Nordic depth propels Dartmouth to lead at Williams

Dartmouth took the first-day Friday at the Williams College carnival, thanks in part to another win by its women’s nordic team, two top-five finishers in the women’s GS and three top-10 finishers in the men’s 10 kilometer freestyle race.  
    Heading into Saturday's slalom and classical nordic races, Dartmouth leads the pack with 309 points. Middlebury sits second with 292 points, while Vermont is third with 288.
DARTMOUTH took the first-day Friday at the Williams College carnival, thanks in part to another win by its women’s nordic team, two top-five finishers in the women’s GS and three top-10 finishers in the men’s 10 kilometer freestyle race.  
    Heading into Saturday's slalom and classical nordic races, Dartmouth leads the pack with 309 points. Middlebury sits second with 292 points, while Vermont is third with 288.
    Even in the absence of Bogner points leader Ida Sargent, the Dartmouth women were able to secure the win in Friday’s 5 km freestyle event at Prospect Mountain. Big Green skier Susan Dunklee earned the win in Friday’s race, followed by teammate Elsa Sargent and New Hampshire’s Sarah Wright.  Williams skier Alice Nelson matched her season-high finish of fifth place Friday on her home course.
    In the women’s team standings Dartmouth (92 points) beat New Hampshire (82 points) and Vermont (71 points), which placed second and third, respectively.  
    Men’s nordic racing Friday was dominated by Colby College. Colby’s top three finishers, Nick Kline, Matt Briggs, and Wyatt Fereday, finished second, fourth, and seventh, respectively. Sylvan Ellefson of Bates took the win Friday, his first of the season, and Tim Reynolds of Middlebury skied to an impressive third place.
    Colby men scored 89 points Friday, placing them ahead of Bates and Dartmouth, who tied for second with 79 points.  Of note, Bates’ second-place finish Friday was its highest thus far this season. Middlebury finished just one point behind in fourth.  
    Alpine racing Friday took place at Jiminy Peak, where late starters faced strong winds and increasing snowfall.  
Vermont prevailed in the women’s race, thanks to its top three finishers placing first (Lyndee Janowiak), second (Jilyne McDonald), and fourth (Kara Crow). Friday’s win was Janowiak’s second of the season, and first in the giant slalom. Michelanne Shields of Dartmouth skied her way to third place. Current Bogner points leader in the giant slalom event, Courtney Hammond of Dartmouth, finished fifth.  
    In women’s team scoring Vermont tallied 95 points, which placed the Catamounts ahead of Dartmouth (80 points) and Middlebury (75 points).  
    Williams skier Charles Christianson took the win Friday in the men’s giant slalom, but it wasn’t enough to help his team finish higher than fourth. Christianson finished ahead of New Hampshire’s Sean McNamara in second, and Vermont’s Greg Hardy. Hardy was the first of three Catamounts in the third through fifth positions (Zachary Brown was fourth and Erik Gilbert was fifth).  William Ford of New Hampshire matched his season-high fifth place finish in a tie with Gilbert.
    The men’s team victory Friday went to Vermont (89.5 points), which narrowly edged the New Hampshire (87.5 points). Middlebury finished third with 73 points.
    Williams Carnival racing continues Saturday with the nordic 3 by 1.5 kilometer sprint relays at Prospect Mountain and the slalom event at Jiminy Peak.  
    Click here for more information about the remaining schedule, as well as up-to-date results and team standings.