HANCOCK/RIPTON — The Panther ski team finished in third place this past weekend at the 90th annual Middlebury College winter carnival. Vermont won the event with 933 points, followed by Dartmouth (859), Middlebury (766) and New Hampshire (734).
The men’s giant slalom team provided an alpine highlight, placing second thanks to the three-four finish from juniors David Donaldson and junior Hig Roberts. Donaldson covered the course in 2:03.42, while Roberts was close behind at 2:03.43. Senior Andrew McNealus rounded out the scorers in 10th (2:03.81), while senior Bryan Shpall was 12th (2:04.36).
The Panther women were paced in the GS by sophomore Mary Sackbauer in second place with a time of 2:10.48. Next for the Panthers was sophomore Kara Shaw in 14th (2:13.02), followed by sophomore Kerry Daigle in 29th (2:14.73).
Junior Ben Lustgarten took fourth in the men’s Nordic 20-kilometer freestyle race in 46:17. Junior Austin Cobb finished the event in 13th (47:32), while sophomore Dylan McGarthwaite was 22nd (48:53).
Sophomore Annie Pokorny earned another top-10 Nordic finish, placing eighth in the 15K freestyle in 41:24. Sophomore Heather Mooney placed 19th (43:01), followed by freshman Issy Pelletier in 20th (43:03).
Pokorny also picked up her second 5K classic win. She covered the Rikert course in 15:32, nearly 20 seconds ahead of her nearest competition. Mooney was Middlebury’s next finisher in 17th (17:03). Senior Hilary Rich rounded out the Panther scorers, placing 25th in 17:27.
On the men’s side, Lustgarten led the Panthers in the 10K classic, finishing fifth in 26:25. McGarthwaite was next for Middlebury in 15th (27:25), followed by Cobb in 24th (27:46).
At the Snow Bowl, a three-four finish from McNealus and Roberts paced the Panthers in the slalom. McNealus came in with a time of 1:35.32, while Roberts was just behind in 1:35.40. Junior Liam Mulhern rounded out Middlebury’s point-earners in 15th (1:37.16).
The women also boasted a pair of top-10 finishers, with Sackbauer in eighth (1:42.02) and sophomore Katelyn Barclay in ninth (1:42.10). Daigle came in 17th (1:43.48) to complete the top three.