UVM Climbs to Victory at Craftsbury Outdoor Center
- mlwagner9
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury, VT
All photos courtesy of Phillip Belena
The EISA circuit reconvened at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury, Vermont, for the fourth carnival of the season. Hosted by UVM, one of the races was combined with the Henchey Memorial Fischer Eastern Cup, making the venue more crowded than a typical carnival. Each year, one carnival is paired with an Eastern Cup, allowing junior racers from all over New England to compete with the collegiate skiers, offering them a glimpse of what racing on the EISA circuit is like. With the junior skiers in the mix, the atmosphere at Craftsbury Outdoor Center was charged with excitement.
The racing at Craftsbury opened on Friday with a unique classic sprint format. Instead of the usual 30 skiers advancing from qualification to the afternoon heats, 50 skiers moved on, resulting in ten-person heats. This expanded sprint format brought about mixed reactions from the EISA skiers. Some were nervous that the heats would be even more hectic than they usually are, while others were excited to try something new.
Benon Brattebo, a junior on the UVM ski team, embraced the change. “It’s kind of fun to mix it up with a bigger group,” he said. “It can be a little chaotic and hectic, but you just have to make sure that you keep your poles and skis out of the way and give everything you got." Brattebo left nothing to chance as he charged through each heat, ultimately taking the men's classic sprint victory at his home carnival. Others echoed Brattebo’s enthusiasm about the new sprint format. Middlebury freshman Nathan Doughty noted that it was “cool that twenty more skiers got the opportunity to ski the heats,” highlighting the inclusivity of the format. Doughty put together an impressive performance, lunging for second place, with Fin Bailey of UVM just behind him in third.
Haley Brewster of UVM also enjoyed the larger heats, saying that they "ran pretty smoothly, and it was nice to ski with more of my friends.” Brewster went on to claim the sprint victory, with Bowdoin's Emma Crum finishing close behind in second. Middlebury’s Mica Bodkins lunged for third, securing her first EISA podium and leading her women's team to a first-place finish for the day. Bodkins reflected about "how much fun it is to have so many women out there racing. It makes the vibes so good." Between the music blasting in the stadium and the constant flow of heats running through the course, the new sprint format brought something fresh and new to the circuit.
By the end of the racing on Friday, the Nordic and Alpine team standings were extremely tight. Middlebury and Dartmouth sat tied at 607 points heading into the final day, setting the stage for a decisive 10k freestyle individual start.
Snow fell overnight and continued lightly into a chilly Saturday morning, coating the Craftsbury trails in a fresh layer as the EISA and junior skiers prepared for a 10k freestyle individual start race. Though the new snow slowed the course slightly, the frigid temperatures ensured that the course was still fast.
The women opened the day with breakthrough performances. Haley Brewster claimed back to back wins on her home course, taking the victory by a dominant 40 seconds. Behind her, junior Hattie Barker earned her first podium finish since her sophomore year. For Barker, the day was especially meaningful. “I’ve raced here growing up, so it was super fun to have my last race at Craftsbury be a well-known course,” Barker said. “I really got to the pain cave today, which I was proud of.”
Her teammate Natalie Nicholas, who had been racing consistently in the top ten throughout the season, also had a breakthrough performance. Nicholas took third place, securing her first EISA podium. "It was a super tough course," Nicholas explained, "but I just wanted to push as hard as I could, especially on some of the long climbs." With two athletes on the podium and strong depth throughout the field, the UNH women claimed the team victory for the day.
As the men's 10k freestyle race approached, the temperatures continued to drop, though brief breaks in the clouds allowed the sun to peek through. The Catamount men took full advantage of their home course, sweeping the podium for the fourth weekend in a row. Tabor Greenberg led the charge, followed by Fin Bailey in second and Ruben Kretzschmar in third. Combined with strong performances like Brewster's on the women's side, the men's podium sweep propelled UVM to the top of the overall standings, taking their second carnival victory of the season on their home course.
A huge thank you to the staff and volunteers at Craftsbury Outdoor Center for making another unforgettable weekend of racing possible. Looking forward, the next carnival of the season will be hosted by Williams at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, VT, on February 13-14. There, the racers will compete in another 10k freestyle individual start and a 3x5k classic relay. See you there!
⭐️ For more updates on EISA carnival racing, follow @eisaskiing on Instagram
⭐️ Full race results and livestream playbacks are available at bullitttiming.com
⭐️ Full photo sets can be downloaded at https://phillipbelena.com/eisa