The first day of the 2018 Dartmouth Carnival went off like a rocket with individual-start, 10KM classic races for both men and women. It was an exciting day for Dartmouth competitors, being that this was the first time in 7 years that they have been able to host their home carnival in Hanover, New Hampshire at Oak Hill. Despite the lacking snow conditions in the past, the recent blizzard has surrounded the Dartmouth Ski hub with fresh snow and made for pristinely groomed tracks. The 10KM loop, full of switchback climbs and sweeping downhills, showed racers exactly what they have been missing for all this time.
The men’s race kicked off at 10:00 AM with cold temperatures around 10 degrees producing firm tracks. This made it a fairly easy waxing day for coaches throughout the afternoon. The podium was nearly identical to last weekend with UNH’s Peter Holmes taking the classic win again, finishing in 30:39 ahead of runner-up Zane Fields in 30:53. The only change was Luke Brown moving up to round out the podium in third place in 31:08.
Holmes was extremely positive about his result and enjoyed his experience on the Dartmouth course, especially liking the single loop 10KM format. He shared that he thought that most racers would start off conservative because of the big climbs within the first 3K, which contributed to his strategy: “I figured if I took it out a little harder I could gain some time there. It made the plateau hard for sure but I think it was definitely worth it.” Throughout the race, Holmes commented that him and third place finisher Luke Brown, (DAR) who was a bibb ahead of him, “did a really good job of working together.” In the final 100M, the two racers even had a battle to the finish, with Holmes coming out on top, allowing him to take a significant lead in men’s competition as a whole.
Runner Up Zane Fields (CBC) also had another strong weekend in the classic distance which he accrued to putting a lot of work into the classic and double poll technique with his Coach Tracy. He was also happy with his race, sharing that despite taking it a little slower for the first 3K, he felt like he nailed the last 7K. Fields commented that one of the hardest parts was the “surprising hill action around 7K” which he didn’t expect due to him not being able to ski the course the previous day. Despite the blindside, he said that he still had a lot of fun with the amazing conditions and ripping downhills.
Third place finisher Luke Brown (DAR) also had a lot of fun, sharing that he’d never raced at his home course of Oak Hill, which made him use this as fuel to do well. He mirrored Holmes positive thoughts of being able to work together but also commented how it can also be very “mentally challenging” to figure out the strategy of someone your working with. When looking at the fact that he is almost finished his senior season of skiing, Brown shared that although it is sad, he is still focusing on making these last two carnival weekends count before going to NCAA’s. In the men’s team competition, Dartmouth notched first with 113 points, UVM grabbed second with 109 points, and UNH rounded out the podium in third with 95 points.
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| Men's 10K Podium - Fields, Holmes, Brown |
Ogden shared that she really enjoyed racing at home since it provided a great atmosphere and was a sort of winter carnival miracle with all the snow. She commented that her strategy was to simply “go hard as [she] could the entire time,” with the most difficult part being to “stay mentally focused when no one was around you.” When asked about her season as a whole Ogden gushed that she has been really loving racing on the carnival circuit: “It’s the greatest experience racing every weekend against all my friends, it’s just amazing.”
Runner-Up Lauren Jortberg (DAR) mirrored Ogden’s thoughts about the most difficult part of the course being staying focused: “The hardest part was when you were out there alone because it’s easy to get distracted and not feel like your racing.” Jortberg also shared that she was so excited to be home to race since it is one of her favorite courses and the fact that Oak Hill currently has perfect racing conditions. In the women’s team competition, Taryn Hunt-Smith (DAR) who came in fourth, helped her teammates grab first place with 138 points, UVM grabbed second with 102 points, and Middlebury came in third with 93 points.
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| Women's 10K Podium - Jortberg, Ogden, and Sonnesyn |
Click here for Day 1 Photos!
