Sylvan Ellefson '09

Kaitlyn McElroy '07

JACKSON, N.H. -- Bates sophomore Sylvan Ellefson came in sixth out of 102 racers in the Men's 10K Classic race on Saturday to lead the Bobcat Nordic ski teams en route to a second straight fifth-place carnival showing at the University of New Hampshire Winter Carnival.

With 506 points, the combined alpine and Nordic teams from Bates came in fifth out of 12 teams for the second straight carnival, beating out St. Lawrence (462), Williams (446) and Colby (426) while trailing only Dartmouth, Vermont, Middlebury and host New Hampshire.

A day after finishing second overall in the Men's 10K Free Technique, Ellefson (Vail, Colo.) raced to a 30:34.0 finish, one second behind Benjamin Koons of Dartmouth for sixth place. Sophomore Sam Evans-Brown (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.) came in a strong 18th place, and sophomore Tim Whiton (Portland, Maine) wasn't far behind in 24th. First-year Brandon Cooper (Aspen, Colo.) came in 30th, as the men came in fifth place in the event.

Senior Kaitlyn McElroy (Bethel, Maine) led the women's Nordic team in the Women's 10K Classic race on Saturday, finishing 23rd out of 77 women with a time of 38:08.6. sophomore Haleigh Armstrong (Vail, Colo.) and senior Lauren Jacobs (Winthrop, Maine) rounded out the top 36 in 35th and 36th place, respectively, as the Bates women came in eighth out of 13 teams in the event.

Ellefson finished second out of 102 racers in the Men's 10K Free Technique race on Friday, leading the Bates Nordic ski teams in an excellent first day.

Ellefson finished in 24:07.2, more than seven seconds ahead of third-place Benjamin True of Dartmouth and behind only Dartmouth's Michael Sinnott, leading the Bates men to fourth place as a team in the event. First-year Dylan McGuffin (Northfield, N.H.) and junior Matt Dunlap (Farmington, Maine) were 17th and 24th, respectively, while senior Martin Benes (Oakland, Calif.) and Cooper also placed in the top 36.

Bates senior Emily Poole (Yarmouth, Maine), Armstrong, Jacobs and McElroy were 18th, 25th, 27th and 33rd, respectively, out of 82 racers in the women's 5K Free race, as the Bobcats finished sixth out of 12 teams in the event.

The Bates ski teams will compete in the UVM Carnival next weekend.