McLoon Leads Skiing to 11th at UNH Carnival

Frigid temperatures did not deter the Harvard nordic and alpine skiers as they launched into action last weekend at the season-opening UNH College Carnival.

The Crimson, which finished in 11th place with 136.0 points overall, was led by junior captain Anna McLoon’s career-best finish in the 15K Classic.

McLoon, who was the Crimson’s lone representative at the NCAA Championships last year, finished in 49:39.0, third out of a pool of more than 50 competitors.

While encouraged by her strong start to the year, McLoon said the competition for the top positions would be fierce throughout the season.

“I think the top people will trade postions back and forth,” McLoon said. “We should have some exciting races.”

Other members of the team who placed in the 15K Classic were freshmen Sarah Mitchell in 50th and Anna Bingham in 54th.

In the men’s 20K Classic, sophomore captain Ross Feller finished in 57th place, while junior Ross MacDonald, who is also a Crimson editor, was two spots behind in 59th.

The alpine contingent of the squad competed in both the slalom and giant slalom, with the freshmen performing well in their first college event. Freshman Sam Simon led the men in the GS with a 31st-place finish and a combined time of 2:43.17. He was followed by junior Matthew Perone in 36th, captain Ryan Myers in 37th and senior Bryan Bellmare in 39th place.

In the slalom, Myers led a run of four consecutive Harvard finishers, placing 48th in 1:52.03.

For the women, freshman Susannah Dickerson came in 37th in the GS with a two-run combined time of 3:11.93, while junior Rachael Wagner was close behind in 38th place. In the slalom, Wagner finished 50th in 2:31.32.

This Friday and Saturday the teams will be in Stowe, Vt. to participate in the UVM Carnival.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.