Slalom proves challenging in day one at Middlebury

Posted by: Andy Walter on February 20, 2009

Senior tri-captain Emily Sampson led the women’s alpine team with a 22nd place finish in the slalom.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — The Bates alpine ski teams kicked off the Middlebury Carnival in Vermont with the men and women’s slalom races. Senior Emily Sampson (Plymouth, N.H.) led the women with a 22nd-place finish with a combined time of 1:41.79. Sophomore Micaela Holland (Belmont, Mass.) was next in 28th-place with a combined time of 1:43.03. First-year Kristin Waddle (Harpswell, Maine) rounded out the top three skiers for the women with a 37th-place finish with a combined time of 1:46.57.

The Bobcat women sit in seventh place with 64 points after the slalom races, which puts them just behind Williams (67) and with a slight lead over Colby (62).

The men’s alpine team caught some unlucky breaks in the first day of competition at the Middlebury Carnival. Sophomores August Felix (Cambridge, Mass.) and John Canney (North Clarendon, Vt.) were the only two skiers to score points in the slalom races. Felix finished 30th with a combined time of 1:39.67. Canney finished 47th with a combined time of 2:00.74. Alex Jones (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) did not finish the first slalom race while first-year Bump Heldman (Auburn, Maine) and sophomore Ross Brockman (Sudbury, Mass.) did not finish the second slalom race. Sophomore Ben Manter (Vassalboro, Maine) was disqualified in the second slalom race.

The Bobcat men finished in 10th place with 28 points. The combined Bates Nordic and alpine ski teams are in seventh place out of 11 teams at the carnival, with 279 points. The Bobcats are ahead of St. Lawrence (254) and trail Williams (304) after day one of the Middlebury Carnival.

The alpine team hits the slopes again for their final day of competition on Saturday, Feb. 21 for the men and women’s giant slalom. The women begin the first giant slalom run at 9:30 a.m. followed directly afterward by the men. The alpine teams finish up the carnival with their second and final giant slalom run at 12:30 p.m. with the women racing first followed directly afterward by the men.

View complete carnival results at http://www.eisaskiing.org/BART/Results09/mc09.htm.