Skiing Places 11th at Williams Carnival

Despite a depleted squad and arctic temperatures, the Harvard men’s and women’s Alpine and Nordic ski teams still managed an 11th place finish at the Williams Winter Carnival last weekend.

The team amassed 103.0 points, less than half of last week’s season high of 215.0 points.

Bitterly cold winds proved a challenge for the alpine teams, as the fierce gusts made getting out of the starting gate difficult.

Instead of a slalom race, the alpine competition featured two giant slaloms to compensate for a two-slalom weekend earlier this season.

In the first GS race on Friday, freshman Susannah Dickerson continued to improve in her first season of racing, finishing 48th in 2:34.63. Sophomore Molly Simmons was close behind in 50th with a time of 2:41.09.

The men had a rough first day, with both captain Ryan Myers and freshman Sam Simon falling in one of their runs. Simon finished 43rd and Myers 44th. But both racers lauded the quality of the course, saying it held up well throughout the competition.

“Aside from the cold, it was the best course conditions we’ve had all year,” Simon said.

On the second day of racing, Dickerson finished 47th with a combined time of 2:25.01, followed by Simmons in 49th with a time of 2:39.78.

The men concluded the second day more assertively, with Myers and Simon placing 52nd and 53rd, respectively. Although their finishes were lower than the previous day, their race points were much lower as well, demonstrating a marked improvement.

“Everyone’s become more confident in their technique over the course of the season,” Myers said.

The Nordic team was anchored once again by junior captain Anna McLoon. Continuing her string of top-five finishes, McLoon finished fourth in the 10K free technique with a time of 33:44.0.

The other female Harvard competitor, freshman Anna Bingham, came in 53rd with a time of 44:22.7.

For the men, sophomore captain Ross Feller finished the 10K free technique in 37:38.4, good for 59th place. Junior Ross Macdonald was close behind in 61st.

Next weekend, the teams conclude the regular season at the Middlebury Carnival in Middlebury, Vt.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.