nordic skiing News - July, 2009 Archive

Apr. 7: Six members of the St. Lawrence University Nordic ski team and five others from the Alpine squad have earned 2009 Academic All-America honors from the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association.

Mar. 14: St. Lawrence University senior captain Kristen Bednar competed in her final collegiate Nordic ski race on Saturday at the 2009 NCAA Championships at Black Mountain in Rumford, ME, putting the finishing touches on an outstanding career with the Scarlet and Brown.

Bednar, who logged a 30th place finish on Thursday in the Women's 5K Classic, earned 36th place on Saturday in the Women's 15K Freestyle. The Essex Junction, VT native raced in a time of 42:13.5, finishing .3 seconds behind Jill Smith of Michigan Tech University for 35th.

Denver University's Antje Maempel won the 2009 national championship in the Women's 15K Free, as she edged Colorado University's Alexa Turzian by .5 seconds at the finish line. Maempel's time of 38:35.0 earned her the title out of 38 racers.

Saturday's Nordic races bring an end to the 2009 collegiate ski season.

Mar. 12: Senior captain Kristen Bednar competed in the opening Nordic ski event at the 2009 NCAA Championships on Thursday. The Essex Junction, VT native, racing in her second career national championship, finished in 30th place in the Women's 5K Classic.

The 2009 NCAA Nordic Ski Championships are being held at Black Mountain in Rumford, ME. Bednar raced in a time of 15:29.0 to claim 30th place out of 39 competitors. Her finish logged 10.0 points for St. Lawrence in the event standings and was her best career finish in an NCAA race. She finished in 33rd place in the 15K Classic and in 35th in the 5K Free in 2007.

Denver University's Antje Maempel won the 2009 national championship in the 5K Classic, finishing with a time of 13:52.4, over six seconds ahead of Polina Ermoshina from the University of New Mexico.

Bednar will have tomorrow off before returning to competition on Saturday, March 14 in the Women's 15K Free.

Feb. 28: The St. Lawrence University men's and women's Nordic ski teams completed competition in the final events of the 2009 carnival season on Saturday morning at the EISA Championships hosted by Colby at Sugarloaf. Each of the Saints' squads earned seventh place overall with 67.0 points while senior captain Kristen Bednar locked up her spot in the 2009 NCAA Championship field.

Bednar came into the weekend ranked ninth in the region, and thanks to a 14th place finish in the Women's 15K Free on Saturday with a time of 49:50.2, will compete in her second career NCAA Championship. The Essex Junction, VT native competed at NCAA's during her sophomore campaign.

"Kristen (Bednar) has really been working hard to achieve this goal all season and I'm very happy for her that she gets to compete at Sunday River," said St. Lawrence head coach Ethan Townsend. "Overall this weekend was a great experience for our team, as some of our rookies gained valuable experience and our upperclassmen were solid as well."

First-year student Caroline Carpenter matched her career-best performance from Friday with another 20th place finish on Saturday behind a time of 51:00.7. Sophomore Elizabeth Hayden then brought the team's scoring total to 67.0 points with a 32nd place finish in the 15K Free with a time of 51.49.9.

Sophomore Sophie Allen (46th, 54:46.4) and first-year student Leah Hart (49th, 55:12.2) completed the women's roster in the final event of the carnival season.

Feb. 27: Three members of the St. Lawrence University Nordic ski program earned top-20 finishes in the classic races on Friday at the 2009 EISA Championships hosted by Colby in Sugarloaf, ME. Senior captain Kristen Bednar and first-year student Caroline Carpenter led the women's team to a fifth place showing while junior Zach Wetherell paced the men's team to a sixth place team finish.

Friday offered the teams competing at this year's conference championships a difficult day for ski-waxing, as the warming temperatures played a major role in the races. However, Bednar and Carpenter handled the challenges well, turning in top-20 finishes to lift the women's team to their best finish since the UVM Carnival. Bednar, who warded off challengers for her NCAA Championship bid, finished in 11th place with a time of 21:40.2. Carpenter then followed in 20th position, her best collegiate finish, behind a time of 22:00.3.

Rounding out the scoring for St. Lawrence in the women's 5K Classic was first-year student Leah Hart. The Meredith, NH native logged her best career finish in 31st place with a time of 22:39.5, capping the team's scoring at 73.0 points which tied them with the University of New Hampshire.

Sophomores Elizabeth Hayden (34th, 22:50.3) and Sophie Allen (39th, 23:02.3) joined junior Johannah Ludington (42nd, 23:12.5) in completing the team's roster on the opening day of the Colby Carnival.

Feb. 21: In the final race before next weekend's EISA Championships, the St. Lawrence University men's and women's Nordic ski teams competed in the 3x5 Free Relays on the final day of the 2009 Middlebury Carnival. Both teams earned 50.0 points in their respective races, landing each team in eighth place overall at the Rikert Ski Center.

The Saints' women's squad entered two threesomes in the race, with the "A" team of senior Kristen Bednar, junior Johannah Ludington and first-year student Caroline Carpenter taking ninth place out of 19 trios. The group turned in a time of 52:43.6, though they were only .6 seconds out of seventh place as teams from Williams and Bates narrowly edged them at the finish line.

The second women's team representing the Scarlet and Brown on Saturday was the underclassmen trio of sophomores Sophie Allen and Elizabeth Hayden and rookie Leah Hart. They combined for a time of 55:50.1 to land in 15th position.

Meanwhile, the men's top team of juniors Eric Wolcott and Zach Wetherell and senior Ben Knowles picked up 50.0 points by landing in 10th place out of 20 squads. They combined for a time of 44:01.4, with Knowles' anchor leg helping to pass two teams.

