Sadie James '17 races to 24th place in the women's 5K classic race at the Williams Carnival on Feb. 15, 2014. (Ian Nesbitt/EISA)

BENNINGTON, Vt. -- Junior Hallie Grossman placed fifth in her best carnival finish this season, to head a strong performance by the Bates Nordic ski teams in the women's 5K and men's 10K classic races at the Williams Carnival.

Grossman (South Woodstock, Vt.) covered the Prospect Mountain course in 17:04.7, edging Middlebury's Heather Mooney (17:04.7) for fifth place. First-year Laurel Fiddler (Lake Crowley, Calif.) followed for Bates in 13th (17:15.3), and first-year Sadie James (Avon, Maine) was 24th (17:36.5), leading Bates to fourth place among 12 women's squads.

The Bates men's team was led by senior Sean Woods (Gypsum, Colo.), who placed 23rd out of 68 in the men's 10K with a time of 31:23.1. Senior Alex Hamilton (Truckee, Calif.) placed 26th in 31:29.1, and senior Jordan Buetow (Fairbanks, Alaska) rounded out the team scoring in 32nd (31:50.2). First-year Max Millslagle (Bend, Ore.) and sophomore Corky Harrer (Minneapolis, Minn.) were right behind Buetow in 33rd (31:59.1) and 34th (32:00.5), respectively. 

Bates' Nordic and alpine ski teams combined to place seventh out of 15 teams at the carnival, with 435 points.

Up next for Bates are the NCAA East Regionals and Middlebury Carnival, Feb. 21-22 at Rikert Touring Center in Ripton, Vt.

Friday Recap

Bates' men's and women's Nordic ski teams both took sixth place in the 3x5K freestyle relay races Friday on the first day of the Williams Carnival at Prospect Mountain.

Bates' top women's relay team, comprising Grossman, sophomore Jane McLarney (Lowell, Mass.) and first-year Sadie James (Avon, Maine), came in sixth place in 37:34.6, just 6.1 seconds behind fifth-place Colby, out of 20 entries.

The Bates men's top trio comprised Hamilton, Millslagle and junior Connor Regan (Cumberland, Maine). Millslagle's fast middle leg of 10:04.3 helped the Bobcats fend off seventh-place Colby by 2.9 seconds, 30:53.8 to 30:56.7.