Strong Day on the Nordic Trails Keeps Skiing Atop Leaderboard

Friday, January 13

Rumford, Maine

Dartmouth College

Bates Day Two

Luke Allan

Photo by: flyingpointroad.com

Strong Day on the Nordic Trails Keeps Skiing Atop Leaderboard

1/13/2023 3:30:00 PM | Skiing

Results

Podiums for Luke Allan and Ava Thurston led the Big Green youth movement

By: Rick Bender

RUMFORD, Maine — While a steady rain and temperatures in the mid- to high-30s caused the postponement of the slalom races at Sunday River today, the weather conditions couldn't dampen the spirits of the Nordic skiers at Black Mountain as the Bates Carnival continued with the first cross country race of the season with a 7.5K skate. With decidedly youthful teams, Dartmouth took second place in both the men's and women's races with one skier reaching the podium in each.

Sophomore Luke Allan, the EISA Men's Nordic Rookie of the Year last winter, picked up where he left off by taking third in the men's race. The first of the three 2.5K loops with an interval start had him running fourth behind Middlebury's Logan Moore, but he made up nearly all that difference on his second loop before edging ahead to grab that final podium step 1.3 seconds ahead of Moore in 18:29.7.

The Big Green had two skiers in the top five thanks to a strong collegiate debut by freshman Jack Lange in fifth. The time on his first loop was the 12th fastest, but he got stronger as the race wore on and posted the second-best time on the final lap to finish up in 18:41.1, more than 10 seconds ahead of Middlebury's Jack Christner in sixth.

Also scoring for Dartmouth was sophomore Wally Magill in 14th place with his time of 19:17.4, giving the Green the three youngest skiers among the top 14 racers. Vermont took the top two spots with Ben Ogden winning the race in 18:08.1 with his teammate Jacob Nystedt 5.6 seconds behind him. The Catamounts amassed 130 points to win the event while Dartmouth finished second with 110 and Middlebury just trailing in third with 106.

The Big Green youth movement continued with the women's 7.5K freestyle at noon with freshman Ava Thurston skating to a second-place finish. Each of her three loops had the second-fastest times, trailing only Jasmine Lyons of UNH. That left her with a time of 21:25.5, 31 seconds behind Lyons and nearly 23 seconds ahead of Middlebury's Shea Brams as the three comprised those on the podium.

The eldest scorer for Dartmouth all day was junior Garvee Tobin, who crossed the tape in 10th place with a time of 22:36.8. Freshman Anja Grover also put points on the board for the Green, placing 30th in 24:14.1, giving the team a total of 95 points, tying for second with Colby and Vermont and trailing only New Hampshire's 128.

The Big Green will enter the final day of the carnival leading the field with 431 points and a 59-point cushion ahead of UNH (372) and nearly 100 points in front of Vermont (337). The slalom will take place on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. with the 10K freestyle starting at 10 a.m.