St. Lawrence was also represented on the men's side by the team of junior Bryan Pepper, sophomore Steven Vargo and first-year student Adam Terko, who raced the 3x5 Free Relay in a time of 47:47.9.

Feb. 20: Both the St. Lawrence University men's and women's Nordic ski teams opened competition at the 2009 Middlebury Carnival on Friday at the Rikert Ski Center in Middlebury, VT. Senior Ben Knowles led the men's team to a seventh place finish in the 10K Mass Start Classic, while first-year student Caroline Carpenter paced the women's squad to eighth place overall in the same event.

Knowles earned the top finish by a St. Lawrence Nordic skier on Saturday, claiming 17th place out of 59 competitors behind a time of 28:15.2. The Cumberland, ME native collected 26.0 points for his efforts, while juniors Eric Wolcott and Bryan Pepper completed the team's scoring. Wolcott grossed 19.0 points for his 32nd place finish (29:04.6), while Pepper clocked in at 30:25.6 for 43rd position and 13.0 points.

Despite skiing without junior Zach Wetherell, who has been one of the team's most consistent scorers this season, the trio combined for 58.0 points, only 10 behind Colby for sixth position.

Sophomore Steven Vargo (44th, 30:38.9) and first-year student Adam Terko (54th, 32:19.6) also represented the men's team in the 10K Mass Start Classic.

Feb. 14: St. Lawrence University senior captain Kristen Bednar continued her impressive season with her second straight tenth place finish at the 2009 Dartmouth Carnival. Meanwhile, junior Zach Wetherell earned 19th place for the men's Nordic ski team, as both squads earned eighth place overall in their respective Mass Start Freestyle races on Saturday at Oak Hill in Lyme, NH.

The women's team earned a total of 65.0 points to finish one spot higher than Friday, while the men matched their eighth place team finish from the previous day with a total of 61.0 points.

Bednar has been on a tear of late, having now earned four straight top-12 finishes. The Essex Junction, VT native, who is working to close in on an individual bid to the 2009 NCAA Championships, raced the Women's 10K Mass Start Free in a time of 31:20.2 to earn 10th place and 31.0 points for the Scarlet and Brown.

Junior Johannah Ludington and first-year student Caroline Carpenter completed the women's team's scoring in the event with 24th and 32nd place finishes. Ludington clocked in with a time of 32:17.7 for 19.0 points while Carpenter came in with a time of 32:51.5 for 15.0 points.

Also competing for the women's team in the 10K Free was a trio of sophomores including Elizabeth Hayden (45th, 34:03.4), Sophie Allen (46th, 34:05.2) and Hannah James (59th, 37:08.1).

Feb. 13: St. Lawrence University senior captain Kristen Bednar continued her solid Nordic ski campaign on Friday with a 10th place overall finish in the Women's 5K Classic at the 2009 Dartmouth Carnival. The Essex Junction, VT native picked up her fourth top-15 finish of the season at Oak Hill in Lyme, NH.

Bednar entered the race having posted her best collegiate finish a week ago at the UVM Carnival, when she earned seventh place overall in the 10K Classic. She continued to impress on Friday, however, with a time of 16:16.1 to help the women's team to a ninth place overall finish overall having gained 33.0 points individually.

Joining Bednar in the women's team scoring in the 5K Classic were junior Johannah Ludington and sophomore Sophie Allen. Ludington came in 42nd place with a time of 17:26.7, while Allen was just over three seconds behind in 44th position (17:30.3). The group's point total came to 54.0 points to land eight points shy of UVM.

Also competing for the Scarlet and Brown in the women's race were first-year student Caroline Carpenter (52nd, 18:07.0) and sophomores Elizabeth Hayden (60th, 18:56.0) and Hannah James (62nd, 19:33.8).

The men's Nordic ski team was again anchored by the trio of senior captain Ben Knowles and juniors Zach Wetherell and Eric Wolcott in the Men's 10K Classic on Friday. The group finished with 53.0 points and in eighth place overall in the event.

Feb. 8: Senior captain Kristen Bednar and junior Johannah Ludington each posted collegiate best finishes on Sunday in the Women's 10K Classic at the UVM Carnival in Stowe, VT. The upperclassmen finished in seventh and 11th place, respectively, leading the Scarlet and Brown's women's Nordic ski team to fifth place in the event at the Trapp Family Lodge.

Bednar was the leading skier on Sunday for the Nordic program, as the Essex Junction, VT native improved on her career best finish and logged her first top-8 showing. She raced in a time of 39:17.8 to land the Saints 35.0 points, while Ludington improved her collegiate-best finish by 13 spots in 11th place overall thanks to a time of 40:10.7. Ludington's race gave the team 29.0 points and put them in solid position in the standings.

St. Lawrence would finish in fifth place overall as a women's team with 75.0 points as rookie Leah Hart rounded out the team's scoring with a 38th place event. Hart finished the 10K Classic in a time of 44:09.6, while sophomores Sophie Allen (43rd, 44:56.6) and Elizabeth Hayden (52nd, 48:52.6) also competed for the Saints.

Meanwhile, junior Zach Wetherell continued to impress on the men's side in the 15K Classic with his second top-20 finish of the weekend. The Dalton, MA native, who finished in 17th place in the 10K Free on Saturday, improved to 13th place in the Classic race with a time of 48:06.7. His race logged 29.0 points for St. Lawrence and helped the men's team to an eighth place finish with 64.0 points.