Strong Start for Nordic at Vermont Carnival

Friday, January 12

Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Nordic Center

9:00 AM

Dartmouth College

Vermont Day One

Nina Seemann skiing in the classic sprint at the UVM Carnival, Jan. 12, 2024

Senior Nina Seemann finished fifth in the women’s race.

Photo by: flyingpointroad.com

1/12/2024 4:12:00 PM | Skiing

Day One Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

Three podiums for the Big Green, including a win for Hagenbuch

By: Rick Bender

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. — The Dartmouth Nordic team opened the carnival season by placing three skiers on the podium in the men's and women's classic sprint races on the first day of the Vermont Carnival at the Craftsbury Nordic Center. Junior John Steel Hagenbuch claimed the gold on the men's side with classmate Luke Allan placing third, while sophomore Ava Thurston took second in the women's race, helping the Big Green climb to the top of the standings with 235 points.

Hagenbuch and Allen gave a preview of what was to come in the qualifying heat, boasting two of the top three times in the field with Allan the fastest at 3:11.09. Three other Big Green skiers, first-year Aaron Power, fifth-year senior Cameron Wolfe and sophomore Cooper Camp also advanced to the quarterfinals with top-30 times.

With Hagenbuch winning his quarterfinal heat and Allan placing second in his, Dartmouth had two skiers advance to the semifinals, though Power just missed the cut by finishing third, a mere 0.04 seconds out of second place and less than a quarter second from the lead. In the semis, the two Big Green skiers repeated their quarterfinal performances with Hagenbuch in the lead of his heat and Allan in second. Hagenbuch then edged out Harvard's Rémi Drolet by 0.31 seconds with a time of 3:08.79 with Allan in third at 3:12.27, more than four seconds ahead of the other three skiers.

The Dartmouth women had even more skiers advance to the quarterfinals with eight among the top 30 in the qualifying heats as Thurston led the way with the second-best time of 3:47.59. Junior Jasmine Drolet, senior Nina Seemann and junior Emma Reeder also recorded top-10 times to cruise into the quarters.

Both Thurston and Seemann won their quarterfinal heats, and with Reeder taking second in hers, the Big Green had three move on to the semifinals, where Thurston won again, while Seemann took second and Reeder fifth in the other race. That sent Thurston and Seemann to the finals with the former claiming second in 3:50.86, just under a second behind the winner from host Vermont, Haley Brewster. Seemann was just edged out at the finish line and settled for fifth in 3:52.89, 0.06 seconds behind the fourth-place finisher.

The men amassed 118 points to win the event with Power contributing 24 points to the total thanks to claiming 16th overall. And with Reeder finishing ninth, the women nearly matched the men with 117 points, though they fell just short of Vermont's total of 119.

Dartmouth will hold a 37-point lead over the Catamounts with Middlebury just two behind in third when the carnival continues tomorrow with the 10K skate.