Hancock, Vt. - Carissa Cassidy went back to back in Slalom on Friday with a come-from-behind win at the Middlebury Carnival. Her third podium of the year sent her to the top of the Slalom standings, meaning she will wear the leader's bib at the final Carnival of the season next week.

After six inches of snow fell on Thursday, the Mules battled softer conditions again. They triumphed on run one, putting three men and three women in the top 30. Harrison Digangi led the men on run one in 17th. Digangi was closely followed by Topher Davenport in 23rd and Patrick Coughlin in 28th. 

On the women's side, Cassidy skied to 5th place on the opening run. She sat just 0.23 off the leader, meaning it would be anyone's race to win on the second run. Hannah Soria skied to 18th on the run, and Charlotte Maurer sat in 20th. 

Coughlin led the squad into the second run with a phenomenal effort. He moved up 14 places with the fourth fastest time on run two to end the day in 14th. This marked his best result of the season. Davenport moved up four spots on the run to end the day in 19th, and Digangi moved back to 27th.

A solid second run from Soria moved her up to 14th place. A very strong second run from Molly Mueller landed her in 30th as the Mule's third scorer. Cassidy skied aggressively down a straight set amidst deteriorating conditions and saw off the four skiers ahead of her on run one to take the victory.

Cassidy now has a 40-point lead in the Slalom standings. She will look to capture the Slalom title next week, but first, the team will tackle the GS on Saturday. The always raucous Middlebury Carnival is expected to host hundreds of spectators in one of the highest-energy environments in ski racing. Action will kick off with the women at 9 AM.