UVM Takes Victory at Home, as Collegiate Skiing Returns to Stowe

University Of Vermont Alpine Team/ Stephen R Cloutier

Collegiate racing returned to Stowe Mountain after a six-season hiatus as the second half of the carnival season got underway. The weather was cold and the snow excellent for both days of racing.

In an intense fight for the overall victory, the host University of Vermont secured their second consecutive carnival win of the season. They were buoyed by a strong performance from their Nordic squad and Cydnie Timmermann, who continues to be a force in both Slalom and GS. Dartmouth trailed the Catamounts closely in the overall standings, tallying the highest point total in the men’s Slalom and the second-highest totals in the women’s Slalom, women’s Giant Slalom, and men’s Giant Slalom.

Panthers Strong in GS

Middlebury took third place after skiing exceptionally well in the opening day Giant Slalom. They led the team standings following Thursday’s race but were ultimately eclipsed by strong performances from the University of Vermont and Dartmouth Nordic teams. First-year Julian Arthur landed on the podium both days, earning EISA Skier of the Week honors with third-place finishes in both the Giant Slalom and Slalom. These results marked his first collegiate podium finishes.

Arthur said of his results, “It was a great weekend. The conditions were excellent, and the weather was perfect. I really enjoyed the hill and what I was feeling skiing it.” He commended his teammate Milan Novak for his victory in the GS and the entire team for “showing depth and a big improvement compared to previous weeks.”

Novak joined Arthur on the podium, taking his first carnival victory by winning both the first and second runs of the Giant Slalom. Additionally, teammate Kjersti Moritz secured her second victory of the season. Moritz now sits second in the Giant Slalom standings, just ten points behind UVM’s Cydnie Timmermann.

Dartmouth Shines in the Slalom

Zoe Zimmermann and Oscar Zimmer claimed victories in Friday’s Slalom race for Dartmouth. Zimmermann has now won two consecutive Slalom events as she battles Timmermann for the title. Her teammate Zimmer added a second-place finish in the Giant Slalom to claim the discipline’s leader bib. He also leads the Slalom standings by 75 points over UNH’s Jayden Buckrell with two races remaining.

Calum Langmuir followed his victory the previous week with a third-place finish in the Slalom. Sola Heming finished right behind Langmuir in fourth, while Dartmouth’s Carly Elsinger continued her run of strong finishes with a second-place result in the Giant Slalom.

UNH, Colby, Harvard Score Top 5 Results

Jayden Buckrell from the University of New Hampshire maintained his position in the Slalom title race with a fifth-place finish. The UNH women finished 4–5–6 in the Giant Slalom, led by Benedetta Caloro, who also skied to a career-best third place in the Slalom. Caloro earned EISA Skier of the Week honors for her efforts. Her results were crucial for the Wildcats, who finished fourth in the team standings narrowly behind Middlebury.

Colby’s Townsend Mikell, racing with bib 57, scored his first collegiate top-five result with an impressive fourth-place finish in the Giant Slalom. This result moves Mikell, who is returning from a knee injury, into contention for an NCAA Championship bid. Harvard’s Duncan Armstrong tied with Mikell for fourth place. Armstrong now has two top-five Giant Slalom finishes this season.

Results from Around the League

With only two carnivals left, a few skiers drastically improved their positions in the NCAA qualifying standings.

• Juliette Hoder from Bates finished eighth in the GS, her best finish in the event.
• Olivia Andersson from Plymouth State took another top 10 result with a ninth-place finish in the GS.
• Bode Flanigan finished sixth in the Slalom, he has now done no worse than sixth in all four Slalom races this season and sits in third in the Slalom standings.

Looking Ahead

The carnival season enters the home stretch as the league travels south to Jiminy Peak for the Williams Carnival. Action kicks off on Friday with the Giant Slalom.