Ruppertsberger, Gill take 32nd, 33rd in NCAA 5K Freestyle race
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| Natalie Ruppertsberger finished 32nd in the 5K Freestyle race at NCAAs on Wednesday. (File photo by Lincoln Benedict ’09) |
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Ruppertsberger |
Gill |
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Canney |
Heldman |
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Holland |
Manter |
STOWE, Vt. — Bates seniors Natalie Ruppertsberger and Kirsten Gill took 32nd and 33rd places, respectively, in the Women’s 5K Freestyle Individual Start race on Wednesday, the opening day of competition at the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships.
Ruppertsberger (Plainfield, N.H.), making her third NCAA appearance and competing in her fifth career NCAA race, started fourth in the field of 39 skiers, finished the 5K course at Trapp Family Resort in 15:31.3, just 0.2 seconds behind Alena Tofte of Harvard. Gill (Jackson, N.H.), competing in her first NCAA Championship race, was next best in 15:35.6.
Gill and Ruppertsberger will compete again on Friday in the Women’s 15K Classic Technique Mass Start race, which starts at 9 a.m. Live video streaming of the race will be available at ncaa.com.
The Bates Nordic skiing duo’s alpine teammates also competed on Wednesday at Stowe Mountain Resort – the giant slalom schedule was moved up a day to avoid Thursday’s weather. Junior Bump Heldman (Auburn, Maine) placed 11th in the men’s GS, followed by Bates senior Ben Manter (Vassalboro, Maine), who was 19th in the 36-man field, and senior John Canney (North Clarendon, Vt.), who was 27th. Meanwhile, Bates senior Micaela Holland (Belmont, Mass.) took 24th place in the women’s GS. Bates’ two ski teams combined to score 98 points, putting Bates in 11th place among 21 teams at NCAAs.