The first day of the UNH Carnival dawned clear and cold. After the overnight freeze following yesterday’s warm spell the course was firm and fast. It was a gorgeous day with only a few clouds in the sky. Despite the temperature staying in the 20’s, it felt like a beach day on the course. With several fun downhills, including the John Morton course special, “The Wave,” skiing at Jackson always an exciting ride.
UNH cheer squad (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
The Men.
Winning the men’s field today, even without their top skier Ben Ogden, was the University of Vermont. Top skier Jacob Nystedt skied to the individual win, with his teammates Finn Sweet (3rd) and Greg Burt (6th) close behind.
Nystedt racing at Bates Carnival (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
The University of New Hampshire took second at their home Carnival, with Scott Schulz narrowly taking second to UVM’s Nystedt. Seth Wyatt (10th) and Eli Gore (13th) brought the team home.
Third today was Middlebury. Logan Moore took 5th and was within two tenths of a second to Finn Sweet (3rd), and Keelan Durham (4th). His teammates Sam Hodges (11th) and Jack Christner (14th) followed up in the top 15.
Durham racing the sprint at Rikert (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
Durham followed up his best race last weekend at Rikert with a career second-best this weekend of fourth. “Hitting that first climb and knowing the legs were feeling good was a pretty good feeling,” Durham said proudly. “I just carried that momentum through the lap, got to the top, and just sent the downhill as hard as I could.” Durham’s results are monumental for the Ephs, and the team is excited to see what the rest of the season will bring.
The Women.
The University of New Hampshire won for the women today on their home course. Led by senior Luci Anderson (1st), Lea Stabeak Wenaas (5th), and Beth Granstrom (8th), the Wildcats had a great day out on the course. Anderson said she was feeling “super speedy fast” today. As she skied up the hills, she was focused on giving her all. “I was just thinking, go, go, go, the whole time,” she told me. “Ski fast, ski smooth.” Anderson is on a roll after last weekend where she placed fourth in the classic mass start. Tomorrow’s 20 km classic is a similar race and Anderson will definitely be a contender for a top spot.
Anderson racing for UNH (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
Middlebury women took second today, with Shea Brams (4th), Charlotte Ogden (13th), and Quincy Massey-Bierman (14th) taking the lead. This was the same trio from last weekend’s sprint final and these speedsters brought it home for the Panthers in today’s 5 km race.
McColgan racing at Bates (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
Third today was UVM. With top skiers Haley Brewster at Junior Worlds and Waverly Gebhardt not racing, the top skiers got a bit of a switch up this weekend. Still bringing in a podium place for the Catamounts was Annie McColgan (6th), Elizabeth Tuttle (10th), and Molly Moening (16th).
Racing to 10th place was Jenae Rasmussen, a senior from Williams. This is the first top ten that the Williams team has seen on the women’s side for many years, and Rasmussen was excited about her result. She told me that a result like this has “been on our team goal for as long as I can remember.” Coming up Henry’s climb, Rasmussen said she was racing the course like a 3 km event. Sadly, she “resisted the urge to jump the bump,” coming down the last hill, but re-assured me that tomorrow her skis will be solidly off the ground in the mass start.
Rasmussen rocking the cow suit in the skate sprint (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
Placing second today in the individual race was Nina Seemann, a freshman at Dartmouth. This was her first Carnival race and she was excited to finally join the circuit after racing at the World University Games last week. “I love 5 km skate races so I was very excited for today,” she told me with a smile. “It went by super quickly and I was just trying to go fast,” she said. Seemann had a strong debut on the circuit today and will be one to watch during tomorrow’s race as well.
The infamous funnel downhill start at the SMC classic 15 km (photo courtesy of flyingpoint.org).
After today’s hard and fast sprint to the finish, tomorrow brings the exact opposite. The classic 20 km mass start will be the longest race of the season so far and may bring a different crop of skiers to the top of the podium. With the hard-packed trail and great energy that Jackson, NH, has to offer, it is sure to be a great day out on the course.