Skiing Finishes 10th at Bates Carnival To Begin 2016

Compared to last winter, which saw a record-breaking 110.6 inches of snow cover the Boston area, this winter certainly has not produced ideal ski conditions so far.

Due to the surprising lack of snow in New England, the Harvard nordic and alpine ski teams have had difficulty preparing for the 2016 season, which kicked off this weekend at the Bates Carnival in Waterville, Maine.

Despite a relative lack of preseason practice for the Crimson, however, the team managed to finish 10th overall out of 17 teams in its first competition of the season, and junior Rachel Hampton recorded her fourth career top-15 finish.

At the end of the weekend, Vermont was the top finisher at the Bates Carnival with a team score of 951. Harvard rounded out the top 10 with a cumulative score of 258.

“In general we had some mixed results, but we had a really strong showing from the sophomores on our team,” junior co-captain Kaitlyn Gibson said. “In particular, Kelly Steeves came in 30th for college athletes in the giant slalom, and she came in 27th in the slalom.”

Steeves managed to race into a 27th place finish with an overall time of 2:14.80 on the slalom. On the giant slalom she would pace in at 30th with a time of 2:26.79. On the men’s side, sophomore Pieter Weemaes battle to a 41st-place finish with a time of 2:02.49 on the slalom.

Aside from those individual performances, the Crimson’s alpine team struggled to produce top results over the weekend. Harvard competed in the women’s giant slalom and the women’s and men’s slalom, but the team did not finish in the top 10 in any event.

Although the Crimson was unsuccessful on the alpine side, the nordic team had several top finishers and helped carry Harvard to 10th place at the Bates Carnival. The women’s team finished 6th overall in the sprint and 7th overall in the 5K.

For the second straight year, Hampton recorded a 15th-place finish, this year in the sprint. She also came in 23rd in the women’s 5K.

“Rachel is a huge asset to the team, but her impact extends beyond the points she scores,” co-captain Soren Anderson said. “Her work ethic and positivity are contagious, and her advice on race strategy is always helpful.

Along with Hampton, senior Hanna Barnes helped carry the Crimson in the women’s classic sprint. The Honeoye Falls, N.Y., native placed 19th, four spots behind Hampton in a field of 104.

On the men’s side, junior Devlin Shea and sophomore Haakon Sigurslid were Harvard’s top finishers in the classic sprint. Shea placed 18th, and Sigurslid finished 28th.

Shea, a native of Waitsfield, Vt., recorded a career best in the sprint with a time of 3:36.93. Sigurslid posted the first top-30 finish of his collegiate career.

In the men’s 10K, several Crimson skiers finished in the middle of the pack. Sigurslid was Harvard’s top finisher, coming in 40th place. Behind him were junior Ian Meyer and sophomore Liam Mulshine, who placed 43rd and 47th, respectively.

After experiencing mixed results at the Bates Carnival, the Crimson will resume training and build on its limited practice time so far this year.

“I think after this weekend everybody’s feeling pretty motivated to get back to the drawing board...and get ready for the Colby Carnival in Sugarloaf next week in Maine,” Gibson said.

The absence of any substantial snow in the area prevented Harvard’s ski team from starting its January training camp on time, and on top of the limited training, several seniors are still recovering from injuries.

However, the team recently started training at Pat’s Peak in New Hampshire and is beginning to get in better shape for the season.

“Our team has a lot of potential,” Anderson said. “Our on-snow training has so far been limited by the warm weather, but we are confident in our overall fitness…. We expect to improve each week, and we hope to see our top racers advance to the NCAA Championships.”

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.