Middlebury, Vt. - The alpine skiing regular season wrapped up on Saturday with a frigid day of racing at Middlebury. An electric crowd was on hand to cheer on the home panthers, which provided an extra layer of excitement. The season's last race is always special, with many skiers making their final collegiate starts and others eager to lock in an NCAA Championships spot. 

A straight first run set forced skiers to ski aggressively, but a more technical second run set had skiers looking to build speed down the relatively flat Middlebury Snowbowl. 

As inspection wrapped up after the first run, a long line of Middlebury students were seen trudging up the icy slope to the famous Roost to cheer on the home team. They were rowdy and loud, eager to let the Panthers and opposing schools hear them. Amidst the chaos, the second run began, and the crowd grew louder. 

Meagan Olsen capped off a fantastic GS season with an eleventh-place finish, moving up seven spots on the second run. Lydia Riddell finished the day in 16th, and Hannah Soria rebounded from a disappointing first run to provide the third score in 21st.

Noah Riemenschneider skied to 32nd, Harrison Digangi to 34th, and Topher Davenport to 40th for the men's team.

On the team side, the Mules ended the carnival in fifth place, buoyed by a fourth-place and fifth-place finish by the men and women in Slalom. 

As this was the last carnival, the All-EISA and Coach of the Year awards were announced. Digangi and Soria were named second-team All-EISA, and fourth-year coach Eric Harlow won his first Coach of the Year. The Mules will qualify two men and two women for the NCAA Championships next week, their highest number since 2015. Championships will be hosted by the formidable University of Colorado at Steamboat and Howelsen Hill.