Perennially the University’s most successful program, the UVM Ski Team has been keeping up their winning tradition of late with wins at their last two carnivals.

In their first competition of the year at the Colby Carnival in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, the Catamounts came away with a close win as their score of 639 points bested runners-up and regional rivals Middlebury (624 points) and Dartmouth (614 points). They were led on the second day by the women’s giant slalom crew who placed five skiers in the top-10, including the winner, senior Jamie Kingsbury. On day one, in the women’s 15k Nordic race, the Cats owned the podium, taking places 1 through 6. For the men, senior Anders Osthus placed first in the 20k.

One week later, at the St. Lawrence Carnival in Lake Placid, New York the Catamount skiers outdid their opponents with a score of 787. Second-place Middlebury came in with a score of 741, while Dartmouth placed third with a score of 647. The UVM women had three top-10 finishers, with Kingsbury winning once again, sophomore Jilyne McDonald placing fourth, and senior Amy Cochran coming in eighth. Sophomore Greg Hardy led the men with first place in the slalom on day two in addition to winning the GS on day one.

After the first day of races in UVM’s home carnival at Stowe, the Catamounts are in second-place with 372 points, just four points behind Middlebury. They swept the slalom, with Hardy placing first for the men and McDonald winning on the women’s side. Both sides enjoyed balanced success in the Nordic events as well. The women had three top-10 finishers while the men had two with another racer coming in 11th.

With three more weekends until the NCAA championships at Steamboat, Colorado, look for big things from the Catamount ski team.