By: Caleb Horsch
EISA skiing made its triumphant return as all thirteen teams descended upon Sunday River for an action-packed day of racing. The surface was fantastic despite snow flurries throughout the morning that turned into a full-on snowstorm for the second run. Multiple athletes from outside the top 30 'through it' deep into the flip, scoring valuable results. Amongst them were Tindra Bergstrand and Hanna Larsson Nanthhorst of Plymouth State, who jumped from bibs 46 and 34 to 4th and 5th, respectively.
Eirik Kveno (St. Michaels) - flyingpoint.com
The first run set by JP Daigneault of Dartmouth was high speed, with athletes forced to charge top to bottom in search of grabbing all possible speed. Run one on the women's and men's sides was won by Dartmouth skiers Allie Resnick and Cooper Puckett in their first college race as a member of the Mean Green. Despite their early leads, the margins were close, with just 2.60 separating the top 30 women and 1.60 the top 30 men. The Colby women and UNH men put all six of their skiers in the flip 30, showing the strong depth of both teams.
Run two forced racers to adjust to a very different set, with Bates coach Jake Johnston bringing more swing, particularly on the top T2 section. Despite increasing snow, the track was still in excellent condition, making it 'anyone's race.' Some big jumps in the second run for the women were Middlebury's Emma Hall, who jumped from 27th to 14th, and Colby's Ella Spear, who jumped from 16th to 6th. For the men, it was Olaf Hedelin from Dartmouth who took advantage of a clean track from running 3rd to finishing 10th on the day.
Cooper Puckett (Dartmouth College) - flyingpoint.com
Despite her narrow advantage going into the second run Resnick was able to hold off a charge from Helene Kristoffersen of Saint Michael's to get her maiden win as a Dartmouth skier. Rounding out the podium was her teammate Carly Elsinger. The duo helped land Dartmouth in first after the first day of Alpine action, compiling the most points on both the men's and women's sides.
The small lead for Puckett did not prove enough, as a strong second run by Saint Michael's Eirik Kveno was enough to win him the race. Rounding out the podium was Harvards Fredrik Haug delivering a great result in his first race for the Crimson.
After the first day's results, Dartmouth leads the field 43 points clear of the next team. Following behind them is Colby, who put a combined three skiers in the top 10 with 183 points. The forecast shows a wet one for tomorrow, but the snow will likely remain good, and it promises to be an intriguing battle.
Molly Mueller (Colby College) - flyingpoint.com
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