Ski season kicks off with classic sprints at Colby Carnival

Posted by: Andy Walter on January 20, 2006

SUGARLOAF, Maine — The Bates College men’s and women’s Nordic ski teams each stood in sixth place at the conclusion of the classic sprints Friday, the first day of the Colby College Winter Carnival at Sugarloaf USA.

The Bates women earned 53 points to place behind Vermont (94), Dartmouth (84), Middlebury (67), Williams (58) and New Hampshire (53), and ahad of Colby (51), Bowdoin (41), St. Lawrence (38) and UMaine-Presque Isle (7).

The Bates men collected 54 points, trailing Middlebury (90), Vermont (88), Dartmouth (72), New Hampshire (72) and Williams (65), while staying ahead of Colby (43), St. Lawrence (27), Bowdoin (22), St. Michael’s (19) and UMPI (10).

Junior Kaitlyn McElroy (Bethel, Maine) led the way for the Bobcat women with a 13th-place finish of 2:26.64. Following McElroy were first-years Haleigh Armstrong (Vail, Colo.), who finished 20th (2:30.56), and Nicole Ritchie (East Dummerston, Vt.), who came in 31st (2:33.57).

Junior Lauren Jacobs (Winthrop, Maine) finished 59th (2:41.73); first-year Gretchen Grebe (Carbondale, Colo.) was 63rd (2:44.68) and junior Emily Poole (Lewiston, Maine) was 68th (2:48.60).

On the men’s side, sophomore Matt Dunlap (Farmington, Maine) took 21st for Bates with a time of 2:06.31, just ahead of three teammates: senior Seth Hubbard (Farmington, Maine), who was 24th (2:04.63), first-year Sylvan Ellefson (Vail, Colo.), who was 25th (2:05.36), and senior Dan Johnson (Detroit Lakes, Minn.), who was 35th (2:07.86). First-year Dylan Mogk (Bozeman, Mont.) came in 59th (2:11.67), and classmate Connor Cushman (Portland, Maine) was 70th (2:16.02).

The ski carnival has been extended to three days after the alpine runs were postponed after fierce winds Thursday knocked out power that affects the timing system and the communications on the start and finish lines.

The alpine slalom will be run Saturday, along with the Nordic mass start races, while alpine will finish up the meet Sunday with the giant slalom run.
With the regular Nordic trails light in snow, the race went on at the bottom of the alpine ski hill on a 450-meter course.