It is said that football is a game of inches. Skiing certainly falls under that category as well, as was proven at the Dartmouth Winter Carnival on Saturday.
Dartmouth had won the first three Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association carnivals this winter, with last week’s win coming by nearly 200 points. But a disqualification of a Big Green skier in the men’s slalom proved costly as Vermont was able to leave town as the victor at the annual event, edging the hosts by a mere 15 points, 884-869.
Dartmouth senior Thomas Woolson had just finished a scintillating second run on the Thomas Trail at Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme and appeared to have the top step on the podium wrapped up. But a video review of his run showed he clipped a gate by no more than an inch, disqualifying him from the race, which cost the Big Green 50 points, more than the difference in the final totals.
With Woolson out of the running, Vermont’s William St. Germain elevated to the top in 1:37.53, with teammate Sandy Vietze joining him on the podium in third and Middlebury’s Robert Cone sandwiched between the two.
The top finishers for the Big Green were a pair of freshmen: David Domonoske (13th, 1:40.87) and Tanguy Nef (15th, 1:41.00). The Catamounts’ two podium stops helped them garner 133 points, topping Middlebury by 16 while Dartmouth was fifth with 68.
The Big Green women had five skiers finish among the top 10 in the slalom, but that wasn’t enough to keep Vermont from winning the event as it claimed the top two spots. UVM’s Paula Moltzan and Laurence St. Germain swapped the two fastest times on the two runs with Moltzan winning in 1:40.01 and St. Germain second in 1:40.15.
Dartmouth sophomore Alexa Dlouhy and junior Foreste Peterson placed fourth (1:40.89) and fifth (1:41.63), respectively, while junior Kelly Moore also scored for the Green in seventh place (1:42.42).
In both cross country races, the Big Green were barely beaten out by other teams. Senior Fabian Stocek continued his terrific season by winning the men’s 10-kilometer freestyle in 27:25.3, 7½ seconds ahead of Eli Hoenig of Williams. But Hoenig’s teammates did just enough to overcome the Big Green by just two points with 115.
In the women’s 5K freestyle, freshman Abby Drach led Dartmouth by taking second (15:38.4), six seconds off the pace set by New Hampshire’s Lizzie Gill. Sophomore Taryn Hunt-Smith (15:54.5, sixth) and freshman Lauren Jortberg (15:56.6, eighth) both garnered top-10 positions.