Six Podiums Carry Big Green to Lead at UNH Carnival

Friday, January 18

Jackson/Franconia, N.H.

TBA

Dartmouth College

UNH Day One

Junior Stephanie Currie picked up her first collegiate win.

Photo by: Gil Talbot

Six Podiums Carry Big Green to Lead at UNH Carnival

1/18/2019 3:04:00 PM | Skiing

Day One Results

Dartmouth took the top two spots in three of the four events on Friday

By: Rick Bender

JACKSON/FRANCONIA, N.H. — The Dartmouth ski team claimed six podiums on the first day of the New Hampshire Carnival thanks to recording the top two times in three of the four events. Junior Stephanie Currie (women's giant slalom), sophomore Drew Duffy (men's giant slalom) and sophomore Katharine Ogden (women's 15K classic) each won their respective events to help the Big Green finish the day atop the field with 492 points. Vermont sits in second with 424 points while Middlebury is third with 398.

Over on the slopes of Cannon Mountain, Dartmouth asserted itself from the start as Currie posted the fastest time (1:04.10) on the first run and sophomore Tricia Mangan the third-fastest (1:04.69). The men had similar success with their first run with sophomore Drew Duffy — fresh off two wins last week — zipping through the course with the best time of 1:01.64, and junior Tanguy Nef in third at 1:02.35. Three other Big Green men finished among the top 10 the first time down as well, including junior Kipling Weisel in fifth (1:02.70).

In the afternoon, Currie and Mangan traded places for the best run the second time through (Mangan fastest, Currie third), but Currie barely edged out her teammate for the top step of the podium in with a combined time of 2:13.13 with Mangan a mere three-hundredths of a second behind in second place. While Vermont's Paula Moltzan finished in third, nearly a full second off the pace, senior Audrey O'Brien improved her standing with the fourth-best time on her second try, jumping seven spots in the standings into fifth in 2:15.38, boosting the Dartmouth team score to 136. That put the Green well ahead of the host Wildcats with 100 points and Middlebury in third with 87.

The men did not disappoint, either, as Nef made a strong case to win the gold with the best time on the second run by more than half a second in 1:06.51. Although it was not quite enough to catch Duffy, who tied for the second-best time in the afternoon to win his third collegiate race in as many tries with a combined time of 2:08.75, Nef did jump into second place at 2:08.86. And Weisel nearly matched Nef's second run, helping him move up a rung in the final standings into fourth at 2:09.88, leaving Dartmouth with 138 points to easily beat out Vermont, which had 102.

The cross country races at Jackson XC began with the men's 20K classic, with Vermont claiming three of the top four times, including Bill Harmeyer at the front in 54:33.8. Middlebury's Lewis Nottonson kept the Catamounts from sweeping the podium, finishing third in 54:40.7. Senior Callan Deline was the Big Green's top skier, placing eighth in 55:12.4, while sophomore Adam Glueck (56:01.0, 16th) and Gavin McEwen (57:57.6, 35th) provided the 80 points for Dartmouth, good for fourth place.

The Big Green women dominated the 15K classic with the return of the team's three NCAA skiers from a year ago, including sophomore Katharine Ogden who won national titles in both the freestyle and classic races last year. She picked up right where she left off, jumping out to the lead on the first lap and never letting it go, wrapping up the gold in 46:51.0 while junior teammate Leah Brams took second in 47:15.7. Dartmouth had four other skiers among the top nine, led by junior Lauren Jortberg in fourth (47:28.8) with Margaret Gellert (sixth), senior Emily Hyde (eighth) and senior Lydia Blanchet (ninth) on her heels. With 138 points, the Big Green bested Middlebury by 26 and Vermont by 35.

The carnival will conclude on Saturday with the slalom at Cannon Mountain and the freestyle sprints at Jackson XC.