EAST BURKE, Vt. — The Woodstock High girls alpine ski team took a big step toward claiming its first VPA state championship in four years on Monday, putting all four of its scoring skiers into the top nine at the state giant slalom meet at Burke Mountain.
The Wasps’ Kelly Gebhardt led the charge by finishing second behind Lyndon’s Lena Sauter in the two-run race. Chloe Noble, Taylor Blodorn and Alice Sperber took 7-8-9 to close out the day for Woodstock, which owns a 28-point edge on CVU and a 38-point cushion on Lyndon.
The Woodstock boys are fifth through one day and second among Southern District squads. Peter Bordon took fourth place in a race won by Burr & Burton’s Blake Greene for the Wasps’ only top-10 result. The Thetford boys are in 13th place out of a field of 15 teams.
The state championship concludes today with slalom racing back at Burke.
Boys team scores: St. Johnsbury 41, Stowe 77, Mount Mansfield 82, Mount St. Joseph 99, Woodstock 107, Burr and Burton 109, Rutland 113, Colchester 115, Harwood 132, Lyndon 167, Champlain Valley 178, Rice 185, Thetford 212, South Burlington 255, Essex 303.
Girls team scores: Woodstock 23, Champlain Valley 55, Lyndon 61, St. Johnsbury 84, Burr and Burton 86, BFA-St. Albans 94, Harwood 102, Rutland 116, Mount Mansfield 136, Rice 160, Stowe 170, Burlington 221.
HANOVER — Dartmouth freshman forward Drew O’Connor capped the ECAC regular season with a flourish, winning the league’s rookie of the week award on Monday.
The freshman from Chatham, N.J., had a three-goal, one-assist weekend as the Big Green lost at Union and beat Rensselaer. His output was not only the best among ECAC rookies but also marked the best by any first-year player in the nation last weekend.
O’Connor scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner, in Saturday’s 5-2 win at RPI, which locked down the No. 5 seed in this week’s conference tournament. Dartmouth hosts last-place St. Lawrence in a best-of-three set that begins at Thompson Arena on Friday night.
HANOVER — Dartmouth racked up its second Ivy League rookie of the week award in as many weeks on Monday when freshman pitcher Nathan Skinner won the award.
The righty from Jacksonville, Fla., retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced in the opener of a doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. Skinner ultimately tossed 4⅓ innings of a 6-1 victory for his first collegiate win.
Trystan Sarcone earned the weekly honor last week for the Big Green. Dartmouth is due back home on Tuesday from its weekend trip to North Carolina after having its Monday flight canceled by inclement weather.
HANOVER — Dartmouth’s scheduled game with UConn on against UConn on Wednesday has been postponed to April 2.
Cold temperates predicted for the game led the schools to issue the postponement. The Big Green and Huskies will start the rescheduled game at 3 p.m.
The change puts Dartmouth on a mini-hiatus for winter exams. The Big Green won’t play again until hosting UMass on March 17.