Tag: Gruber

Cold Weather Returns, EISA Competition Continues at UNH Carnival

Just after the gun goes off, the men’s 20k Freestyle mass start begins in Jackson, NH (Photo: Ian Nesbitt)

Last weekend a threatening January thaw brought warmth, rain and klister to the EISA ski scene for the Colby Carnival. Things could not have been more different a week later, as the University of New Hampshire hosted their carnival under frigid temps in Jackson, NH.

With these races featuring some of the strongest competition in the country, both days of racing were attended by several professional teams and athletes. Though they had no impact on the collegiate scoring, racers from the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, SMS T2 and CXC added even more depth to the EISA circuit with their presence this weekend.

Races began with 5 and 10-kilometer classic races on Friday, followed by the first mass start events of the season: 20k for men and 15k for women. All races took place on “The Wave”, Jackson’s 5k homologated race course. The Wave features a brutal, kilometer-long climb immediately out of the stadium, followed by technical and twisting sections to the high point of the course. To reach the stadium far below, racers must navigate multiple sections of corkscrew downhills, including the flight-inducing rollers that give the trail its name.

Friday: 5/10k Classic

Jorgen Grav en route to victory in the UNH Carnival 10k classic (Ian Nesbitt photo)

Frigid overnight temps below zero made for hard tracks and easy kick-waxing during Friday’s races. Lung capacity is always a major part of nordic racing, but the solid cold snow during these races evened out many of The Wave’s difficult descents; fitness would come into play in a big way for these races.

The aerobic factor was certainly working for UVM’s Jorgen Grav on Friday. After starting his season outside the top ten in this same event last weekend, Grav led both laps on Friday en route to a commanding victory.

In second place, nearly 30 seconds behind Grav, was Dartmouth’s consistent podium presence Silas Talbot. Finishing third overall was SMS T2 racer and former Dartmouth standout Eric Packer. Third in the collegiate ranks was Per Lindgren, who gave host team UNH a spot on the podium at their own event.

The Catamount men would take the top team score in the event, helped to victory by Cole Morgen (4th) and Jack Hegman (5th). Dartmouth followed next, with UNH in third.

Temperatures warmed slightly for the women’s race, and the sun became a fixture in the valley and stadium area. Times were tighter, but it was another consistent UVM classic skier, Anja Gruber, who took top honors overall. Gruber finished 9 seconds ahead of former Catamount Caitlin Patterson, now racing for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP).

Finishing third overall, and second in the collegiate ranks, was UVM’s Linda Danvind-Malm. Danvind-Malm was followed by two more guest racers: young SMS standout Katherine Ogden in fourth, and SMS T2’s (and former Dartmouth racer) Erika Flowers in fifth.

Dartmouth’s Annie Hart finished next, and was the third collegiate competitor.

Despite taking the top two spots, UVM was likely hindered by the absence of Stephanie Kirk (currently preparing for World Junior Championships in Europe) and finished second to Dartmouth in the event’s team score thanks to Hart and her teammates Cory Stock (4th) and Carly Wynn (11th).

Saturday: 15/20K Freestyle Mass Start

Hard, fast conditions remained consistent for Saturday’s mass start events. After handily winning every regular-season mass start last season, this event would be the first skate race in over a year that would not be won by UVM’s Scott Patterson. In Europe for the U23 World Championships (along with Middlebury standout Ben Lustgarten), Patterson’s absence opened the door for a new top freestyle performer. A relatively large lead pack of about 10-15 athletes remained together for a good portion of the four-lap race before stringing out in the last 5 kilometers. In a sprint finish it was Pat O’Brien (CGRP) who claimed first place ahead of Eric Packer (SMS T2).

Early in the women’s 15k mass start: Gruber leads the breakaway (Ian Nesbitt Photo)

There was a notable Big Green presence in the front of the field: Both O’Brien and Packer are former Dartmouth racers, and it was two current Darmouth racers who finished next. Silas Talbot was victor in the collegiate race, with second place going to newcomer Fabian Stocek. Rogan Brown gave UVM a continued presence on the podium in third.

While the Dartmouth men handily won the team event, Canadian competitors Université Laval snuck ahead of UVM by a single point, finishing second on the strength of their racers Touchette (6th), Gregoire (14th) and Fontaine (24th).

The women’s race broke apart more quickly, with a group of three racers vying for the win ahead of the field. The previous day’s champion, Anja Gruber (UVM), spent much of the race with Caitlin Patterson (GCRP) and Erika Flowers (SMS T2) nipping at her ski tails. A few racers, such as Dartmouth’s Annie Hart and Middlebury’s Kelsey Phinney, gave chase early, but before long it became clear that the overall podium would no doubt contain Gruber, Patterson and Flowers.

