Wolcott Paces Saints' Victory in Men’s 10K Classic at Middlebury

Feb. 27: The St. Lawrence University men's Nordic ski team's senior trio of Eric Wolcott, Zach Wetherell and Ben Knowles combined for 118.0 points on Saturday, leading their squad to victory in the Men's 10K Classic at the 2010 EISA Championship in Middlebury, VT. 

The event win is the first for the men's Nordic team in over 30 years, though the group has been knocking on the door all season with several podium finishes. 

"Eric (Wolcott), Ben (Knowles) and Zach (Wetherell) have been skiing so well all season and they've been so dedicated to their training," said St. Lawrence head coach Ethan Townsend, who was named the 2010 EISA Coach of the Year on Friday evening.  "Today's victory is a testament to their work ethic."

Wolcott picked up his best collegiate finish and fourth top-5 of the season behind a time of 32:16.2, which landed the Concord, NH native in third place overall out of 66 competitors.  He was awarded 44.0 points towards the carnival and 60.0 towards an NCAA berth.

Wetherell was next to cross the finish line for St. Lawrence as he tore through the course in 32:37.0 to match his best career finish in fifth place overall.  Combining his 39.0 points with Knowles' 35.0, which he earned for a seventh place showing, and the Saints won the 10K Classic handedly by 17.0 points ahead of runner-up Williams College.  Knowles raced in 32:49.9 and logged his eighth career top-8 finish.

Also representing St. Lawrence in the men's race on Saturday were juniors Steven Vargo (39^th) and Kyle Marvinney (51^st) and sophomore Adam Terko (56^th).

On the women's side, senior Johannah Ludington was the top finisher for the Scarlet and Brown in the 5K Classic with a time of 19:58.2.  The Morrisville, VT native was awarded 28.0 points for St. Lawrence, leading her squad to seventh place overall with 61.0 points.

Sophomore Caroline Carpenter picked up a 28^th place finish to join in the scoring, while first-year student Kelsey Nichols had a career-best 29^th place showing to cap the team's points.  Sophomore Leah Hart (50^th) and junior Elizabeth Hayden (55^th) rounded out the Saints' line-up in the women's 5K Classic.

Dartmouth College won the women's race in impressive fashion, earning 138.0 points behind a 1-2 finish by Katie Bono and Ida Sargent, respectively.  Meanwhile, UVM's Franz Bernstein won the men's race in 31:36.9.

Both the St. Lawrence men's and women's Nordic teams will complete the 2010 carnival season tomorrow, Sunday, February 28^th in the freestyle events at the EISA Championships at Middlebury.  The 2010 NCAA Skiing Championships will then follow March 10-13 in Steamboat Springs, CO, with bids to the event to be announced this Monday, March 1st.