Harvard's Nadler notches historic victory as Dartmouth wins Williams Carnival

Dartmouth, ranked third in the nation in the latest NCAA Power Rankings poll, was able to maintain its lead in the second day of the Williams Carnival (Feb. 18) with commendable performances by its nordic squads to claim its second overall win of the season. Dartmouth scored a total of 869.5 points, Vermont gave close chase with 840 points, and Middlebury was third with 690 points.

In the double scored classic races at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Dartmouth competed at a disadvantage without one of its regular stars, Eric Packer, who is currently in Turkey preparing to compete in the U23 World Championships. Vermont’s Franz Bernstein secured the win 13 seconds ahead of Dartmouth’s Gordon Vermeer who led the Big Green to the team win. His teammate, Sam Tarling, finished fourth. Williams College’s Dimitri Luthi made his first appearance on the podium this season, quite appropriately at his home carnival, in third.

In the women’s 10k classic, Dartmouth’s Annie Hart earned her first victory of the season over teammate Sophie Caldwell who finished second. Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson rounded out the podium in third. Dartmouth won both the men’s and women’s overall for the classic races.

The giant slalom races at Jiminy Peak were a battle of tenacity as snow conditions and course sets proved challenging for all contenders. Harvard’s Rebecca Nadler held her line through difficult sections to secure the Crimson’s first NCAA Skiing alpine victory in history. After her win, she remarked, “I’ve been smiling nonstop for the last two hours. It was a rough ride, I didn’t feel completely clean, and I got bumped around. I tried to keep my skis in the fall line as much as I could. I’m just going to keep smiling because that seems to be working.” Vermont’s Kate Ryley finished second, and Geordie Lonza of Williams made her second podium appearance of the weekend in third.

The Middlebury Men’s Alpine Team has struggled with hot and cold results all season, but the Williams Carnival giant slalom was the tropical beach they have been looking for. Andrew McNealus won the race and fellow Panthers Nick Bailey and Hig Roberts finished fifth and seventh, respectively, for the team win. Saint Michael’s College had a surprise podium result with Fredrik Sandell coming in second. Vermont’s Bobby Farrell was third.

EISA competition moves to Middlebury, Vt. for the alpine events and Stowe, Vt. for the nordic races Feb. 24-25 for the Middlebury Carnival and EISA Championships.

Team scores at the conclusion of the Williams Carnival:
Dartmouth – 869.5
Vermont – 840
Middlebury – 690
New Hampshire – 634.5
Williams – 569
St. Lawrence – 509
Bates – 434
Colby – 434
Harvard – 346
St. Michael’s – 309
Universite’ Laval – 233
Bowdoin – 182
Colby-Sawyer – 117
Boston College – 108
Plymouth State – 104
Maine – 60
 
Photo of Harvard’s Rebecca Nadler by C.J. Feehan