Regular Season Wraps Up at the University of New Hampshire Carnival
- Caleb Horsch
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
By: Caleb Horsch
The EISA Regular season wrapped up on Saturday with the Regional Championships hosted by the University of New Hampshire at Cannon Mountain. Dartmouth raced to another Carnival win, capping a perfect season in which they won all six Carnivals. There was plenty to play for coming into the weekend with stiff competition for the final few spots at the NCAA Championships, and discipline titles on the line. Also of note was the final start for many racers in the field who retired from college skiing after the race.
Women’s Giant Slalom
Given the snow accumulation over the weeks preceding the Carnival, there was little hope of a good racing surface. But to everyone’s surprise, the snow held up quite well. Despite the improved surface, a few holes developed on the women’s track. A large hole developed on the fourth gate, taking out talented skiers early in the challenge.
The top three on the women’s first run could hardly be much closer, with only 0.03 seconds between them. A tie at the top between two University of Vermont skiers Justine Clement and Hanna Larsson Nathhorst set the stage for an exciting second run. Carly Elsinger from Dartmouth sat in third. Two impressive runs from later bibs placed Dasha Romanov from hosts University of New Hampshire and Vanessa Naas from Plymouth State into the top 6.
On the second run, Dartmouth’s Riley Grosdidier sliced the top pitch and moved up 12 places on the back of her run. Coming into the series, she had done no better than 15th place, but on Friday, she landed in third, her first collegiate podium. Her teammate, Elsinger, dropped to third, but the 3-4 finish gave Dartmouth valuable points in the team standings.
In the dual between Clement and Larsson Nathhorst, it would be Clement who would come out on top; she scored her first GS podium of the season with the victory. Although unable to come out with the win, Larsson Nathhorst may be getting hot at just the right moment. She has now podiumed in the final two Carnivals of the season and will play an instrument role for the Catamounts at the NCAA Championships. Helene Kristoffersen from Saint Michael’s finished fifth and claimed the GS title for the second time in her career.
Men’s Giant Slalom
Bradshaw Underhill from Middlebury has had tremendous success in both events this season, but so many wins put a target on his back, and Dartmouth’s Oscar Zimmer was eager to best him. Zimmer had the speed on Friday to take down Underhill and grab his first win of the season. The result marks only the second time Underhill has lost in GS this year. Zimmer’s teammate Benny Brown landed in third place, ending the Carnival season with podiums in all but one GS race. A third Dartmouth skier landed in the top five in Dan Gills, who got his best result of the season. Mackenzie Wood rounded out the top five from the University of Vermont.
Although secured a weekend before Underhill took home the GS title after the race, he ends the year with a monstrous 525 points in the discipline. He will look to claim the national championship next week when the western racers make the trek out east.
Women’s Slalom
Although the other discipline titles had already been decided, the women’s slalom title was still well up for grabs. Carissa Cassidy, wearing the leader’s bib for the first time this season, had a forty-point lead over Dartmouth’s Zoe Zimmerman. Zimmerman pushed Cassidy to the very end, but it would not be enough as Cassidy claimed a third straight win in Slalom. Zimmerman ended the day in second, and UVM’s Justine Clement made it two podiums on the weekend in third.
For Cassidy, winning the Slalom title crossed off one of her big goals for the season, “I feel so lucky to walk away with the Slalom title,” she said. Her sights are now set on the NCAA Championships and what is sure to be stiff competition against the best of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. “I think it’s been a fun and competitive atmosphere all year, so I’m looking forward to NCAA’s. I’ve just been trying to enjoy it, and I’m grateful for the day-to-day support my teammates and coaches have shown me throughout the ups and downs.”
Moa Clementson from UVM and Tilde Kandell from hosts UNH rounded out the top five. William’s Chloe Lathrop grabbed her best Slalom finish of the season in sixth place. Lathrop and fellow Eph Chloe Aust have both qualified for the NCAA Championships, marking the most skiers qualified by the squad since 2016.
Men’s Slalom
First-year Jayden Buckrell, looking to secure Rookie of the Year honors, did that and much more on Saturday when he won his first ever Carnival. Using his home-hill advantage, he moved ahead of Dartmouth’s Louis Latulippe on the second run to secure the victory. Latulippe would have to settle for second but grabbed his second podium finish of the year with the result. Oscar Zimmer put the exclamation mark on a fantastic weekend with a third-place finish. Zimmer’s teammate Heming Sola landed in a tie for fourth with the University of Vermont’s Wood.
Team Standings
A phenomenal weekend for Dartmouth will give them momentum and confidence heading into the NCAA Championships next week, where they will look to leverage home hill advantage to try and win their first NCAA Championship since 2007. The University of Vermont landed in second place, with hosts UNH finishing in third. Middlebury College skied to fourth, and head coach Stever Bartlett was awarded EISA Coach-of-the-Year for the team’s results throughout the season.
NCAA Championships
Official selections for the NCAA Championships will be announced this week. The best 17 male and female skiers will be selected for the event using their two best results in Slalom and GS. The Championships will return to Dartmouth for the first time since 2003, with the alpine races taking place at the Dartmouth Skiway.
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