Nordic Speeding Up as Season Intensifies

Author: Josh Axelrod

With temperatures becoming tolerable, and February break beginning on campus, Middlebury's nordic ski team has been busy with weekly carnivals. Action started off last weekend in Stowe, Vt., where the Panthers raced to excellent finishes at the University of Vermont Carnival.
The women began the Carnival with a 10-kilometer classical race. Skiing with incredible consistency, Kate Newick '04 led the Panther charge with a sixth-place finish. She was closely followed by fellow teammates Diana Johnson '05 in 10th place and Kate Whitcomb '04 in 12th place. Taylor Leach '06 and Berkley Leach '04 rounded out Middlebury's showing in the top 30 while Claire Anderson '06 finished in 36th place. When the snow settled and the results were in, Middlebury's women had won the day.
On the men's side, skiing the same distance as the women, Garrot Kuzzy '06 again led the Panthers with a fantastic fifth place finish. Close behind him was Colin Rodgers '04, skiing to a ninth place finish. Captain Tim Weston '03 finished in 13th spot. Jake Whitcomb '06, Bryce Roche '05 and Marshall Greene '04 all finished in the next eight places behind Weston, proving that Middlebury's men are a force to be reckoned with, and they are continuing to ski faster as the season progresses.
Day two began with the women's three-by-five kilometer freestyle relays. Middlebury's A-team of Newick, Johnson and Whitcomb just edged Middlebury's B-team for fifth place. The Leach sisters and Anderson skied to an impressive sixth-place finish, well ahead of many A-teams in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA).
Coming off impressive results from the day before and hoping to improve on its third-place overall finish, the men's A-team consisting of Rodgers, Whitcomb, and Kuzzy set out to defeat UVM and steal its glory at home. Rodgers began with a lightning fast 5-kilometer leg, putting Middlebury far out into the lead. Whitcomb was caught later in the second leg, and Kuzzy battled for position throughout his race but was unable to overcome UVM, as it finished about 100 meters ahead of Middlebury, giving the Panthers a very solid and dramatic second-place finish. Not far behind in seventh place, Weston, Roche, and Greene completed Middlebury's results.
After the UVM carnival, Head Coach Terry Aldrich decided it would be wise for the team to be rested before traveling to Oak Hill ski area outside Hanover, N.H., for the Dartmouth Carnival and also a preview of the race courses that will be used for this year's NCAA National competitions.
The women began the day with a 5-kilometer skate around the skiable yet challenging Oak Hill course. Newick led Middlebury yet again with a fifth-place finish. Skiing strong and relaxed, Johnson finish in 11th place followed closely by Whitcomb in 12th place. Anderson and the Leaches all finished in the top 30 yet again for Middlebury.
On the men's side fast snow and a fun course resulted in more excellent results for the Panthers in the 10-kilometer freestyle. Rodgers led Middlebury with an amazing third-place finish, just three seconds out of second place. Back a ways and feeling a little tired, Kuzzy still came up big with a ninth-place effort followed closely by Whitcomb in 11th place. Weston, Greene and Roche all finished in the top 30 for the Panthers.
Day two featured the much anticipated 15-kilometer mass start classical race for the women on the challenging 7.5-kilometer Oak Hill course. Whitcomb led the Panthers out of the stadium in second place followed closely by Newick and Johnson. Over the next lap and a half, Newick took over the Panther lead finishing in a solid eighth place followed immediately by Johnson in ninth place. Skiing strong, but continuing to lose ground, Whitcomb finished out the Carnival scoring finishing in 17th place. Anderson was close behind her in 22nd place and Taylor Leach finished with a strong 25th. Berkley Leach finished just outside of NCAA qualification in the 31st spot.
With temperatures going above freezing and blue skies, the men's 20-kilometer classical race began in a flourish of bright lycra and whipping poles. The 10-kilometer course featured seven kilometers of rolling ascent followed by a fairly technical and icy downhill back into the stadium. Coming out of the stadium, Weston led all skiers with an amazing show of double poling ability. Close behind him were Rodgers, Kuzzy, Whitcomb and Greene with Roche battling for position after dealing with a slightly slower start.
The first lap saw two Dartmouth skiers pull ahead, but Rodgers remained strong in fifth place, close behind the lead pack. Kuzzy fell back a few places, but with nine kilometers remaining, he began to push from ninth place to catch back up to Rodgers. Behind them, Weston, Roche, Whitcomb and Greene had all found each other and were skiing in an impressive train of Middlebury force.
Coming into the finish, Rodgers led the Panthers with another excellent race finishing in sixth place, nearly five feet out of fifth place as he came from 50 meters behind to almost beat Tom Temple of Dartmouth. Right on Rodgers' heals was Kuzzy finishing his great race in seventh place. Close behind and very amazing to see was the train of Middlebury skiers that stuck together all the way to the top of the 500-foot climb. Weston finished 13th, Roche 14th, Whitcomb 15th and Greene 16th, placing all Panther skiers well within the top 20 places.
With two carnivals to go, the Panther Nordic skiers are showing excellent promise. This includes the Middlebury Carnival, to be held the weekend of February 21, which is one of the most important events for the Panther skiers. We can also look forward to more EISA action next weekend at Mount Prospect, Vermont, where Middlebury will compete in the Williams Carnival. The NCAA nationals begin March 3 at Dartmouth, and Middlebury will be looking to improve on their successes of last year.