their own.
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We saw a fresh face atop the podium today: Caroline Bartlett ended her season-long drought and dominated the women’s field on her home hill with a combined time of 2:06.71. She won by a full two seconds. Dartmouth College’s Stephanie Currie and Foreste Peterson were second and third in 2:08.72 and 2:08.74, respectively.
It’s difficult to imagine a better finish to the regular season for Bartlett. Last year, she won three GS races during the regular season, and this year — until today — the best she had managed was a second-place finish at the Colby Carnival. Middlebury Head Coach Stever Bartlett recognized the significance of today's result.
“Winning on your home hill is the best,” Coach Bartlett said. “Given some of her struggles this year — she’s been skiing well, just had mistakes, little bobbles here and there that just didn’t allow her to be where she wanted to. To win here on the home hill is awesome for her. Good momentum leading into NCAAs.”
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| Caroline Bartlett (MID) |
Bartlett’s victory today led a strong run by the Panthers’ women’s squad. They finished second as a team in the GS behind Dartmouth, 130—120. Middlebury’s Lexi Calcagni (2:08.98) finished fourth, and Lucia Bailey came through in 12th in a time of 2:11.34.
Saint Michael’s College finished in third place with a score of 102, and UVM had a rare off-day: only one athlete, Mille Graesdal (9th; 2:10.53), completed the women’s race. UVM’s top performer this season, Paula Moltzan, was in second place after the first run, but she took a hard fall in one of the dicier, more rutted sections of the course.
In the men’s race, Brian McLaughlin finished out his collegiate Carnival career with another win (last weekend he won both races at the Williams Carnival). His combined time of 2:03.05 bested UVM’s Max Roeisland (2:04.20), who took second. Middlebury’s Erik Arviddson was third once again (he finished third in the SL yesterday) in 2:04.45.
McLaughlin led Dartmouth to victory in the men’s GS. As a team, they tallied 128 points, just ahead of UVM (115 points). The Middlebury men followed up their women’s team’s strong performance with a third-place finish (108 points).
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After the races, All-East awards were announced: First Team and Second Team. Designations were determined based on an athlete’s top-two finishes this season:
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| All-East Award Winners (L-R): Step Currie (DAR), Caroline Bartlett (MID), Paula Moltzan (UVM), Foreste Peterson (DAR), Francesca English (UVM), Alexa Dlouhy (DAR), Claire Thomas (DAR), Josephine Selvaag (UVM), Lisa Wedsjoe (UNH), Kelly Moore (DAR) |
ALL-EAST FIRST TEAM, WOMEN
Paula Moltzan (UVM)
Foreste Peterson (DAR)
Caroline Bartlett (MID)
Francesca English (UVM)
Alexa Dlouhy (DAR)
ALL-EAST SECOND TEAM, WOMEN
Stephanie Currie (DAR)
Claire Thomas (DAR)
Josephine Selvaag (UVM)
Lisa Wedsjoe (UNH)
Kelly Moore (DAR)
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| All-East Award Winners (L-R): Tanguy Nef (DAR), Max Roeisland (UVM), Sandy Vietze (UVM), Brian McLaughlin (DAR), Thomas Woolson (DAR), Erik Arvidsson (MID), Guillame Grand (SMC), Kalle Wagner (DAR), David Domonoske (DAR), David Frisk (UVM) |
Tanguy Nef (DAR)
Max Roeisland (UVM)
Sandy Vietze (UVM)
Brian McLaughlin (DAR)
Thomas Woolson (DAR)
ALL-EAST SECOND TEAM, MEN
Erik Arvidsson (MID)
Guillaume Grand (SMC)
Kalle Wagner (DAR)
David Domonoske (DAR)
David Frisk (UVM)
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On Monday, we’ll announce the NCAA Championships qualifiers — and not long after that, you’ll hear about the Championships races themselves!
