Carnival Returns to Skiway and Oak Hill

Friday, February 11

Lyme/Hanover, N.H.

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth Day One

Fifth-year senior Kalle Wagner

Photo by: flyingpointroad.com

2/10/2022 1:08:00 PM | Skiing

Nordic Live Timing

Dartmouth Carnival is back for the first time in three years

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — It has been three years since the Dartmouth ski team hosted its carnival competition, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, partly due to the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) expanding the number of schools that serve as hosts throughout the season. But the racing returns to Hanover and Lyme this weekend for the Dartmouth Carnival, the 99th competition that dates back to 1922.

The cross country races will take place at the Oak Hill Touring Center in Hanover, starting with the men's 10K classic on Friday at 10 a.m. while the women will begin their 5K race at noon. The following morning, the men will once again start things off, this time with a 10K freestyle race at 10 a.m. The women's 10K freestyle will take place at noon, same as the classical race the day prior.

Due to snow conditions, the giant slalom will not be run at the Dartmouth Skiway. Instead, the alpine races will feature the slalom on both Friday and Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.

The Big Green would like to add to their total of 41 Dartmouth Carnival victories over the years and extend their lead on Vermont, which has won the carnival 37 times. While the Catamounts have emerged atop the standings in the first three carnivals of the 2022 season, the Green hope that a little home-site advantage will come into play this weekend.

The women's Nordic team has consistently been a top performer for Dartmouth having won the freestyle event at each of the first three carnivals while being narrowly edged out by Vermont in the two classical races that have taken place. Freshman Jasmine Drolet has taken the EISA by storm, winning three races and placing third in the sprint free last week to start her career with four podiums in as many entries. And with seniors Callie Young, Rena Schwartz and Molly Gellert, along with junior Mara McCollor, the Big Green lineup is a formidable one.

On the men's side, freshman Luke Allan picked up the Big Green Nordic team's first podium of the season last week at the Vermont Carnival by placing third in the sprint free, earning DartmouthSports.com Male Athlete of the Week honors along the way. Junior Cameron Wolfe and rookie Wally Magill, along with Allan, have put points on the board in every race to allow the team to finish second four times and a close third in the other event thus far.

It has been three weeks since the alpine teams competed, thanks to the snowstorm at Vermont last week that wiped out all of the races. Mother Nature is playing a little more nicely this week despite the loss of the giant slalom, and the Big Green are anxious to strap on their skis.

The women have produced a pair of podiums to date, including a win for junior Gwen Wattenmaker in the giant slalom at St. Michael's. But nearly half of the entrants have not finished the two runs, leaving points on the slopes. The familiar terrain of the Dartmouth Skiway could be just what the team needs to build its confidence for the stretch run.

The men are also still finding their way behind fifth-year senior Kalle Wagner, who has scored for the Green in each of the four events entering the weekend. Peter Dodge, in his 33rd and final year as the team's head coach, is looking for his skiers to push into a few more top-10 finishes the next two days with just four to their names at this point of the season.

Recaps of each day's events will be provided on the DartmouthSports.com website, and live timing of the cross country races can be found on the Bullitt Timing website.