Middlebury College's Nordic skiing teams achieved notable results at the Winter Carnival, which served as the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association championships. The Panthers competed against strong opponents like Dartmouth, with standout individual performances in classic and skate races. The event featured a lively atmosphere with music and cheers from spectators.
The Middlebury Winter Carnival, doubling as the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) championships, kicked off on Friday with the 7.5k classic individual start race. In this event, similar to time trials in cycling, competitors started at 30-second intervals to avoid packs.
The Middlebury men's team finished second overall, led by Mason Wheeler ’26 in fourth place, Abrahm Geissinger ’29 in 10th, and Peter Warner ’27 in 13th. They faced a Dartmouth team featuring John Steel Hagenbuch, who had recently placed 14th in the 10k interval start free and sixth in the 4 x 7.5k relay at the Winter Olympics. Finn Veit ’29 praised Geissinger, saying, “Shoutout to Abrahm Geissinger, he had a ripper day. I think it’s the best result of the season.”
The women's team secured fourth place, with Shea Brams ’26 leading in fifth, followed by Sofia Scririca ’27 in 14th and Beth McIntosh ’29 in 15th. Dartmouth placed five skiers in the top ten. Success on Friday was attributed to precise ski tuning, including appropriate wax for temperature, humidity, and snow conditions. Wheeler noted, “We have a team of wax techs who get up here obscenely early [when] we have a race and are testing skis the moment the sun comes up. It takes an entire village.” Veit added, “They are the unsung heroes of ski racing.”
On Saturday, the 20k mass start skate race followed four laps of a 5k course amid fresh snow from overnight. The men's team placed fifth, with Wheeler tying for 10th, Veit in 13th, and Geissinger tying for 28th. The women again finished fourth, led by Brams in eighth, Mica Bodkins ’26 in ninth, and Scirica in 12th. Bodkins said, “It was so fun to ski the whole 5k with everyone. I couldn’t stop smiling.” Brams reflected, “It’s our last carnival of our whole EISA career so it was a great way to top it off.”
The atmosphere at Rikert was vibrant, with house music from speakers, cheer squads using revved chainsaws (without blades), and enthusiastic crowds. Race announcer Caio Brown ’26 stated, “There’s nothing like the Middlebury Carnival.” Wheeler described, “The Middlebury Carnival’s got that special something… skiing up that hill and getting hit by a wall of sound is amazing.”
