By: Caleb Horsch
Following the ’bye week’, a week without collegiate races, the EISA season resumed with the Saint Michael’s Carnival at Smuggler’s Notch. Eighteen inches of snow over the last week meant the surface would be a challenge, but cold weather and excellent work by the race organizers produced a surface for athletes to push on. The weekend delivered many memorable results, including a top 10 in the men’s GS with eight teams represented.
GS Run One
Racing kicked off on Friday with the GS. Amber McHugh from Williams set run one, and her athlete Chloe Aust took full advantage. Aust skied to second on run one, trailing hosts Saint Michael’s Helene Kristoffersen. Graduate transfer Alexandra Cossette from Boston College rounded out the top three, with fellow Eagle Meagan Olsen just off the podium in fourth. The result was an impressive feat for Olsen, who had dropped out of the top 30 in the GS standings after a DNF at Saint Lawrence. She skied to fourth, starting with bib 32 under challenging conditions.
After a quick redress, the men took on the challenge. They contented with a shelf and groove that had developed after the women’s first run. Multiple athletes starting outside the top 15 showed impressive speed on the opening run. First-year Dominic Shackleton from Middlebury put down the fastest time from bib 20. He was trailed by Dartmouth’s Heming Sola, who was 0.22 back of Shackleton. Brad Underhill, two-time GS winner this season, sat in third at the halfway mark.
GS Run Two
As is typically the case at Smuggler’s Notch, the race was quite tight on both the men’s and women’s sides after run one. All the athletes knew the race was far from over and would likely be tight. The second run set went to hosts Saint Michael’s, who set a turny and technical course.
Hedda Martelleur from the University of New Hampshire has flashed impressive speed this season. She had already posted two podiums coming into the series. After a slightly disappointing first run, she moved up four spots to end the day in fourth place. Tied with Martelleur was the University of Vermont’s Justine Clement. She grabbed her best GS finish of the season.
In third place was Colby’s Lydia Riddell, who nabbed her second podium of the season. She has looked stellar in GS this year with her only misstep coming when she lost a ski at the Saint Lawrence Carnival. A battle for the top step on the podium came between Aust and Kristoffersen. In the end, it was anything but close. Kristoffersen absolutely crushed the second run, carrying by far the most speed off the top flats and winning the run. The win was Kristoffersen’s first of the season and made even sweeter by being at her home carnival. Nevertheless, the result by Aust was historic. It has been five years since a Williams skier landed on an EISA podium when Maddie Dekko won the Williams Carnival Slalom. Aust looked sensational in her performance, and the excitement was high for the Ephs.
The light completely disappeared as the men kicked out of the gate on run two. Strong second runs launched skiers into the top 10. Kyle Kagan from Bates scored the best performance by a Bobcat male skier since Michael Cooper placed sixth at the 2017 Bates Carnival. He moved up six spots on the second run, putting himself in the mix in GS during his senior season. Bode Flanigan from Boston College moved up five spots to tie with Kagan in seventh. Colby’s Harrison Digangi skied to a season’s best sixth place. A duo of Dartmouth skiers in reigning All-American Oscar Zimmer and Benny Brown finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The podium was shaped by the University of Vermont’s Mackenzie Wood in third, who moved up an impressive 15 spots on the second run. The result is his first podium in GS this season. In second was Kobe Villeneuve from Saint Lawrence and the win went to Brad Underhill from Middlebury. Underhill is now a perfect three victories in three starts in GS this year.
Villeneuve’s result was the best performance by a Saint Lawrence skier since the 2019 Saint Lawrence Carnival when Jake Van Deursen skied to third place in the GS. At the finish line, it was a party for the Saints, who mobbed their excited teammate. “It meant everything to deliver a result like that for our team,” said Villeneuve. “To put the scarlet and brown back on the podium felt incredible.” The Saints hope to ride the momentum into the next races. “We have guys and girls that have the speed to be on the podium every week, so my goal is to help our team realize its potential.”

Slalom Run One
A much colder day was in store for the Slalom on Saturday. The men got the action underway, and the challenge level was quite high. Between a long and tricky hill, a difficult set, and softer snow, there were plenty of DNFs. Of the 96 starters on run one, only 50 made it to the bottom. Louis Latulippe from Dartmouth set the time to beat on run one. He led his teammate Calum Langmuir and Magnus Berge Styren from UVM.
On the women’s first run, two skiers shined above the rest. Hedda Martelleur, the favorite, has looked impressively fast in Slalom and continued to show speed. Carissa Cassidy from Colby skied to second and was just 0.03 off the pace after a run of solid and balanced skiing. Cydnie Timmerman from UVM and Skylar Sheppard from Harvard rounded out the top 5 at the halfway mark.

Slalom Run Two
Skiing at his home hill, UVM’s Cole Palchack dazzled on run two. Starting fifth, he charged down the hill and took advantage of his early bib. Palchack moved up fourteen spots to end the day in 12th, a season’s best performance. A few bobbles from Palchack’s teammate Mackenzie Wood moved him outside the top 5 and opened the door for other skiers. Jayden Buckrell from UNH walked through that door, moving up two spots to get his first collegiate podium.
The top two steps on the podium belonged to Latulippe and Langmuir, who looked above the rest en route to a 1-2 finish. The win by Latulippe was the first in his career and catapulted him to second in the Slalom standings.
The University of New Hampshire’s Dasha Romanov had been racing in Europe throughout January. Targeting Europa Cups and Nor-Am’s to start the season, she made her debut for the Wildcats this weekend. After run one, she sat in 17th place, but a lightning-fast second run put her among the leaders. She held off 14 skiers and won the second run by 1.33 seconds. But her first run deficit was insufficient to hold Cassidy and Martelleur off. The duo put down really strong second runs, and there was very little between them. In the end, Martelleur was above the rest as she secured her first Slalom victory of the season.
Cassidy, who had finished in fourth place in the two opening Slalom races of the season, secured her first Carnival podium. Cassidy attributed her success to the support of her teammates, “I honestly just felt fortunate to be surrounded by and supported by my team. I think we’re good at pushing each other while learning from one another, so it is cool to see our efforts come to fruition.”
Team Standings
Some major shocks in the team results, as a disappointing weekend from UVM dropped them down the team standings. The Catamounts ended the weekend in fifth place, the first time the team has finished outside the top two in five years. Still, UVM possesses incredibly gifted skiers who will look to bounce back as the second half of the season approaches.
Dartmouth won the Carnival, their third win of the season. Buoyed by Martelleur, the University of New Hampshire placed second just ahead of Middlebury. Podiums from Riddell and Cassidy landed Colby in fourth. Hosts Saint Michael’s finished in sixth place.

Looking Ahead
The Carnival season will continue Friday with the Dartmouth Carnival. The Dartmouth Skiway will host the NCAA Championships in March, and the race will offer a preview of what is sure to be a thrilling championship.
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