Crimson Conquers Whiteface
Lake Placid, N.Y. - Several members of the Harvard Varsity Nordic Ski Team took part in the first annual NYSEF Whiteface Mountain Hill climb over the weekend. An intrepid group of cross-country skiers battled a 4.96 mile course against the backdrop of brilliant fall colors along with an icy coating on the trees, that made the famed mountain summit of this two- time Olympic village, a picture postcard. A field of 100 athletes turned out for this first time event. The auto toll road was closed to traffic and featured a lung-burning 8-percent grade. Winning the Men’s race was former Olympic Biathlete Duncan Douglas with a time of 34:56, followed by the US Ski Team’s Olympic star Kris Freeman of Andover, NH with a clocking of 37:09. Third went to Sun Valley’s Noah Hoffman. Harvard’s Senior Co-Captain Oliver Burruss skied to a very credible 42nd place in 48:43, calling it the toughest race he ever had on roller skis.
Women’s winner and US Ski Team member Liz Stephen of Montpelier, Vt. grabbed the gold in a time of 47.22. Her USST teammate Morgan Arritola, USST-Sun Valley, ID was second, followed by three-time Olympic cross-country ski team member and now nationally ranked master’s skier Dorcas Wonsavage. The Crimson’s Women’s Team Captain, Anna Schulz (Johnson, Vt.) skied to an outstanding 24th place in a time of 1:03.53, in a field featuring top National Team and collegiate talent from across the nation. “It was a blast” said Anna after the event, “Skiing with this kind of field was great, but also showed that all the hours I did this Summer are paying off, I am really looking forward to Winter.” Crimson women’s skiers Alyssa Devlin were on hand but did not race due to a cold, and sophomore star Audrey Mangan dropped out of the race due to an asthma attack, but quickly recovered to ski nearly to the top on her own. Coach Graves said that he was pleased by the showing. “A lot of our athletes were not feeling great and didn’t make the trip to Lake Placid, but for those that did, just skiing this race was a victory of sorts, and shows how much progress some of our skiers are making in upping their hours which allows them to make a huge all up hill effort like this.” The Harvard Nordic Team continues regular training on campus and looks forward to their first on-snow camp at Devils Thumb, near Winter Park, Colo. in late November.
Share
