Top Cats: UVM’s powerhouse ski team hosts weekend races in Stowe

The University of Vermont — the hottest college ski team in America — comes to Stowe this weekend.

The Catamounts will host their annual Carnival this weekend at Stowe Mountain Resort and Trapp Family Lodge from a position of strength — UVM holds the No. 1 spot in Ski Racing Magazine’s national power rankings.

This weekend’s carnival may provide a preview of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ski championships, which UVM will host in Stowe March 9-12.

Schools that are members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association take turns hosting carnivals — alpine and Nordic ski tournaments. It’s UVM’s turn this weekend.

The first two carnivals of the season were at Colby College in Maine and St. Lawrence University in New York, and UVM delivered crushing performances at both of them.

Two weeks ago, UVM scored 1,050 points at St. Lawrence, the most ever scored by a collegiate ski team at a carnival. Second-place Dartmouth was a whopping 225 points behind.

At Colby, UVM finished first in five events and swept the alpine races. It scored 991 points, the first time in 12 years that the Catamounts scored more than 900 points in back-to-back carnivals.

Surprisingly, UVM was dominant at Colby even without four of its top skiers. Jonathan Nordbotten, who won both alpine events in St. Lawrence, was in Europe, competing in a pair of European Cup races. On the Nordic side, Caitlin and Scott Patterson and Amy Glen were in Europe competing in the World Junior Championships.

Depth has been the strength for UVM this season. Ten different skiers have won a race this season, and a UVM skier has finished in the top three in every event so far this year.

Where to watch

This weekend’s alpine races will be on the Main Street trail, on the Spruce Peak side of Stowe Mountain Resort.

The best place to watch will be at the bottom of Main Street. The trail itself will be closed to the public, but the view from the bottom promises to be a good one, with quite a collection of fast gates visible.

Nordic race spectators are invited to view the race from the stadium area at Trapp Family Lodge. If they buy a Nordic ski pass, they can get close to the course while the race is going on. The course will be staffed with marshals to direct spectators.

The course will also be visible from the Deer Pond Trail and the Russell Knoll Trail as well. Trapps will have two parking lots available to accommodate the crowd.

Skiers of the week

Even with four of its top performers in Europe, UVM swept the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association’s Skier of the Week honors for the second week in a row, based on the Colby showing.

Kate Ryley and Lucy Garrec were named the women’s alpine and Nordic skiers of the week, and Robby Kelley earned men’s alpine honors.

Ryley beat her older sister, Meg, by 21-tenths of a second to win the giant slalom at Colby, and was runner-up to her sister in the slalom.

Garrec, who transferred from Colby to Vermont last year, won the women’s 15k classic, her second collegiate victory and first as a Catamount.

Kelley picked up his first collegiate win in the giant slalom, posting the best time in both runs. He also finished sixth in the slalom.

The previous week, Meg Ryley (women’s alpine), Jonathan Nordbotten (men’s alpine) and Caitlin Patterson (women’s Nordic) were the EISA Skiers of the Week.

The schedule: Here’s a rough schedule of the racing events.

Friday, alpine

9:30 a.m., first run of women’s giant slalom, followed immediately by men’s, Main Street trail.

12:30 p.m., second run of women’s giant slalom, followed immediately by men’s, Main Street trail.

Friday, Nordic

9:30 a.m., women’s 15K classic, mass start.

11 a.m., women’s podium ceremony outside the yurt at the Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center.

11:30 a.m., men’s 20K classic, mass start.

1 p.m., men’s podium ceremony outside the yurt at the Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center.

Saturday, alpine

9:30 a.m., men’s slalom, first run, followed immediately by women’s, Main Street trail.

12:30 p.m., men’s slalom, second run, followed immediately by women’s second run, Main Street trail.

3 p.m., award ceremony for all alpine races at the Midway Base Lodge.

Saturday, Nordic

10:45 a.m., women’s 5K freestyle, individual start.

12:30 p.m., men’s 10K freestyle, individual start.

2:20 p.m., podium ceremony for all Nordic categories outside the yurt at the Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center.

After-race party

UVM will host an après-ski party after the races on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Rusty Nail, 1190 Mountain Road, Stowe. Appetizer and drink specials will be available and people can visit with UVM coaches and team members. Information: 802-656-0956 or victory.club@uvm.edu.