NEWRY, Maine/RUMFORD, Maine - The Saint Michael's College skiing teams finished the season-opening Bates College Carnival on Saturday by taking 10th place out of 15 teams. The two-day event was held at Sunday River for the Alpine portion and Black Mountain of Maine for Nordic races. The Purple Knights' squads combined to total 276 points in a competition won by the University of Vermont, with 1,004.
For the second straight day, freshman Fredrik Sandell (Oslo, Norway/Donski Alpine) cracked the top 10 in an Alpine race, taking 10th during the slalom after posting a sixth-place showing during Friday's giant slalom. Sandell's time between two runs was 1:48.77, exactly one second shy of the fifth-place finisher. In a field of 80 racers, sophomore Carl-Oscar Bredengen (Reistad, Norway/Donski Alpine) took 21st at 1:51.87, and senior Nathan Bryant (Lee, N.H./Oyster River) rounded out the Purple Knight scorers in 31st.
In the women's slalom, graduate student Heidi Robbins (Mendon, Vt./Killington Mountain School/Saint Lawrence) was 19th in a field of 73 with a combined showing of 1:53.71, while sophomore Shannon Conroy (Auburn, Calif./Home Schooled) nabbed 22nd at 1:54.25. Junior Kelsey Redden (Ramsey, N.J./Northwood School) also scored.
Junior Colin Delaney (Lake Placid, N.Y./National Sports Academy) had the best performance by a Purple Knight men's Nordic skier for the second straight day, clocking in at 29:42.4 during the 10K classic mass start to place 59th out of 110. Senior Robert Sitzer (Lenox, Mass./Lenox Memorial) and freshman Isaiah St. Pierre (Charlestown, N.H./Fall Mountain Regional) also scored, with St. Pierre edging out classmate Brian Vargo (Shaftsbury, Vt./Mount Anthony Union) for his team's final scoring spot.
On the women's side, sophomore Gabrielle Naranja (Fort Kent, Maine/Fort Kent Community) had her team's best showing for the second straight day, clocking in at 37:06.7 during the 10K classic mass start. Senior Sam Martell (Georgia, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans/Saint Lawrence) and freshman Chloe Boutelle (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) also scored points for Saint Michael's.
The Purple Knights head to the University of New Hampshire Carnival next Friday and Saturday. Alpine races will occur at Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, N.H., while the Jackson Nordic Center in Jackson, N.H., is slated to host the Nordic portion of the weekend.
