It was another great day at Waterville Valley today as EISA athletes met to battle it out for the giant slalom podium at the Harvard Carnival. What was yesterday a soft, berm-filled rut fest transformed overnight to one heck of a surface on the hill. A firm, grippy track awaited athletes and held up so well that it allowed for some sneak attacks from the back of the pack—shout out to Crowley Gentile, who ripped up from bib 64 into 14th place after his first run.
It was an exceptionally strong showing from UVM and Dartmouth, who occupied 5/6 spots on the men’s and women’s giant slalom podiums. It was also a strong end to a great weekend for Middlebury and UNH—Middlebury put two racers on the podium yesterday, and UNH skiers claimed first place in women’s slalom and men’s giant slalom.
Here’s a recap of the day’s results:
In men’s giant slalom, Joachim Jagge Lindstoel nabbed third place for UVM (after a second-place finish yesterday) with the 6th fastest first run (1:06.70) and 5th fastest second run (1:01.33). Drew Duffy, skiing for Dartmouth, ascended the podium for a second-place finish (after finishing third yesterday) with the 4th fastest first run (1:06.41) and 2nd fastest second run (1:01.12). UNH’s Patrick Kenney won it all with the 2nd fastest first run (1:06.30) and fastest second run (1:00.94).
On a rerun when another athlete’s crash ruined her first second run, UVM’s Josefine Selvaag managed to lose both her pole and her glove while skiing. She still crossed the finish with the 12th fastest second run (1:04.96), and with her lightning first run (1:08:17) managed to grab third place. Ellie Curtis, skiing for Dartmouth, skied into second place with the 5th fastest first run (1:09.11) and 3rd fastest final run (1:03.44). First place was claimed by another UVM athlete, Marina Vilanova, who raced the 3rd fastest first run (1:08.70) and 5th fastest final run (1:03.73).
Tune in next week for the UVM carnival up at Stowe!