College: More wild weather mars Williams Carnival

By Published On: February 18th, 2006Comments Off on College: More wild weather mars Williams Carnival

College: More wild weather mars Williams Carnival{mosimage}WILIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association carnival circuit experienced more wild weather at the Williams College carnival Friday, Feb. 17. Rain, sleet, ice pellets, hail, thunder and lightning all struck with brutal force. The University of Vermont holds a commanding lead over Middlebury in second and Dartmouth in third place.

The cross-country races were held at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, Vt. Torrential rain saturated the course right before the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle race, but the hail and sleet that followed didn’t slow down Dartmouth senior Alison Crocker, who won the race in 25:03.7.

“I definitely skied into the race,” said Crocker. “We did four laps of a 2.5-kilometer course so it got a little congested at times.”

UVM’s Kate Crawford crossed the line in second place, followed by Middlebury’s Evelyn Dong. Dartmouth’s second scorer, Kristina Trygstad-Saari, finished in seventh after catching an edge on a steep downhill and falling into a small pond.

The men’s 10-kilometer freestyle was delayed due to thunder and lightning, but once the skiers got on the course, Dartmouth men ripped up the competition.

Sophomore Ben True flew over the ice and water to win in 22 minutes flat. Junior Mike Sinnott finished in second place only 21 seconds back. Jacob Whitcomb from Middlebury broke the Big Green’s run on the podium, but the Dartmouth men won the event with 111 points over Middlebury in second and UVM in third.

The alpine slalom races experienced the same vicious weather. Lightning knocked out power to the hill, so the competitors were given snowmobile rides to the start. For the third time this season, the women were able to complete only one run due to the weather. Megan Hughes of Middlebury won in 46.04 followed by three strong Vermont skiers — Jilyne McDonald, Jamie Kingsbury and Amy Cochran — who finished second through fourth.

In men’s slalom, it was Charles Christianson of Williams who came away with the win on his home course. He completed the two runs in 1:53.47, one second ahead of Zachary Brown of UVM.

Freshman Sean McNamara of the University of New Hampshire, in third, took another podium in his impressive first year on the carnival circuit.

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About the Author: Pete Rugh