Just like that, the final race of the EISA Nordic Carnival season has come and gone! The second day of the Middlebury Carnival brought colder temperatures than we have seen recently, but that could not hold back the racers or their adoring fans. The rock-solid course was much different than the day before, having frozen in the cold. This meant faster skiing but also a higher risk of falling on glare ice sections of the trail, especially corners. Corners are one thing Rikert had a lot of, the racers completed a winding six-lap course to reach 18k.
Shea Brams of host team Middlebury powers up the A-climb during the mass start race on Saturday (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
MEN
After much anticipation, the athletes were ready to try for one last shot at glory (and NCAA Qualification). The men's field held together pretty well until the third lap when a lead pack formed of John Steel Hagenbuch (DAR), Luke Allan (DAR), Finn Sweet (UVM), and Rémi Drolet (HAR). A large chase pack hunted them down throughout the remainder of the race but to no avail. Hagenbuch ultimately took top honors after a sprint with Drolet into the finish. Ten seconds later, Sweet crossed the line in third. Dartmouth won the day by putting three skiers in the top five, Hagenbuch in first, Jack Lange in fourth, and Luke Allan in fifth. The second-place UVM team consisted of Sweet in third, Bjorn Westervelt in eighth, and Benon Brattebo in eleventh. The home team Middlebury captured the third-place team score, with Logan Moore in sixth, Jack Christner in ninth, and Peter Warner in sixteenth.
Cam Wolfe takes a feed from his coach during the Mass Start Classic Race (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
Tzevi Schwartz tops the hill for Williams during the Middlebury Carnival (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
WOMEN
A dazzling sun continued to shine down for the second race of the day. The women held a large lead pack for the majority of the race. Ava Thurston (DAR) and Haley Brewster (UVM) crept away from the group. They were pursued immediately by Shea Brams (MID), Emma Crum (BOW), and then what felt like the entire UNH women's team. Thurston and Brewster duked it out for the final lap, with Thurston ultimately claiming first place by a few seconds. Brams followed twenty-five seconds later with a comfortable lead over the rest of the chase pack. UNH women claimed the women's team win with Luci Anderson in fourth, Jasmine Lyons in sixth, Lea Stabaek Wenaas in seventh, and Hattie Barker in eighth. Dartmouth women were second with Thurston being joined by Tatum Witter in ninth and Emma Reeder in tenth. The third team score went to UVM, led by Brewster and accompanied by Libby Tuttle in tenth and Annie McColgan in fifteenth.
Racers fought to the bitter end this weekend! Annie McColgan (UVM) and Maggie Wagner (MID) lunge for the line at the Middlebury Carnival (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
Haley Brewster (UVM) and Ava Thurston (DAR) stride through the field during the race on Saturday (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
Bright sun lit up the Rikert Nordic Center on Saturday (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com).
A slice of life from the Middlebury Carnival/Regionals this weekend. The crowds were loud and proud on the course! (photo courtesy flyingpointroad.com)
Although carnival racing is over, top EISA skiers will go on to compete at NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado!