Despite the below freezing temperatures for the women's race today, the EISA skiers carried on for the classic 10k at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. Both men and women completed two laps of the challenging course, going mostly uphill for the first three kilometers and down the following two. The first Carnival has come to an end, with the final and official timing posted on http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results19/slu19.htm for the Saint Lawrence Carnival in Lake Placid, New York. There were several EISA rules each skier had to keep in mind, first off no skier or spectator can ski backwards on the course, nor can any EISA racer double pole or herringbone in the "stride zone" as this results in a race violation, something to note for new EISA skiers.
The women kicked off the classic 10k well, hearing their split times as they completed their first 5k lap through the stadium arena. Coming in first place today, as well as in the freestyle 5k race yesterday (01/12/19), Lina Sutro (UVM) finished her race with an official time of 34:30, beating second place skier Annika Landis (MID) by two seconds. Landis reported she focused on not giving up on today's difficult course, noting that keeping a good rhythm was her strategy to keep going. She also noted that "no matter how you feel, you're probably feeling a little better than somebody else out there, she also noted, as many other racers did, the downhill of the course was challenging because once your legs get tired it becomes harder to ski the downhills with confidence and quick feet.
Coming in third place was Margie Freed, skiing for University of Vermont, and just 6 seconds behind her was Leah Brams from Dartmouth with a time of 34:47. Also representing Dartmouth was Taryn Hunt-Smith, who placed well yesterday, and earning sixth place was Alexandra Lawson with a time of 35:05, six seconds behind Hunt-Smith. Anna Bizyukova (UVM) earned 7th place. Bizyukova reported that "all of these American athletes are heroes," as she's used to the Siberian, below freezing temperatures in Russia. Placing in 13th place was the top performer for Williams, Sonya Jampel, with a time of 35:36. Jampel commented her strength is striding well, which was crucial in today's race as the majority of the course was uphill and challenging.
UVM men stole first and second place again, with Ben Odgen coming in first place with an impressive time of 28:47 and second place skier (UVM) worked hard for a speedy time of 28:55. Second place UVM skier, Bill Harmeyer noted he went out with high energy and focused on "keeping it together for the second lap," he also commented on the interesting downhill finish, because "it feels like you got a lot left" even when racers have just skied 10k at their maximum efforts. Braden Becker came in third place for Williams, with a time of 29:22. Places fourth, fifth and sixth were taken by all UVM skiers (Henry Harmeyer (4th), Karl Schulz (5th), and Matias Ovrum earwig 6th place).
7th place was hard earned by Colby skier Zane Fields, who took 6th pace in yesterday's race with a time of 29:44. Fields reported he paid attention to not going out too fast on the first lap and treated the first lap as "an interval and the second as the race." He also commented on the challenging downhill, as he focused on skiing it with confidence and ignoring his drained and fatigued legs. Not to mention his lucky necklace which he wears over his uniform despite it hitting him in the face while he races, people question the choice of his lucky charm, however, "he needs it at every race."
Middlebury coach reported he is excited to see Annika continue to improve throughout the season, as when she raced at Lake Placid two years ago she scored 60th place, a whopping 58 spots lower than she performed in both today's and yesterday's races. AWESOME job to all of the EISA skiers who were out in the Siberian-like temperatures today, and a HUGE thank you to all the coaches, volunteers, and officials who made the Saint Lawrence Carnival possible this weekend at Mt. Van Hoevenberg!
See you next weekend at the University of New Hampshire Carnival #2!
Get more pictures at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davepriganc/albums/72157677713550668/with/45817573625/