CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University skiing is set to host out the Harvard Carnival from Friday, Feb. 2 to Saturday, Feb. 3 with alpine events set to take place at Burke in Burke, Vermont and nordic events occurring at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury, Vermont with ESPN+ covering nordic competition on Friday and alpine action on Saturday.
What to Know
- Friday's competition is set to feature the 15k classic mass start on the nordic side alongside the giant slalom on the alpine side. On Saturday, action includes the 7.5k skate for nordic and the slalom for alpine.
- ESPN+ -- as well as Harvard's Stretch portal for international viewers – will feature nordic competition on Friday at 10:00 a.m. prior to coverage of alpine competition on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.
- The ESPN broadcast teams for the weekend will include Justin Gallanty (play-by-play), former Williams College nordic skier Marika Massey-Bierman (analyst) and Alex Vispoli (sideline) on nordic coverage alongside Mike Basile (play-by-play), former St. Michael's alpine skiing captain Kara Gailiunas (analyst) and Vispoli on alpine coverage.
- The Crimson's alpine team will also take part in the first half of the rescheduled UVM Carnival this weekend with the slalom on Sunday, Feb. 4 at Burke. Harvard will then close out the UVM Carnival with the giant slalom on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme Center, New Hampshire prior to the start of the Dartmouth Carnival.
- Harvard also hosted the Harvard Carnival in 2023 with Rémi Drolet capturing first place in the 10k classic and the Crimson taking fifth overall in the team standings.
- The Crimson first hosted the Harvard Carnival in 2020 with the ESPN+ broadcast marking the first regular season EISA race to feature live streaming. Rémi Drolet placed second in the 20k classic and third in the 10k skate to lead the Crimson.
- Harvard's alpine program made its season debut at the Colby Carnival (Jan. 19-20). Junior Matt Ryan placed 11th in men's slalom, and senior Elsie Halvorsen finished in 13th place in women's slalom to pace the Crimson on the weekend.
- On the nordic side of the Colby Carnival, senior Rémi Drolet continued his run of top-three finishes to open the year, placing second in the men's 20k classic and third in the men's 7k skate.
- In the first competition of the 2024 season, Harvard's nordic side came in seventh at the UVM Carnival (Jan. 13-14) with senior Rémi Drolet turning in a pair of top-three finishes. Drolet came in second in the classic sprint before placing third in the 10k skate. Alpine events were postponed due to weather conditions.
- Harvard returns a pair of NCAA qualifiers in senior nordic skier Rémi Drolet and junior alpine skier Matt Ryan. Drolet won the men's 20k classic at the 2023 NCAA Championships while Ryan qualified for NCAAs in 2022.
- The Crimson's captains for this season include seniors Elsie Halvorsen and Liam McNamara on the alpine side and junior Quincy Donley and senior Rémi Drolet on the nordic side.
- Harvard's 2023-24 roster features eight skiers on the alpine side and 12 skiers on the Nordic side. The group includes four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, and nine first-years.
- Scott MacPherson – The Peter H. Carter '69 Head Coach for Harvard Alpine Skiing – stands in his seventh season at the helm of the alpine program in 2023-24. While at Harvard, MacPherson has twice earned EISA Coach of the Year honors (2019-20, 2022-23).
- Sam Benzing – The Paul J. Finnegan Family Head Coach for Harvard Nordic Skiing – enters her first season as the leader of the Crimson's nordic program. Benzing served as an assistant coach at the College of Saint Scholastica prior to arriving in Cambridge.
Next Up
Harvard's alpine team will close out the UVM Carnival on Feb. 4 at Burke and Feb. 8 at the Dartmouth Skiway before both teams compete at the Dartmouth Carnival from Feb. 9-10 with alpine events taking place at the Dartmouth Skiway and nordic competition occurring at Oak Hill in Hanover, New Hampshire.
