SPORTS BRIEF: Harvard Skiers Open Season with 10th-Place Finish

The Harvard ski team opened its season last weekend with a 10th-place finish at the Bates College Winter Carnival in Bethel, Maine.

Men’s junior captain Christopher Kinner was the Crimson’s top finisher in the competition, placing 19th overall in the giant slalom. Kinner skied four seconds faster in the event’s second race to finish with a combined time of 2:36.62.

Kinner finished just .33 seconds behind freshman Kevin McNamara in the slalom, with McNamara placing 31st overall.

McNamara was 39th in the GS, while sophomore Brad Alvarez finished 46th. Sophomore Alec Boardman was 42nd in the slalom and 48th in the GS.

Freshman Caroline McHugh led the way for the women’s Alpine team, coming in 35th in the GS with a combined time of 2:47.05. Meanwhile, junior captain Tess Wood was the top Harvard skier in the slalom event. Her time of 2:25.98 was good for 41st overall.

On the Nordic side, sophomore Cara Sprague posted a 48th-place finish in the women’s 5K classic, clocking in at 17:38.2. Classmate Alyssa Devlin was the first Crimson skier across the finish line in the grueling 15K freestyle race, getting faster with each split and finishing in 51:59.4, good enough for 47th place.

Junior Audrey Mangan and Devlin were the other Harvard scorers in the 5K, placing 53rd and 71st respectively. Sprague, placing 52nd, and Mangan, placing 64th, added points to the Crimson’s score in the 15K.

Junior Trevor Petach singlehandedly carried the men’s Nordic team as the top Harvard finisher in both events. He was 75th in the 10K classic, clocking in at 31:13.0, and improved to 55th in the 20K freestyle, finishing with a time of 57:29.3.

Dartmouth handily won the competition, finishing 57 points ahead of runner-up Vermont. As a team, the Big Green won four of the eight events and amassed 902 points.

Harvard finished with 235 points.

The Crimson will compete next at this weekend’s University of New Hampshire Carnival.

— CRIMSON SPORTS STAFF