Sam Evans-Brown '09 completed a breakout weekend with his second consecutive fifth-place finish. (Photo by Lincoln Benedict '09)

RUMFORD, Maine -- Senior Sam Evans-Brown (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.) had his second fifth-place finish in as many days to lead the Bates Nordic ski team to an outstanding performance in the free technique races Saturday at the Bates Winter Carnival.

The combined Bates Nordic and alpine ski teams placed seventh out of 11 teams at the season-opening carnival, with their 611 points easily outpacing eighth-place St. Lawrence (542). Dartmouth won the carnival with 902 points.

Evans-Brown skied the 20K Mass Start Free Technique Race in 52:17.5 to finish fifth out of 99 competitors, leading the Bates men to third place out of 11 teams in the race with 92 points. Senior Sylvan Ellefson (Vail, Colo.) was close behind in seventh place in 52:36.1. Senior Dylan Mogk (Bozeman, Mont.) finished 33rd in 55:50.8.

Sophomore Kristen Gill (Jackson, N.H.) placed 13th out of 88 competitors in the women's 15K Free Technique race, leading the Bates women to sixth place in the event. Sophomore Natalie Ruppertsberger (Plainfield, N.H.), sophomore Megan McClelland (Keene Valley, N.Y.) and first-year Sophie Leonard (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) came in 19th, 20th and 21st in 48:29.6, 48:32.3 and 48:45.6, respectively.

Bates next competes at the University of New Hampshire Carnival next weekend in Jackson, N.H.

Friday Recap

The Bates College Nordic ski team got off to an impressive start to the carnival season after the completion of the classic technique events at Black Mountain on Friday, the first day of the Bates Winter Carnival.

At the end of the first day, the combined Bates alpine and Nordic teams are in sixth place out of 11 squads, with 303 points, ahead of St. Lawrence (293) and Colby (290).

Sam Evans-Brown led an outstanding contingent of senior Bates men to fourth place out of 11 teams in the men's 10K Classic race, finishing fifth out of 96 competitors in 27:10.7. All-American Sylvan Ellefson was 13th in 27:48.1, with senior Tim Whiton (Portland, Maine) 21st in 28:21.7 and senior Connor Cushman (Portland, Maine) 26th in 28:28.9.

Natalie Ruppertsberger led the Bates women to 6th place out of 11 teams in the women's 5K Classic, taking ninth place out of 92 competitors with a time of 16:13.9. Kristen Gill was 17th in 16:34.9 and Megan McClelland was 22nd in 16:45.7. Junior Abby Samuelson (Freeport, Maine) came in 26th in 17:02.7.

Find complete Bates Winter Carnival results at http://www.eisaskiing.org/BART/Results09/bat09.htm.