Lake Placid, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's carnival had been delayed twice, originally scheduled as the second stop on the EISA circuit. The lack of snow and then dangerous temperatures pushed the race well into February. It was picked up by Whiteface and added at the front end of the Saint Lawrence carnival, scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Last weekend
Ella Spear delivered the team's first podium since 2020 en route to their first carnival victory since 2014. But
Lydia Riddell backed up that performance with a podium of her own. Winning the first run against a loaded field of international skiers, Riddell came very close to making history. Her second run put her just .25 seconds out of the top step on the podium. Yet, she was still able to hang on for an impressive third-place finish.
Spear had another great day, adding a seventh-place finish. She will undoubtedly look to get back on the podium tomorrow. The third scorer for the Mules was senior
Cassie Lieblein, who finished the day in 28th. Unfortunate DNFs from
Hannah Soria and
Molly Mueller on the second run will leave them hungry for more when the second race of the doubleheader continues.
On the men's side, it was a mixed bag, athletes had struggled with freezing rain that froze to their goggles for most of the day, but in the men's second run, it proved to be too much. Multiple men were seen attempting to clear their goggles mid-run, and their complaints from the finish made it clear it was a safety concern. Thus with only five men left in the flip, the race was paused and eventually abandoned.
The men's first run results placed
Tucker Strauch in 17th,
Brooks Reed in 24th, and
Patrick Coughlin in 28th. Results from the first run were used as an NCAA qualifying race allowing athletes to cement their position in the standings. However, the results were not valid for either the start list or as individual results.
Going into the season finale GS tomorrow, Spear and Riddell look poised to earn a birth to NCAA championships.
Chauncey Morgan also sits on the right side of the bubble and hopes to lock up his spot. Mueller will look to move into the top 8 tomorrow, and Lieblein will look to secure her spot in the Slalom.
The Saint Lawrence carnival, the EISA Regional Championships, starts tomorrow with the GS on the same hill, followed by a Slalom race on Saturday.
WOMEN'S RESULTS (PDF)
MEN'S RESULTS (PDF)