If her brother Scott was not present to contend for the men’s race, Caitlin made sure the Patterson family took home at least one skate victory on the day, biding her time and attacking late to move ahead of Gruber. Flowers claimed third overall.

For the collegiate competitors, Annie Hart (DAR) took second. Despite not earning an individual victory at this point, Hart has yet to finish off the podium in EISA races so far this season. Behind Hart was Linda Danvind-Malm. UVM’s double-podium presence was not enough to overcome the strength of Dartmouth’s Corey Stock (4th) and Emily Hannah (5th) in the team score. By placing 4 racers in spots 9-12, the Middlebury women took third in the team score.

Full results, both overall and collegiate-only, can be found at Bart Timing

Racing continues next Saturday and Sunday with the annual combined UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup in Stowe, VT

January 26, 2014
Traditions Stay Alive at Relocated Dartmouth Carnival

Due to low snow in Hanover, New Hampshire, the Dartmouth Carnival was moved to Craftsbury, Vermont this year. Ironically, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, renowned as one of the top snow-making operations in the East, did not need to fire up the guns for last weekend’s races.

Thanks to a dumping of fresh snow from the Nor’easter named Nemo, racers were able to take full advantage of Craftsbury’s challenging 5-kilometer race loop. Though the loop begins on a stretch of snow all too familiar to anyone who spent last winter in New England, the trail soon leads racers into sustained climbs and fast descents, ultimately bringing racers far below the stadium before twisting brutally back uphill toward the finish.

The course was made even more challenging this weekend by the winter storm’s heavy precipitation; Friday’s classic races were held in snowing conditions, slowing the course considerably. Despite the difficulty the fresh accumulation added to waxing, pacing and even just seeing the trail ahead, most everyone in attendance seemed ecstatic just to be skiing while snow was falling from the sky.

FRIDAY: 5/10k classic

Though they were still a few hours removed from Hanover, the home team was left wanting after the very first race of the weekend. Though they placed skiers in places 4 through 6, the Dartmouth women were unable to capture a podium spot in the 5k classic race. Anja Gruber of UVM continued to impress in the classic style, taking the victory by 17 seconds ahead of Middlebury’s Annie Pokorny. Third place went to Kaitlynn Miller of Bowdoin, who had been skiing dangerously close to the podium, or perhaps in this case “Bowdium”, all season. The finish was yet another best-ever EISA result for Bowdoin College.

Though they did not place anyone on the podium, Dartmouth did place their top 3 skiers in the next 3 places. Annie Hart, Corey Stock and Mary O’Connell finished 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. The trio’s depth at the top end of the field led Dartmouth to a victory in the team score.

The men’s race saw another UVM skier atop the podium, as Scott Patterson collected his first classic-style victory of the season. Though he has been nearly untouchable in the freestyle technique so far this year, Patterson had finished 5th and 2nd in the two earlier classic races this season at Colby and UVM.

Finishing behind Patterson were Dartmouth skiers Sam Tarling and Silas Talbot who, along with David Sinclair in 5th place, were barely able to give the Big Green the top team score, 2 points ahead of UVM.

Vermont’s Dylan Grald finished 4th, as a familiar list of schools packed the top-10. Aside from Middlebury’s Ben Lustgarten in 7th place, the top-10 consisted entirely of skiers from Dartmouth and UVM.

Saturday: 3x5k Relays

Even after the conclusion of Friday’s races, the snow continued. Though the storm let up in the early hours of the morning, racers on Saturday were greeted by thick, soft and dry powder for the 3×5 kilometer freestyle relays. Once again, the going would not be easy.

Middlebury’s Austin Cobb led the pack through the first section of the course as the men’s field settled in past Craftsbury’s large open stadium area. During the second half of the scramble leg, Dartmouth skiers Erik Fagerstrom and Scott Lacy pushed ahead to tag off to their Big Green teammates with a bit of a lead. Their effort was successful, if only briefly.

Austin Cobb (MIDD) leads out the start of the men’s 3×5 relay at the Dartmouth Carnival

On the next leg UVM’s Rogan Brown caught up to the two Dartmouth teams, while behind them Scott Patterson furiously fought (and succeeded) to also make contact with the leaders. This lead pack of four teams would be at the front for the remainder of the race.

