JACKSON, NH--A balanced effort on day two of competition moved the Williams ski team into fifth place at this weekend's UNH Carnival. The Ephs, who had been in sixth after the first day, leapfrogged Bates to finish with 604 points, just 35 behind fourth-place finisher Middlebury. The University of Vermont took home team honors for the weekend with 1021 points.
After a cancellation of Friday's giant slalom, the alpine racers were ready to go for Saturday's event at Attitash. The women led the second-day charge, as they did last week, by posting a second-place team finish in the slalom.
Laurel Carter slid onto the podium, skiing the second-fastest first run and doing enough in her second run to hang onto third place. Not far behind was teammate Geordie Lonza. Lonza, one of only four women to break 49 seconds on the first run, finished in sixth place.
Sarah Cottrill rounded out the scoring from 23rd place. Annie Leiter was 25th for the Ephs, and Shannon Campbell was 31st. The UVM women put four skiers in the top six to claim the slalom title for the day.
The men's alpine team, meanwhile, had an encouraging and consistent day on the slopes. After a tough first weekend, the men rallied to fifth place on Saturday. Captain Sean Cummiskey led the men from 22nd place, although teammates Victor Major and Carson Houle were right on his heels, in 24th and 25th, respectively.
The Ephs wasted no finishers, as Chris Nocek, Nicolas Tomczyk, and Dylan Thomas each posted DNFs. The UVM men were even more dominant than their female counterparts, sweeping the podium and placing six in the top eight to claim team honors for the event.
Over at Jackson Touring Center, the nordic teams took to the trails for their second race in as many days.
The men skied a 20-kilometer freestyle mass start race that separated the field over a matter of minutes. Captain Dimitri Luthi skied with a lead pack for much of the race in an impressive skate effort. He faded slightly in the final stretch, but outkicked a UNH competitor at the finish to hold onto 11th place in a time of 50 minutes, 25 seconds.
First-year Will Wicherski ended up as the top finisher for the men on the day. Wicherski spent his race gradually working up through the ranks, skier by skier, and finished in the middle of a pack of five--two seconds out of 6th place, two seconds ahead of 10th--for an 8th-place finish in 50:01.
Phil Tosteson was next across the line for Williams in 30th. The men finished with 78 points on the day, good for fifth and just two points behind third-place Middlebury.
Dartmouth's Eric Packer powered through the finish just four-tenths of a second ahead of UVM's Franz Bernstein in 49:06, leading the Big Green to a nordic sweep on the weekend.
First-year Elena Luthi led the Eph women for the second consecutive day with another top-20 finish. She skied the 15-kilometer mass start freestyle race in 43:46, spending much of the race with a pack of eight skiers who finished less than ten seconds apart. She was 18th.
Holly Whitney was next across the line for the Ephs, picking up valuable points from 26th place in a time of 45:13. Hannah Hausman, the team's senior captain, was 32nd, and skied to the finish just ahead of first-year Hannah Smith, who had an encouraging 33rd-place finish. Kristen Halvorsen was 36th for the women.
A sixth-place finish for the nordic women was their best result thus far this year and helped propel the Ephs into fifth as a team on the day.
Dartmouth's Sophie Caldwell made it a weekend sweep with a second individual title, crossing the line in 41:32, less than a second ahead of UVM's Caitlin Patterson.
The Ephs next take on the UVM Carnival in Stowe, Vermont, this coming weekend.
