Sadie James' eighth-place finish in the 10K classical technique race at the Middlebury Carnival helped the Bates women place second among 13 competing teams on Feb. 13, 2015. (File photo by Ian Nesbit/EISA)
RIPTON, Vt. -- Senior Hallie Grossman placed fourth among 74 competitors as the Bates Nordic ski team tied Dartmouth for fourth place out of 13 squads Saturday in the women's 5K freestyle race at the Middlebury Carnival.
Grossman (South Burlington, Vt.) recorded her sixth top-five finish in her past seven individual races this season, finishing the Rikert Touring Center course in 16:22.1 to edge Vermont's Mary-Kate Cirelli by 0.9 seconds for fourth place. Junior Gracie Wright (Rutland, Vt.) came in 16th in 17:17.1, and sophomore Sadie James (Avon, Maine) placed 23rd (17:30.5) to complete the Bates women's squad's scoring. Sophomores Tara Humphries (North Yarmouth, Maine) and Laurel Fiddler (Crowley Lake, Calif.) were close behind in 25th and 27th places, respectively.
Bates took 10th place out of 13 squads in the men's 10K freestyle race, led by first-year Parker McDonald's (Wolcott, Colo.) 27th-place showing (27:24.7). Junior Corky Harrer (Minneapolis, Minn.) was 32nd (27:41.3) out of 70 men and sophomore Nathan Moreau (Falmouth, Maine) placed 34th (27:50.0).
Bates' Nordic and alpine ski teams combined to score 400 carnival points to finish in eighth place out of 16 participating teams.
The remainder of Bates' schedule takes place at Mt. Van Hoevenburg in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association carnival season concludes with the St. Lawrence Carnival and NCAA East Regionals on Feb. 27-28. The NCAA Championships take place in Lake Placid March 11-14.
Friday Recap
The Bates women's Nordic team placed three skiers in the top 10 and took second place among 13 squads on Friday in the 10K classical technique race of the Middlebury Carnival.
Grossman placed fifth out of 74 women, covering the Rikert Touring Center course in 31:55.3. The senior captain and three-time NCAA Championship competitor has placed either fourth or fifth in five of her last six individual carnival races.
James was a career-best eighth in 32:33.1 and Humphries enjoyed the second-best carnival performance of her career, placing 10th in 32:54.2 to round out Bates' scoring. The Bates women scored a whopping 102 carnival points in the event, trailing only Middlebury's 112 and edging Vermont (101) by a point, to tie the women's program record for best carnival event finish.
Bates was led in the men's 10K classical race by Moreau, who was 34th out of 71 in 28:19.3. Moreau was followed in rapid succession by Harrer, who was 35th in 28:21.4, and senior Nick Michaud (Fort Kent Mills, Maine), who was 39th in 28:38.7.