Behind the storm of green and black suits at the front, Middlebury’s Dylan McGarthwaite skied an impressive leg to bring the Panthers up into 5th overall, which represented 3rd place in the team standings (only the top team of each school counted for team scores).

On the final lap the group of UVM and Darmouth men still held an advantage over the field. As the racers headed to the low point of the course many wondered if a sprint to the finish was imminent.

Dartmouth’s Sam Tarling put those questions to rest, putting on a big surge in the last few kilometers. Tarling created a gap large enough to allow him to cross the line smiling and waving a Dartmouth flag to the home crowd.

To give the Big Green even more to cheer about, Dartmouth’s Steve Mangan crossed the line next. UVM took places 3 and 4 in the overall standings (2nd in team scores) while Middlebury finished 5th overall to secure 3rd place in the team standings.

Steve Mangan and Sam Tarling celebrate the Dartmouth victory

The women’s relay stayed together early, as a relatively large pack was still skiing within sight of one another approaching the top of “Coaches Corner” at the 4k mark. Familiar suits were at the front, however, as UVM’s Linda Dandvind-Malm and Dartmouth’s Annie Hart towed the rest of the field in their wake.

Leg 1 of the women’s relay near 4k, with familiar suits up front

By leg 2, an order began to form that would hold for most of the race: Dartmouth in front, chased by UVM and UNH. With wider gaps between racers than the men’s relay, the women’s race was all about chasing down the team ahead of you. With the top three teams, however, there was little shuffling at the front as Dartmouth, UVM and UNH each crossed the line, in that order, with about a minute between teams.

Post-race traditions

Dartmouth skiers donned traditional garb to cheer on the racers Saturday

Aside from racing, the Dartmouth Winter Carnival is also home to a few other notable traditions. On Saturday, Dartmouth skiers and fans donned knickers and school sweaters to cheer on the racers. Dartmouth’s green suits were quite prevalent during the races, and the green sweaters and knickers were just as prevalent in the post-race festivities.

One of the more unique post-race festivities at the Dartmouth Carnival is the annual “Carni-Crush” exchange that takes place after the conclusion of racing on day 2 of the Carnival weekend. Though the Carnival did not fall on Valentines Day this year, the tradition of teams and individuals giving out valentines to other racers was not one to miss. Skiers wrote poems, sang songs, and organized dance routines to show express their love for their friends and competitors. Some were sincere, others were crude, and most were cringe-worthy, but everyone was having a blast in the relaxed post-race atmosphere.

The Middlebury women wore cheerleader outfits and held a mini pep-rally for the Williams men

The Harvard men used the P.A. system to perform a song-and-dance number/strip-tease for the SLU women

EISA Racing continues next week with the Middlebury Carnival, featuring new and updated courses at the Rikert Touring Center.

RESULTS

February 11, 2013
EISA Racing at Quarry Road: Colby Carnival Recap

The days of the local ski hill have returned to Colby College. EISA racing took place for the very first time this weekend at the Quarry Road Recreation Area in Waterville, Maine. A large-scale community project which will, upon completion, feature mountain biking trails, snowshoeing, snowboarding and sledding in addition to competition-level Nordic Ski trails, Quarry Road is located at the site of Colby College’s former ski hill just a few minutes from campus.

The Nordic racing trails weave through open fields and climb along a hillside adjacent to the former Colby ski slope. In fact, the T-bar used during the areas initial operation still stands, and sledding takes places on a lower part of the slope that is still clear of trees. The climbs are steep, and the descents are twisting, and the venue weaves in and around itself in creative ways only legendary trail designer John Morton could conceive.

Just across the parking lot at the race venue, Colby’s former Ski Hill is still visible along the ridge. The insert shows the T-bar line for the hill.

The warm temperatures that affected the snow at last weekend’s St. Lawrence Carnival also took a toll on Central Maine’s conditions this week, but once again a combination of hard work, as well as the new snow-making system at Quarry Road, resulted in a network of about 4.5 kilometers of skiable trails.

“These races are the second major event to be held at this new facility,” chief of race Pat Cote remarked to a gathering of coaches, “the first major event being getting these trails ready for racing this week.”

Though the planned 5k competition loop could not be used, tracks were set for Saturday’s classic race on a technical 2-kilometer loop. The full 4.5k loop created for the weekend was used for Sunday’s mass-start freestyle races.

