For First Time Since 2005, Skiing Takes 10th Place

Over the weekend, the Harvard men’s and women’s ski teams traveled to Prospect Mountain, Vt., to participate in the Williams College Winter Carnival. Amidst grueling conditions and a tough field, the Crimson finished 10th amongst the participating universities with a total score of 345 points.

The Dartmouth Big Green came out on top, winning its fifth straight carnival with a final tally of 898.0. The University of Vermont and Middlebury finished second and third with 843.0 and 806.5 points, respectively.

In the alpine events, winds of upto 50 MPH and poor visibility provided tough conditions for the teams. Combined with soft snow, navigating the slopes proved to be a challenging endeavor.

“It was like a minefield trying to make it down,” senior Katie Connors said. “It was pretty intense, but everyone made it down pretty fast.”

Junior Alexandra Teng placed highest for Harvard in both the women’s slalom and giant slalom. Teng’s time of 2:12.41 put her in 39th for the slalom, while she earned 46th with a time of 2:17.40 in the giant slalom.

On the men’s side, junior Matthew Basilico provided a standout performance. Basilico shed nearly three seconds off his first run to record a final time of 2:07.35 and claim the 46th spot in the giant slalom. During the slaloms on Saturday, Basilico finished in the top thirty racers, grabbing the 28th position with a time of 1:51.17.

The extra effort put forth is not going unnoticed by teammates.

“People are starting to ski really strong,” Connors said. “They are putting two runs together.”

New Hampshire freshman Veronique Archambault-Leger nabbed the first place position in both the slalom and the giant slalom with times of 1:42.66 and 1:55.58, respectively.

In the Nordic events, similar results were recorded.

Senior Jennifer Harlow narrowly missed her own top-thirty finish. In the 10K race, Harlow posted a result of 40:05.8 to claim the 33rd spot in the competition. Freshmen Audrey Mangan and Kaitlyn Coil also notched respectable finishes, coming in at 42nd and 53rd, respectively.

For the men, sophomore David McCahill placed 49th with a final time of 33:38.2. Junior Oliver Burress trailed not too far behind his teammate, landing the 51st spot with a time of 33:56.7.

The trifecta of Elsa Sargent, Sara Studebaker, and Laura Spector secured the top three spots for the Big Green in the women’s 10K race. The Dartmouth men also dominated the Nordic events as Michael Sinnott, Benjamin True, and Glenn Randall grabbed the first three positions.

The ski team will next travel to Middlebury, Vt., for the EISA Championships from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.

—Staff writer Vincent R. Oletu can be reached at voletu@fas.harvard.edu.