Thomas Wins GS; Dartmouth in Third at Williams Carnival

Friday, February 14

Lake Placid, N.Y./Hancock, Mass.

9:00 AM

Dartmouth College

Williams Day One

Claire Thomas alpine skiing at Vermont Carnival

Junior Claire Thomas won her second straight GS.

Photo by: flyingpointroad.com

Thomas Wins GS; Dartmouth in Third at Williams Carnival

2/14/2020 6:14:00 PM | Skiing

Results

Third straight podium and second straight gold in the GS for Thomas

By: Rick Bender

HANCOCK, Mass./LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Junior Claire Thomas took the gold in the giant slalom, leading the Dartmouth women's alpine team to victory at the Williams Carnival on Friday. The Big Green overall finished the first day of competition in third place overall with 369 points, trailing Middlebury (450) and Vermont (400).

Thomas wasted no time in establishing herself as the front-runner at Jiminy Peak, shredding her way to a lead of more than a full second on the morning run in 52.18 seconds. Two other Dartmouth skiers were among the top five as well in sophomore Abi Jewett (third) and freshman Gwen Wattenmaker (fifth). On the second run, Thomas bested the field by more than a full second again, easily claiming the top step on the podium with a time of 1:43.77 with New Hampshire's Lisa Olsson nearly three seconds back in second place in 1:46.74. Wattenmaker took the last place on the podium in third (1:46.83), and although Jewett did not finish her second run, senior Stephanie Currie was able to grab a top-10 spot in 1:48.38, good for 10th. The Big Green finished with 124 points, beating out the Wildcats (107) and Middlebury (100) to win the event.

While the Panthers had the top two skiers and three of the top five in the men's giant slalom for 139 points, Dartmouth managed to take second overall with 103, led by junior captain Drew Duffy in fourth place in 1:43.09, barely a tenth of a second from stepping on the podium. Sophomore Andrew Miller sped his way down the slopes twice to take sixth in 1:43.16, and junior Peter Fucigna also scored for the Green in 17th (1:44.39). Middlebury's Tim Gavett and Erik Arvidsson shared the gold in 1:42.92.

The Nordic races, originally scheduled to take place at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, Vermont, were moved to Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid due to snow conditions. But with the cross-country area undergoing major renovations, the events took place on the biathlon side of the complex. Both the men and women scored 71 points in their 10K classic races, finishing fifth in the women's team standings and sixth on the men's side.

Competing without three-time NCAA champion Katharine Ogden for the second straight week, Dartmouth got its top performance from senior Abby Drach, who completed the race in 29:22.7, good for 15th place. Freshman Mara McCollor was the next Big Green skier to cross the tape, taking 21st overall with a time of 29:48.7, while sophomore Molly Gellert also scored for Dartmouth in 27th place (30:07.7). Vermont's Anna Bizyukova took home the good medal in 27:44.0, well ahead of Middlebury's Alexandra Lawson in second (27:56.6) and Bowdoin's Gabrielle Vandendries in third (28:35.4).

The men's race was dominated by the Catamounts, which swept the podium, led by Ogden's younger brother, Ben Ogden, in 23:22.5. Like the women, Dartmouth's top finisher placed 15th in the form of freshman Cameron Wolfe in 25:17.8. Junior Adam Glueck wasn't far behind in 19th place with a time of 25:27.2, while junior Walker Bean completed the scoring for the Big Green men in 32nd overall (25:56.9).

The second and final day of competition will feature the slalom and the 3x5K skate relay races starting Saturday morning.