Skiing Propelled By Women’s Alpine Team

A lot of skiers have come through Harvard in the last 30 years, but never once in those years did the Crimson women’s alpine ski team place sixth in the giant slalom, as it did this past weekend at the University of Vermont Winter Carnival in Stowe, Vt. The Harvard ski team’s overall ninth place finish was the only disappointment on an otherwise banner day for many Crimson skiers.

“It was a very successful weekend,” said Harvard alpine coach Tim Mitchell. “Our women’s team [had] their best finish ever as far as I know.”

What made Mitchell even more optimistic about the weekend was that his skiers proved so successful without their top athlete in the event, freshman Meg Luck.

“She hurt her elbow before we left,” Mitchell explained.

Instead, the team’s other athletes stepped up to deliver personal-best performances, most notably freshman Catherine Sheils, who finished 18th, and sophomore Caroline McHugh, who finished 22nd.

The women’s success was mirrored by their Nordic counterparts, who had three top-25 finishers in the 5k classic.

“We haven’t done that in 20 years,” said Nordic coach Chris City ’94. “That’s an outstanding result for us.”

Just as in the alpine races, a freshman led the way. This time it was Alena Tofte, a rookie from Duluth, Minn., who placed 18th overall in the classic event despite falling over at one of the turns.

“That probably cost her five or ten seconds,” City said.

And four or five places, given that Tofte’s time was only thirteen seconds slower than 13th-place finisher Elizabeth Guiney of UNH.

Next on the board for the Crimson was senior Audrey Mangan, who finished 20th, followed by another freshman, Esther Kennedy, who placed 24th.

Unfortunately for Harvard, the Nordic team, which finished seventh overall in the classic event, was unable to match its success when it competed yesterday in the 10k free, where it placed 10th as a team without Mangan. But for City, the breakthrough performance on Saturday was enough cause for optimism.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” he said. “We’re at the point where we cut down on training. Everyone’s skiing as fast as they can. Most skiers are heading in that direction.”

The men’s Nordic results were not quite as history-making as the women’s, as the squad finished 11th in the 10k classic and 10th in the 15k free. But like the women, they too showed improvement, with freshman Anthony Ryerson’s 41st place in the 10k classic leading the team over the weekend.

“That’s a solid day for him,” City said.

The men’s alpine team, meanwhile, struggled with the same issue that has plagued it all season—putting together clean races. The group finished 10th in both the giant slalom and the slalom.

“They’re skiing extremely fast,” Mitchell said. “The encouraging part is that instead of the guys having a bunch of mistakes, it’s just a few mistakes. They’re getting much closer to a clean run.”

But the skiers were given one last day to prove themselves against the collegiate field, where Sheils and sophomore Kevin McNamara had their best finishes of the weekend.

Yesterday was an exhibition day as the races don’t officially count for Carnival scores. But the individual placement impacts athletes’ starting position in Carnival Races. Thus, the entire collegiate field stays the extra day to try to secure a strong starting position, which will allow them to ski when the conditions are fastest. The day is also an opportunity for reserves to see competitive action, which makes the field bigger and deeper than it is in the official season races.

And for Sheils, yesterday’s exhibition was an opportunity to make a statement. The freshman had crashed in the official slalom race, but on Sunday she stayed on her skis and finished third overall in the collegiate field.

McNamara also improved greatly over his Carnival performance, earning a combined score of 22nd following a 38th-place finish in the giant slalom and a slalom race in which he did not finish the day before.

“It’s good to do these [extra] races,” Mitchell said. “Both [Sheils] and Kevin see, ‘This is how well I can compete against the field.’ Everyone’s really looking forward to racing at Dartmouth next weekend.”

There we’ll find out if history repeats itself.

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.