COLCHESTER — The Middlebury College ski team finished fourth this past weekend at the St. Michael’s Carnival. Vermont won the event with 883 points, followed by Dartmouth (716), New Hampshire (666) and the Panthers (653).
Alpine events took place at Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, while Nordic races were contested at Sleepy Hollow Inn, Ski and Bike Center in Huntington.
The second day’s highlight for Middlebury Nordic skiers on Saturday was a victory in the mixed 4-by-3-km freestyle relay. The team of Stella Holt, Adam Luban, Heather Mooney and Patrick McElravey crossed the line in 38:37, an 11-second win. Also scoring points with a ninth-place finish in 39:50 were Kelsey Phinney, Jacob Volz, Nicolette Amber and Jack Steele.
In the alpine competition, Rob Cone continued his strong season with a third-place effort in the slalom, covering the course with a combined time of 1:41.80. Christopher McKenna was the other Panther scorer, placing 15th in 1:44.95.
In the women’s slalom, Mary Sackbauer placed ninth in 1:51.12. Coming in 16th was Katelyn Barclay in 1:54.90, followed by Elle Gilbert in 21st (1:56.58).
Led by Mooney, who captured her third win in five races, the Middlebury women’s Nordic team won the 5K classic.  After finishing in 17:18.3, Mooney was followed by Holt (seventh in 18:00.6) and Phinney (eighth place in 18:10).
In the men’s 10K classic, McElravey placed 26th in 33:24.8. Jacob Volz covered the course in 33:38.9, good for 28th place, while Luban rounded out the scorers in 37th (34:02.9).
On Friday, Cone earned his third-straight giant slalom victory, covering the course in 1:50.23 to lead the team to a third-place finish. Joining Cone in the top-10 was Christopher McKenna (sixth place in 1:51.78), while Devon Cardamone covered the course in 1:55.32 for 35th.
Barclay was the women’s top GS finisher as the Panthers landed five skiers in the top 20; she compiled an eighth-place time of 1:53.85. Sackbauer was 11th (1:54.51), just ahead of Kara Shaw in 12th (1:54.54).