Release courtesy of EISA, UVM team photo. Photo credit: Stephen Cloutier

After an unscheduled ‘bye week,’ the EISA season resumed with the University of New Hampshire carnival at Burke Mountain on Friday and Saturday. A lack of snow forced the race to be moved from Mittersill. Burke sported a challenging hill with hard surfaces for the GS and Slalom races. UVM led the ranks by dominating skiing on the men’s and women’s sides to win the carnival. 

Ladies Giant Slalom

A crisp 19-degree morning and a few inches of fresh snow covered the race hill but was quickly pushed to reveal a solid surface for the men’s and women’s GS.

First up were the ladies. Saint Michael’s Helene Kristofferson set the early lead. Just behind was Allie Resnick from Dartmouth, the EISA GS leader. She laid down a solid run that left her only one-tenth of a second behind Kristofferson. Alexandra Cossette from Middlebury was sitting in third, with Carly Elsinger from Dartmouth and Ella Spear from Colby rounding out the top five.  

Resnick came back with a dominating second run, surpassing Kristofferson to win the race by six-tenths of a second. Kristofferson held onto second place while Tindra Bergstrand moved into third. Plymouth State freshman Bergstrand scored her first carnival podium, moving up from the sixth position.

Men’s Giant Slalom

Following the ladies, the men experienced a redress that moved gates outwards to avoid a developed rut. Despite missing the Bates carnival with a back injury, Jagge Lindstoel from the University of Vermont cruised down the opening run and led by over half a second. Behind was teammate Mathias Tefre and UNH’s Peder Nersnaes in third. EISA GS leader Eirik Kveno from Saint Michaels sat in tenth place after a disappointing first run, 1.64 off the mark.

Lindstoel charged hard once again on the second run, winning the run and the race by nine-tenths of a second. Tefre had a solid second run to hold onto second, and Nersnaes held his position in third. Kveno moved up to finish in fifth and hold onto the GS lead.

“I am really happy with the way our boys stepped it up,” said Lindstoel. “I could not (have) dreamed of a better way to come back”. The UVM team led by 29 points on the day.

Women’s Slalom

Saturday was met with cold temps and strong winds for the slalom portion of the carnival. Difficult sets and a long course eliminated a significant chunk of the field. Nevertheless, it was Allie Resnick who once again rose to the top of the podium.

Dartmouth’s coach John Dwyer set a first course with big turns. Resnick laid down an impressive initial run that cushioned her lead on the field by 0.77 seconds. UVM teammates Justine Clement, Caroline Jones, and Moa Clementson were sitting second through fourth and were separated by only 0.67 of a second.

The lady’s second run differed drastically from the first and was nine seconds faster for most of the field. Despite running bib thirty in the flip, Resnick brought a straight line for the third fastest run and won the race. Her double wins landed Dartmouth third for the weekend.

“There was such a great energy around the carnival,” shared Resnick. “I am super proud of how the team performed this weekend.”

Unfortunately, a crash from Clement near the bottom of the course left her out of the hunt for the podium. Her teammate Clementson had the second fastest run to capture silver. UVM’s Jones rounded out the podium as the Catamounts added two more top 3 performances to accompany the men’s GS team result.

Men’s Slalom

Another race meant another battle between UVM teammates Tefre and Lindstoel, both were fresh off silver and gold in the GS the day prior. Despite missing the Bates carnival, Tefre led the first run by 0.12 seconds over Lindstoel. Plymouth State’s Maximillian Haussmann was just behind the UVM skiers in third.

Similar, to the women, the men had a straightforward set on the second run. After sitting fifth in the first run, Dartmouth’s Oliver Morgan turned on the gas and moved onto the podium in third. Once again, Tefre and Lindstoel were in a league of their own, going 1-2 in the second run and finishing over 2 seconds ahead of Morgan in the race. Tefre edged out Lindstoel for the slalom win.

UVM came out on top, leading the standings with two strong days of skiing by the men’s team and winning by 150 points. Second place went to Middlebury, with Dartmouth rounding out the podium. Racing continues with the postponed Saint Michael’s carnival at Smugglers Notch next weekend.

EISA Bates Carnival Results

Click on images to enlarge

Women’s GS

Men’s GS

Women’s slalom

Men’s slalom

Team scores