By Máximo Steverlynck
Collegiate racing continued in the east and Midwest this weekend. EISA racing continued with the Colby Carnival at Quarry Road in Maine, the RMISA took the weekend off, and CCSA skiers raced at the Coleraine CXC Cup at Mount Itasca in Minnesota.
EISA: Colby Carnival at Quarry Road
The Colby Carnival consisted of a 7.5km freestyle interval start on Friday and a 20km classic on Saturday, all on Quarry Road’s classic 2.5km competition loop. John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth and Haley Brewster of UVM continued their perfect EISA seasons, winning both races. Both skiers won their respective races in commanding fashion.
Hagenbuch’s winning time on Friday was 16:18.5, ahead of Finn Sweet (UVM) in second with a time of 16:45.9, and Rémi Drolet (Harvard) in third with a time of 16:51.6.
Brewster took an even larger margin with her win, skiing to a time of 18:56.7, with Jasmine Lyons (UNH) taking the second spot on the podium with a time of 19:32.1. Ava Thurston (Dartmouth) rounded out the podium, with her time of 19:47.4 putting her in third.
Saturday’s mass start saw the same winners, and nearly identical podiums.
Hagenbuch took the win again, kicking to the line in the classic race in 54:46.6, 1.1 seconds ahead of Rémi Drolet in second with a time of 54:47.1. Finn Sweet was close behind in third with a time of 54:49.7.
Brewster strung the field out early and kept it that way, skiing to a finishing time of 1:03:16.6, giving her a comfortable margin of victory over Jasmine Drolet, in second with a time of 1:03:43.5. Emma Strack of St. Lawrence rounded out the podium with a time of 1:03:54.2 to give SLU its first podium this season.
Results: all races
CCSA: Coleraine CXC Cup at Mount Itasca
The CXC Cup at Mt. Itasca was made up of a 7.5km freestyle interval start and a 15km classic mass start.
Colin Freed of Michigan Tech University won Saturday’s men’s freestyle with a time of 18:04.0, ten seconds ahead of Kristoffer Alm Karsrud of Northern Michigan University and fifteen seconds ahead of Luke Fricker of Michigan Tech.
Anabel Needham of Michigan Tech won the women’s 7.5km freestyle with a time of 21:27.2, just two seconds ahead of Victoria Klevan Dybwad of Northern Michigan, who took second with a time of 21:29.8. Olivia Laven of Michigan Tech took third with a time of 21:49.4.
Dybwad continued her weekend by winning Sunday’s 15km, breaking away from the pack and setting the pace with a time of 46:50. Annabel Needham followed her to second, 22.9 seconds back, and Kolibri Drobish of Northern Michigan rounded out the podium, 44.4 seconds behind the pace.
Karsrud took the win on Sunday for Northern Michigan, winning the men’s 15km and headlining an NMU podium lockout. Following him in second, 1.4 seconds behind, was Luke Fricker, and rounding out a great day for NMU was Mathias Indrelid Haugen in 3rd, 23.3 seconds behind the pace.
EISA racing takes next weekend off, before resuming with the Harvard Carnival at Craftsbury on February 2. In the CCSA, Wisconsin–Green Bay hosts the Ariens Invite at Ariens Nordic Center next weekend. In the RMISA, February 2 sees the start of the Colorado Invitational at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat.
