Saints Take 8th in 3x5 Free Relays at Middlebury

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.

The women's race was won in impressive fashion by the Dartmouth trio of Rosie Brennan, Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell with a time of 49:37.7, nearly a minute ahead of their nearest competition. Meanwhile, Tim Reynolds, Patrick Johnson and Simeon Hamilton of Middlebury claimed the men's title with a time of 41:22.4 just ahead of Dartmouth's team.

The St. Lawrence University Nordic ski teams will next compete in the 2009 EISA Championships at Colby next weekend in Sugarloaf, ME. The teams will race in the classic events on Friday and the freestyle events on Saturday.