McLoon Finishes Strong

Once again, the skiing season for sophomore Anna McLoon ended slightly after the rest of her Harvard teammates, as she was the sole Crimson representative at the NCAA Championships for the second straight year.

McLoon improved upon last year’s showing, as she benefitted from a year of experience to place near the top half of the field in both of her events.

In the 5K classic, McLoon finished 21st out of 39 entrants, a jump of eight spots from her placing a year ago.

McLoon made an even larger leap in the 15k freestyle “skate,” moving up 11 spots from 31st last year to 20th.

“My goal had been to be in the top half and I was right there,” McLoon said. “I hope to keep improving next year.”

Denver captured both the combined team championship and the women’s title, while Colorado placed first in the men’s division.

Harvard’s last female skiier to qualify for NCAAs was Molly Ware ’95, who made the cut in 1992. On the men’s side, Matt Bellizzi ’96 competed in the 1995 event.

“I was satisfied with my performance.,” McLoon said. “All in all, it was a good season.”