Featured Image: Allie Resnick competing in the Colby Carnival slalom. Credit: Stephen Cloutier

The carnival season officially kicked off on Friday at Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine, home of the historic Narrow Gauge hill. Colby hosted 13 EISA teams after the University of Vermont Carnival, originally slated first, was pushed two weeks due to a lack of snow.

For the GS on Friday the weather was typical for Maine in January, with cold temperatures and moderate winds. Still, the sky was clear, and the cold weather made for a great day of racing.

For those unfamiliar, the GS hill at Sugarloaf is one of the most legit hills on the circuit. It boasts a moderate top section followed by a cut into the steep and daunting Headwall. Coming off of Headwall is one of the most challenging sections of ski racing in the United States, with a right-footed turn forcing racers to commit to the outside and withstand the often overwhelming G-forces. Then, they must quickly find their left foot as they turn onto Miles-Mile. The flat nature of the next section puts the utmost importance on the exit of Headwall.

Despite feet of snow over the last week, the surface was acceptable. The snow at the top half of the course was near perfect, with the bottom half boasting a more grooved-up but still ripable section.

Giant Slalom

The ladies got the action underway, with the near-unstoppable Allie Resnick picking up right where she left off, winning the run. The US Ski Team member skiing for Dartmouth was followed by Hanna Larsson-Nathhorst, who transferred from Plymouth State in the offseason to join the team at the University of Vermont. Larsson-Nathhorst’s teammate, Justin Clement, sat in third.

The men got their shot after a redress from former Dartmouth head coach and now league referee Peter Dodge. Gray Flanagan, running with bib-1, set the early pace and put down a time that proved challenging to beat. He skied aggressively, particularly coming out of Headwall, and then continued to attack through the open turns of Kangaroo. Flanagan was followed closely by Dartmouth’s Oscar Zimmer and his teammate Simen Strand.

On the second run, early bibs played a key advantage. A duo of skiers from hosts Colby pushed out of the start wearing bib-1 and bib-2. Carissa Cassidy set the opening mark with a time that would go unbeaten for the second run. Her effort moved her up to 15th place on the day. However, a large advantage on run one eventually overcame even fast second runs.

Resnick, with a significant lead, did just enough to hold off Mika Anne Reha from Middlebury, who had skied lights out at the opening NorAm races. Reha would settle for second, followed by Larsson-Nathhorst, who, although fell from second, was able to hold onto a podium spot.

The women’s top 5 was rounded out by Meagan Olsen from Colby and Chloe Aust from Williams. In the end, five different teams were represented in the top 5. The Middlebury women finished with the highest number of points on the team side, buoyed by four girls in the top 10.

Slalom

On the men’s side, times could not have been tighter; with the top 4 finishers being separated by a mere one-tenth of a second. Brad Underhill started his NCAA qualifying campaign with a fifth-place finish behind Magnus Berge Styren from University of Vermont. Simen Strand won the race, Gray Flanagan skiing for Saint Michaels achieved 2nd place and Oscar Zimmer rounded out the podium.

The Colby Carnival wrapped up on Saturday with the slalom portion of the event. Cold temperatures continued, and snow flurries in the afternoon added an unexpected wrinkle. The start of the slalom was higher on the hill than usual, as it was moved nearly to the top of Crib Works, giving racers a challenge right out of the gate, battling a steep first pitch. The snow was soft, and later, racers were challenged by a shelf that was formed throughout most of the course. However, this did not stop some later numbers from making big move-ups.

The men got the action underway, with Isac Hedstroem and Peder Nersnaes, skiing for the University of New Hampshire, achieved first and second on the first run. Also, well within the mix was Plymouth State’s Maximilian Haussmann, who sat in third.

There is a massive hole in EISA slalom races this season without Mathias Tefre, who was unstoppable during his four years at the University of Vermont. His departure presents an opportunity for the next great collegiate slalom skier. UVM would have hoped that Tefre’s points would be picked up by one of his teammates, but, at least on Saturday, it was not to be, as Cole Palchak did not finish, and their best-placed male skier finished in 16th.

A straighter first run set on the women’s side allowed for full gas skiing. Allie Resnick, running first, took advantage of a clean course to set the early mark that would not be bested. However, just one-tenth of a second behind Resnick was Cydnie Timmermann from UVM, followed closely by her teammate Justine Clement.

After a brief break in the action, racing resumed with the men’s second run. Similar to the previous day’s GS, the fastest times on the run were from skiers just inside of the flip-30, who took advantage of the cleaner course to move up considerably. This was especially true for Harrison Digangi from Colby and Sebastian Segre from Middlebury, who went one and two on the second run, respectively, to move up 12 and 11 positions. Bode Flannigan from Boston College, who was third on the second run, delivered one of the best men’s results for his team, moving up to sixth on the day.

The battle for the top 5 was intense, with half a second splitting them. Dan Gillis skied a quick second run and held the lead for three racers to land a second-place finish on the day, his best result for Dartmouth. Despite a slower second run, where he finished 26th, Hedstroem was able to hold on for the victory, and Nersnaes settled for third. The top 5 were rounded out by Noah Riemenschneider from Colby and Haussmann.

Despite some disappointment on the men’s side, the UVM women were ready to try and save the day. Their solid second runs left them in the second, third and fourth position, led by Clement and followed by Timmermann and Moa Clementson. However, the win belonged to Resnick, the Big Green skier who won both runs en route to another commanding victory. A duo of Middlebury skiers finished fifth and sixth in Kaitlyn Fynn and Mika Anne Reha.

In the team standings, Dartmouth disrupted a four-carnival win streak held by the Catamounts. They were helped by a strong performance from their Nordic team, who scored a massive 912.5 points. UVM sat a distant second, followed by Middlebury. The University of New Hampshire narrowly bested Colby for fourth place.

Full Team Results

Attention now turns to next weekend when the rescheduled University of Vermont carnival will occur at Stowe Mountain on the long and demanding Maine Street run. The fields will compete in GS on Friday and slalom on Saturday.