Skiing Claims Another Top-Ten Finish at NCAA Regionals

For its last race of the regular season, the Harvard Alpine and Nordic ski team traveled to Middlebury, Vt., to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships this weekend. Racing against a competitive field of US Ski Team and World Cup racers, the Crimson capped off its regular season several season-best performances with its sixth consecutive top-10 finish.

“This weekend was exciting for us because we had some good results and it was just a super positive atmosphere,” junior Kaitlyn Gibson said.

The team ultimately secured 10th place of sixteen teams to conclude its regular season.

In the alpine races, co-captain Simon Merryweather ended his collegiate skiing career with a season-best finish of 36th of 51 entrants. He was the first Harvard finisher in the Slalom race.

“It might have been his best finish overall considering the caliber of athletes that were at this race,” Gibson said. “That was a really awesome way to bring him to finish, and he was really happy with that result.

Sophomore Pieter Weemaes and senior Dan Rittenhouse followed Merryweather in 47th and 51st, respectively.

“It was a little bit sad because Dan and Simon are seniors so they both had their last race,” Gibson said.

In the men’s Giant Slalom race, Weemaes led the pack with a 2:09.51, good enough for 41st. Rounding out the roster, Merryweather, junior Kalvis Hornburg, junior James Stevenson, Rittenhouse and freshman Dennis Bao finished one after another to take 50th to 54th place.

“Kalvis Hornburg is our rookie and he made some good moves, especially in the second run in the GS,” Gibson said.

On the women’s side, sophomore Kelly Steeves earned her season-best finish of 24th place in the women’s Giant Slalom race.

“I’m really happy, especially with the way I finished. I was super happy that I got top-30 and I had an awesome course for the second run,” the Whistler native said.

Gibson added to the praise of her teammate.

“We’ve seen some fantastic consistency throughout the whole season from her and the team can always rely on her in and out of the course,” Gibson said. “Kelly’s had an awesome season so far and we’re really excited to see what she can do in the next two years.”

Gibson recorded the other Harvard finish in the Giant Slalom at 49th. In the Slalom race, Steeves again led for the Crimson in 44th, followed by Gibson in 53rd and freshman Molly Leavens at 59th.

On the Nordic side, the skiers faced less than ideal conditions. After pouring rain on Wednesday and Thursday, the course was frantically groomed into shape for the races on Friday.

“It was a really hard course, made harder by poor conditions,” co-captain Soren Anderson said. “The races were not particularly strong in terms of results, though we did have a few standout performances.”

One of those performances came from junior Ian Meyer, who registered his first top-25 finish this season, taking 25th place in the 20K Classic. He was followed by a strong showing of Harvard finishes with junior Devlin Shea in 38th, sophomore Liam Mulshine in 47th, Anderson in 49th, sophomore Conor Green in 54th, and sophomore Haakon Sigurslid in 59th.

In the 10K Classic, Shea notched his second top-40 finish of the weekend in 38th with a time of 24:19.3, with Meyer and Green just on his heels at 40th and 41st.

“I think we all had fun this weekend,” Anderson said. “It was a definitely a bittersweet time for all the seniors. I cannot believe that it’s over, and I’m so grateful for everything the team has given me.”

On the women’s side, freshman Hannah Hardenbaugh claimed a season-best finish with a 31st place showing in the women’s 5K FS. Senior Annie Harvieux and junior Rachel Hampton trailed just behind her in 35th and 36th, respectively.

In the 15K Classic, two Crimson racers registered top-20 finishes out of the 68 racers. Junior Rachel Hampton claimed 18th place with a time of 46:19.7 and senior Hanna Barnes clocked in at 19th with a 46:29.4. Hardenbaugh earned a top-30 finish at 28th, followed by junior Maile Sapp in 39th, freshman Nina Armstrong in 45th, and Harvieux in 58th.

“We were quite consistent this season,” Anderson said. “I think this year was a building year for us. We have a lot of great young talent and we’re waiting for them to mature.”

Despite the end of the regular season, the team will continue practicing for post-season races. Hampton is the only Harvard skier who qualified for the NCAA Championships and will travel to Steamboat, Colo., the weekend of March 9th.

—Staff writer Jamie Chen can be reached at jamie.chen@college.harvard.edu.