HANOVER, N.H. – The Harvard ski team took 10th-place at the Dartmouth Carnival this past weekend, highlighted by a sixth-place showing from alpine first-year Matt Ryan and a ninth-place finish from nordic junior James Kitch. Alpine ran the slalom twice at Dartmouth Skiway, while the nordic races were held at Oak Hill.
 
Returning after two weeks away from competition, alpine was thrown another curveball, with Friday's giant slalom turning into a slalom, in which they would race on both days. The weather was a far cry from the first two carnivals of the season, with temperatures reaching as high as 40-degrees with the sun shining down. Building off his eight-place slalom finish at Colby, Matt Ryan once again found himself in the top 10, collecting a sixth-place finish and 37 points. Ryan's performance marks the best-finish from any Harvard skier this season, a title that he had already held from his finish at Colby. Liam McNamara continued his run of posting a top-25 in every carnival this season, taking 22nd and 22 points. On the women's side, consistency was the story, with all three of Harvard's healthy women finishing between 23rd-27th. Nellie Ide led the way in 23rd, Elsie Halvorsen didn't skip a beat with her 25th-palce showing, and Emma Ryan continued her streak of top-30 finishes by placing 27th.
 
Running its second slalom in as many days on Saturday, both Matt Ryan and Emma Ryan led the way for the Crimson. Matt Ryan continued his fine form with a 12th-place finish, bringing his point total to 67 for the carnival. On the women's side, Emma Ryan tied her career-best with a 15th-place finish and collected 26 points. Elsie Halvorsen improved on her Friday showing, and tabbed 18th, her fourth top-20 of the season.
 
The nordic women began with the 5k classic on Friday and were led by senior captain Ursula Volz and her 29th-place finish. Volz collected 18 points and was followed by Laura Appleby in 45th (12 points) and Lily Brunelle in 46th (11 points). The men were led by the familiar trio of James Kitch, Everett Sapp and Mads Groeholdt; who have each collected points in every race for three consecutive carnivals. Running the 10k classic, Kitch found himself in top-20 once again, tabbing 17th and 27 points. Sapp and Groeholdt posted 30th and 36th respectively, combining for 31 points in the process.
 
Returning for the 10k freestyle on Saturday, Kitch put together his strongest performance of the season, and the first top-10 from a Harvard nordic skier this season by placing ninth. Kitch brought home 33 points for the Crimson, while Sapp added 21 points with his 22nd-place finish. Volz once again paced the Harvard women on Saturday, placing 35th and registering 18 points. Quincy Donley posted 45th-place while Annabel Hagen tabbed 47th, as the duo combined for 25 points. Laura Appleby came in just behind Hagen in 48th, coming off her career-best 23rd at UVM last weekend.
 
Harvard Highlights

• First-year Matt Ryan posted a career-best sixth in the slalom on Friday. Ryan has accounted for two of the four Harvard top-10 finishes this season.
• Junior James Kitch had his strongest showing of the season with a ninth-place finish in the 10k freestyle.
• Junior Emma Ryan continued her run of finishing and placing in the top-30 in every race this season.
• Senior Ursula Volz recorded 41 points to lead the nordic women on both days.
• Sophomore Elsie Halvorsen tabbed a pair of top-25 finishes for the second consecutive carnival.
• Junior Everett Sapp stayed in the top-30 on both days, after posting a pair of top-20s at UVM.

 
Team Scores

1. UVM – 951
2. Dartmouth – 797
3. New Hampshire – 796
4. Middlebury – 579
5. Colby – 515
6. Saint Michael's – 466
7. Saint Lawrence – 430
8. Bates – 410
9. Williams – 406
10. Harvard – 395
11. Bowdoin – 295
12. Boston College – 186
13. Plymouth State – 184
14. Colby-Sawyer - 20

A full list of EISA results can be found here.
 
What's Next?
The Crimson will compete in the Middlebury Carnival next, taking place from Feb. 18-19. The nordic races will be held at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, Vt., while alpine heads to Middlebury Snow Bowl in Middlebury, Vt.