Dartmouth and Vermont battle in Opening Bates Carnival

Photo: Bates Carnival Women’s GS podium. Photo credit: Allie Resnick.

EISA skiing made its return with the opening Bates Carnival at Sunday River. Thirteen teams battled out in two days of racing, with multiple athletes outside the top 30 moving in to score valuable points.

Giant Slalom

Dartmouth came out strong in the first run after coach JP Daigneault set a hard-charging first run. Run one on the women’s and men’s sides was won by Dartmouth skiers Allie Resnick and Cooper Puckett in their first college race as a member of the Mean Green. Despite their early leads, the margins were close, with just 2.60 seconds separating the top 30 women and 1.60 the top 30 men. The Colby women and UNH men put all six of their skiers in the flip 30, showing the strong depth of both teams.

The second run was anyone’s race with excellent conditions. Despite her narrow advantage going into the second run, Resnick was able to hold off a charge from Sant Michael’s Helene Kristoffersen. Resnick claimed her maiden win as a Darmouth skier, with teammate Carly Elsinger rounding out the podium. The duo helped land Dartmouth in first for the opening race.

The small lead for Puckett did not prove enough to hold off Saint Michael’s Eirik Kveno to win. Rounding out the podium was Harvards Fredrik Haug delivering a great result in his first race for the Crimson.

After the first day’s results, Dartmouth led the field by 43 points ahead of Colby who put a combined three skiers in the top 10 with 183 points.

Slalom

Following a one-day delay, the Bates carnival resumed with the slalom portion. The league’s patience was rewarded as racers were greeted with a hard surface that held up for the men’s and women’s races.

Saint Michael’s Kveno, the winner of Thursday’s GS, proved he will be a two-event threat this year. He beat last year’s SL champion, Mathias Tefre, from UVM by just 0.16 in the first run. Maximilian Haussman from Plymouth State rounded out the first run podium but sat a distant 0.56 off the pace.

As racers got a better feel for the snow, the men began to attack the course second run. Cooper Puckett put down a blazing-fast second run, however, it was not enough to dethrone Mathias Tefre. Kveno’s second run mistake moved him to silver. Kveno and Puckett earned another podium finish and two great results toward NCAA championships qualifying after the GS.

On the ladies’ side, the UVM Catamounts rose to the occasion going 1-2-3 after the first run led by last year’s SL champion Moa Clementson looking to defend her title. Justine Clement and Caroline Jones followed her. Their efforts were enough to put UVM in the lead after the first run.

On the second run, Allie Resnick navigated a deteriorating course to win the run and move up to third place. Jones and Clement did just enough to hold off Resnick to finish first and second, respectively. Unfortunately for UVM, their podium sweep was denied when Clementson went down on her second run.

“Ski racing is almost always an individual sport, racing as a team makes the race that much more exciting,” said Resnick. “I am super proud of our team’s performance and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Overall

The Dartmouth earned 109 points, enough to hold off UVM, led by Tefre. UVM’s first and second combined with the Nordic results had them winning the overall carnival. They defeated Dartmouth by just 29 points, and the University of New Hampshire, who finished third.

After a schedule readjustment, the carnival season will resume with the UNH carnival at Mittersill Mountain in two weeks.

EISA contributed to this report.