Waterville Valley, N.H. - The Colby Alpine Ski Team delivered one of the best results in years, winning the Giant Slalom portion of the Harvard carnival hosted at Waterville Valley. The men's and women's teams managed the difficult conditions to near perfection with strong individual and team results.
Difficult weather conditions were always going to challenge racers, and challenge it did. Temperatures throughout the day sat at 40º, and heavy rain the night before did the surface no favors. The courses were bumpy, but race organizers did their best, and a solid racing surface was achieved.
Ella Spear started first and took advantage, finishing seventh on the first run. Four more Mules skied into the top 30, in what is becoming a common occurrence for the women's team in GS this year.
Lydia Riddell sat in 14th after the first run,
Molly Mueller just behind in 16th, and
Carissa Cassidy and
Meagan Olsen finished right next to each other in 24th and 25th.
A few adjustments moved the track into smoother snow before the start of the men's first run. The Colby men had four skiers into the top 30, led by
Chauncey Morgan in 16th and followed by
Patrick Coughlin in 18th. A fantastic first run from
Cam Owens moved him all the way up from 24th just ahead of
Tucker Strauch in 26th.
A long delay after the second run moved the schedule late into the afternoon. Coaches salted the hill hoping to preserve the track, but with the time lost throughout the day and lift closures, time was of the essence. Coaches weighed between calling the race and using the first run results or allowing just the top 30 from the first run to race their second. The decision was made to run just the flip 30 from both genders.
The Colby women's delivered on the second run in a big way. Olsen charged hard, taking advantage of her early start position to win the second run. Her run moved her up to 14th on the day. But, three Mules finished even better, with
Ella Spear finishing the day in 12th.
Molly Mueller and
Lydia Riddell got their second top 10 results of the season, making it highly probable they will qualify for NCAA Championships. Mueller finished in 8th, with Riddell in 5th.
Close results abounded on the team score side, with three teams tying for fifth in the men's race and three tying for third in the women's race. Colby finished second on the women's side and fifth on the men's. The combined effort was enough for a win on the day with 174 points just ahead of Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire.
With temperatures predicted to drop dramatically overnight and plenty of moisture in the snow, the surface should lock up for a fantastic Slalom race tomorrow. Follow the race live at https://livetiming.usskiandsnowboard.org.
WOMEN'S RESULTS (PDF)
MEN'S RESULTS (PDF)
