WILLIAMSTOWN--The Williams College Ski Team wrapped up a weekend of racing at its home carnival on Saturday. Jiminy Peak hosted the giant slalom, while the nordic event--the 10-kilometer classic race--was moved to Craftsbury, Vermont due to a lack of snow.
Dimitri Luthi and Geordie Lonza were the stars of the day, as each snagged a spot on their respective podiums.
Luthi, a senior captain skiing in his final home carnival, finished third in the classic competition, rounding the course in 26:53. The three leaders distanced themselves from the rest of the field, and Luthi stood in second at the halfway mark. UVM's Franz Bernstein, though moved from third and eventually surged to a commanding 13-second victory over runner-up Gordon Vermeer.
Then came Luthi, whose best finish of the year came at exactly the right time, with the team fighting for valuable points. "I had a really good day and great skis," Luthi said afterwards. "I'm just really happy it all came together."
The senior from Chateau-d'Oex, Switzerland also all but assured another trip to the NCAAs with another good classic race.
Vanya Rybkin and Ian Nesbitt were the other scorers for the men. Rybkin, a first-year from Fairbanks, Alaska, continued to step into a big-time role fpr the team as he skied into 25th in 28:31.
Nesbitt, a junior, skied from well back in the pack to climb to a finish of 27th. At the halfway mark, he was in 46th, but made up around 30 seconds on the pack of skiers with whom he finished.
Phil Tosteson was 33rd in 29:00, while Isaac Hoenig was 43rd in 29:31. Erik Anderson, the senior from Whitefish, Montana, skied to 47th.
The result put the men in fourth place for the day with 170 points--the top result for a Williams nordic team in a classic race this season. Dartmouth was the team winner for the event with 238 points.
The women's nordic team had two skiers crack the top 30 in their 10-kilometer classic race. Christina Knapp continued her late-season surge to the top of the team. The junior from Anchorage moved up steadily throughout her race, coming from 36th at the halfway mark all the way into 27th by the finish. Knapp skied the course in 34 minutes flat.
First-year Elena Luthi wasn't far behind her. Luthi's time of 34:10 was good for 30th place, continuing her strong collegiate campaign.
Holly Whitney (35:05) skied to 40th place. The senior from Bowdoinham, Maine finished her Williams carnival career with a good result to round out the scoring for the Ephs. Kristen Halvorsen (35:22) and Hannah Smith (35:47) also cracked the top 50, taking 43rd, and 47th, respectively.
The women were 9th as a team with 95 points. Dartmouth dominated the event, though, with Annie Hart and Sophie Caldwell taking the top 2 spots as the women grabbed 272 team points.
For Lonza and the women's alpine team, nothing was going to top Friday's slalom win. "What a fantastic day," coach Ed Grees said about the victory. "It was the first home win for the Williams women."
Still, Saturday's second-place showing was far from a letdown. Jiminy Peak, with just a dusting of new cover overnight, was still, as Grees described it, "very hard snow with difficult conditions."
Geordie Lonza continued to rack up podium finishes, taking third a day after her runner-up finish in the slalom. Lonza was actually second after the initial run, but her total time of 1:49.28 was good enough to keep her in the top three.
Sarah Cottrill capped off what has been a steady assault on the results pages by sliding into 7th place on Saturday. The first-year from New London, New Hampshire was right around the top 5 after her first run and stayed steady to claim her top place of the year.
The women continued to pack in finishers after the top two. Laurel Carter, Friday's slalom champion, skied one of the fastest second runs in the field to finish twelfth. Carter, a senior, was skiing in her last Williams carnival and made sure to go out in style.
Shannon Campbell threw down another reliable fast finish, skiing the two runs in 1:51.48 to finish 14th. Annie Leiter had a big second run to finish 25th.
UNH put three skiers in the top ten to win the event with 113 team points, but Williams was right on their heels with 109. Rebecca Nadler was the individual champion in 1:47.73 and won by over a second.
Victor Major continued to show promise for the men's team with a 28th-place finish. Major, a first-year who has emerged as one of the most consistent skiers on the team, finished with a two-run time of 1:48.76.
Unfortunately, Major was the only male skier to complete two runs for the men, who ended up in 10th on the day with 22 points. UVM won with 141.
As a team, Williams ended up in 5th. Dartmouth edged UVM for the overall win, 869 to 840. Middlebury was 3rd with 690, and UNH snuck ahead of Williams with 634.
Complete results can be found at http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results12/woc12.htm