Saturday: 5/10k Classic

Cold temperatures made for solid tracks during Saturday’s classic race. The abrasive snow conditions, as well as multiple corners that necessitated a bit of skidding for many, meant that kick wax was hard to maintain for the duration of the longer men’s race. More than a few bases ended up a bit scratched and shredded from the nature of the course, but conditions were fair for every racer. The decision was made unanimously to send top-seeded skiers out on course first to limit crowding, and the podium had been settled before the first 30 of 93 racers crossed the line.

Ben Lustgarten had been tantalizingly close to the top-3 before, but on Saturday morning the Middlebury Junior made absolutely sure that his first trip to the podium would involve a climb to the very top: his winning margin was nearly half a minute ahead of second-place Scott Lacy, who picked up his second podium of the year. Silas Talbot of Dartmouth also picked up podium number two of his 2013 season in third place.

University of Vermont skiers Jorgen Grav and Scott Patterson finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively, though the Dartmouth men took the victory in the team standings thanks to David Sinclair’s 6th place finish.

See below for an interview with race winner Ben Lustgarten

UVM’s Anja Gruber and coach Pat Weaver. A combo that is certainly working this season

The women’s race saw a few familiar names near the top of the results sheet, with EISA rankings-leader Anja Gruber taking the win for Vermont. Annika Taylor of UNH finished ten seconds behind Gruber for 2nd place.

A few other names near the front of the race might have been more surprising. The final podium place on Saturday went to Dartmouth’s Emily Blackmer, a Senior and relative unknown on the circuit who only raced in one Carnival for the Big Green last year. Blackmer made the most of her first EISA race this season, finishing fourteen seconds behind Taylor to claim 3rd place.

Bowdoin’s Kaitynn Miller continued her incredible Junior season, improving on her best-ever school finish of 5th last weekend by one place on Saturday. Her fourth-place finish was only 6 seconds off the podium, marking another historic day for the Polar Bears.

Isabel Caldwell of Dartmouth rounded out the top five. As the only school with 3 finishers in the top-10, the University of New Hampshire took a narrow victory over the Big Green in the women’s team score.

Men’s 10k Classic Podium L-R: Talbot, Lustgarten, Lacy

5k Classic Women’s Podium L-R: Blackmer, Gruber, Taylor

Sunday: 15/20k Freestyle

Sunday featured exciting mass-start racing, with a bit more carnage and destruction than usual. The snow stayed hard and fast on day 2, leading to a large number of crashes on numerous downhill sections. Orange alpine-style fencing was set up on one corner, and more than a few racers found themselves in the netting before the day was over. For the most part, however, the race favorites stayed out of trouble. On the women’s side, much like the previous weekend of EISA racing, it was UNH and UVM fighting near the top.

The women’s 15k freestyle featured the same three athletes on the podium as the week before in Lake Placid, albeit in a slightly different finishing order. UNH’s Annika Taylor led the way, finishing the mass start with 20 meters of clear snow behind her.

That snow behind was being churned furiously, however, as the fight for second place involved a sprint finish between the Anja and Anya…By a boot-length it was Anya Bean of UNH ahead of UVM’s Anja Gruber.

Taking 4th for the second straight day was Bowdoin’s Kaitlynn Miller, whose consistently fast skiing has made her a threat for the podium in either technique on any day. Dartmouth’s Carly Wynn finished 5^th.

Scott Patterson skiing alone at the front of the Men’s 20k Freestyle

Scott Patterson, who again looked to be untouchable in the freestyle technique, took the win in the men’s race by over a minute. Patterson made his move early, skiing away from the pack solo before the first lap was even completed. Patterson described his race quite simply afterward. “I was just skiing on my own, having fun,” he laughed.

Second place went to Steve Mangan of Dartmouth, and in his second podium-performance in two days Ben Lustgarten (Middlebury) outsprinted Rogan Brown (UVM) for 3^rd place. Silas Talbot took 5^th.

Mangan’s 2^nd place, as well as the string of Darmouth skiers in spots 5 through 8, still left the Big Green just shy of the UVM men in the team score for the race.

Women’s Freestyle podium L-R: Bean, Taylor, Gruber

Men’s Freestyle Podum L-R: Lustgarten, Patterson, Mangan

Overall the new trails at Quarry Road were received enthusiastically by racers, spectators and community members alike. “People in and around Waterville have been looking for a venue like this for a long time and are taking full advantage of it,” said Colby skier Jared Supple.

With top-notch organization, support and motivation, the area seems to have only begun to show its potential.

EISA racing continues next weekend with one of the largest Nordic events in New England, the combined UVM Carnival/Eastern Cup at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT.

FULL RESULTS

Quarry Road Website

Interview with Middlebury’s Ben Lustgarten

January 28, 2013