The Huskies completed the first race of the regular season this weekend at Jay Peak in Vermont.
Thompson Division racing kicked off with Saturday’s slalom. On the ladies side, senior Hana Saydek came back strong after a three-year hiatus to claim second place. Freshmen Liddy Rankin and Nell Solomon were close behind in 7th and 10th. Following the top three, sophomore Kali Flaherty finished 12th, sophomore Heather MacEwen in 14th, freshman Maggy Skaugen in 22nd, freshman Caroline Rizzo in 25th, closely followed by senior Lizzie Cosway in 26th. Women’s president Elyse Dinan finished 30th, while sophomore Olivia Maeder was disqualified after the first run. Freshman Katie Campbell also did not finish the race, as she crashed during the second run. These finishes were enough to grant the Huskies team first place, a great start to the season.
On the men’s side, freshman Sean Pomerantz finished his first Thompson race second, closely followed by sophomore Romain Astié in 3rd and middler Peter Sugar in fourth. Following were freshman Carter Bourassa in 7th, sophomore Mike Mullaney in 22nd. Other men failed to finish their two runs, including sophomore Charlie Denhart, middler and men’s president Damian Kozak, sophomore Brendon Stearns, middler Gleb Smilyanski, sophomore Brad Sampson, junior Doug Schonholtz, and junior Matt Piispanen. The Huskies still took first for teams, kicking off the season to a great start.
In Sunday’s GS, the Huskies continued to ski well on both sides, with the womens team placing second, and the men’s team placing first. Standout finishes for the ladies included freshman Katie Campbell taking 7th in her first ever Thompson GS, while sophomore Olivia Maeder and freshman Maggy Skaugen rounded out Northeastern’s top three in 11th and 12th place.
On the men’s side, sophomore Romain Astié managed to eke out Champlain College’s Nick Champlain and score the first win of his career. Following were freshman Sean Pomerantz in third, and Charlie Denhart in eighth.
After this first weekend, the Huskies sit atop both the men’s and women’s combined ranking, something they will carry into next weekend’s double slalom at Bromley Mountain in Vermont.