Big Green Cruisines to Second Straight Victory in SLU Hosted Eastern Carnival

LAKE PLACID — Dartmouth women swept the top three spots in the 15 kilometer classic event Saturday, helping their team win it’s second straight carnival of the 2008 season.

The top team scores Saturday were not unlike those from Friday; the University of Vermont was victorious in both the men’s and women’s slalom races, while Dartmouth once again won the men’s and women’s Nordic events.

A podium sweep by Dartmouth team mates Ida Sargent, Elsa Sargent, and Rosie Brennan lifted the Big Green ahead of Middlebury and the University of New Hampshire for top Nordic team honors Saturday. In the men’s Nordic event, Bogner points leader Juergen Uhl of the University of Vermont outpaced Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess of Dartmouth by nearly a minute and a half for his second classical win of the season. Blackhorse-Von Jess was the first of three consecutive Dartmouth finishers, who together beat out Colby College for the top of the men’s team podium. Colby continued it’s impressive season Saturday, placing three finishers in the top eight and out-scoring the University of Vermont, who placed third.

At Whiteface Mountain Saturday it was the University of Vermont skiers who once again flexed their muscles, with four Catamount women finishing in the top five of the slalom event. Lyndee Janowiak picked up her first year of the season, edging Bogner points leader Veronique Archambault-Leger of the University of New Hampshire for the victory. UVM’s Kara Crow took third.

By placing three skiers in the top six, Catamount men outscored Middlebury and Dartmouth for the top of the team podium, and picked up their first slalom win of the season after a disappointing seventh place finish at the Bates Carnival. The top individual podium spot Saturday was held by Andrew Wagner of Middlebury, who picked up his first win of the season. He edged Catamount Greg Hardy and Colby’s Vincent Lebrun-Fortin, who picked up his team’s top individual finish so far this season.

After two weekends of racing Dartmouth has proven itself to be a worthy defender of it’s 2007 national championship. Final team scores for the St. Lawrence University Carnival are as follows: Dartmouth (587 points), Middlebury (555 points), University of Vermont (527 points).

Teams will now have a weekend of rest from carnival racing, which resumes February 1-2 in Stowe, Vermont, hosted by the University of Vermont.

Information about the remaining schedule, as well as full results and up-to-date team standings can be found at www.eisaskiing.org.

Photo courtesy of Kris Dobie (www.krisdobie.smugmug.com)