Dartmouth Opens 2023 Season at Bates Carnival

Thursday, January 12

Newry, Maine

Dartmouth College

Bates Day One

Jasmine Drolet and Oliver Morgan of the Dartmouth Ski Team

Jasmine Drolet (left) and Oliver Morgan

Dartmouth Opens 2023 Season at Bates Carnival

1/11/2023 4:55:00 PM | Skiing

Live scoring

The giant slalom at Sunday River will kick off the campaign on Thursday

By: Rick Bender

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth Big Green ski team and the schools of the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) will get the 2023 season underway with the Bates Carnival this weekend, beginning with the giant slalom on Thursday at Sunday River in Newry, Maine.

The 2022 season ended on a disappointing note for Dartmouth at the NCAA Championships as illness ran through numerous Big Green skiers, notably on the Nordic side, leading to an 11th-place finish in the final standings. Dartmouth would like nothing more than to erase those memories with a strong start at Bates, and the Green certainly have the personnel to do just that with at least one skier who qualified for the NCAAs in each disclipine returning this winter.

The men's Nordic team has all three of its NCAA competitors from last year back in the fold — senior Cameron Wolfe, and sophomores Luke Allan and Wally Magill. Allan, the 2022 EISA Men's Nordic Rookie of the Year, had the most success a year ago, posting three podiums and one victory, while Magill made the All-East Second Team with six top-10 showings and finishing as high as fourth. Wolfe is a veteran of two NCAA Championships, having qualified as a freshman in 2020 and again last year. Men' Nordic coach Brayton Osgood also has fresh talent joining his roster, particularly in John Steel Hagenbuch who reached the podium in three of four Super Tour races in December and grabbed another at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships just last week.

In the more than three decades that Cami Thompson Graves has served as the women's Nordic head coach, this is the youngest team she has overseen without a single senior and just one junior. Dartmouth's Director of Skiing does not lack talent, however, with 2022 EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year Jasmine Drolet back in the mix along with junior Garvee Tobin. Drolet stepped on the podium in each of her six carnival races last year with four victories, and Tobin — the lone junior — twice finished as high as third and was an All-East Second Team performer last year. Three more sophomores, Emma Reeder, Nina Seemann and Tatum Witter, all had strong rookie campaigns last year, and freshman Ava Thurston will look to break into the scorers after winning a U20 race last week.

Over on the slopes, the men have a pair of NCAA qualifiers returning in sophomore Oliver Morgan and junior Olof Hedelin. A local product from Hanover High, Morgan earned a spot on the All-America Second Team as a rookie in the giant slalom, and Hedelin scored points at NCAAs in both the GS and the slalom. The question for first-year head coach J.P. Daigneault is who will step up to bolster that duo. Senior Hunter Brayton is a good bet with three eighth-place finishes in carnivals last year, and freshman Cooper Puckett had a strong showing at the Nor-Am Cup last week, winning a slalom race and nearly winning another. But with a dozen men on the roster, any number of them could emerge during the season.

The Anny Jenny Head Coach of Women's Alpine Skiing, John Dwyer, has a trio of veterans returning to lead this team, beginning with senior Gwen Wattenmaker. Four top-10 finishes last year, including a GS win, eventually led to her earning All-America Second Team honors in the slalom and a spot on the All-East First Team. Junior Olivia Holm is ready to make a run at qualifying for NCAAs after five top-six showings in 2022 and a pair of podiums, helping her land on the All-East Second Team. And sophomore Carly Elsinger is coming off a solid debut season. But a late addition to the team in sophomore Allie Resnick, who is a member of the U.S. Alpine B Team, will certainly bolster the Big Green's prospects, along with her sister, Emma Resnick, who is on the U.S. Development Team.

The excitement of carnivals begins tomorrow with the alpine events kicking off the Bates Carnival at Sunday River. Both alpine and Nordic will be in action on Friday (though rain and warmer temperatures could cause problems), with the 10K freestyle closing out the weekend on Saturday at Black Mountain.