Anderson Win Leads Ski Team to 2nd at UNH Carnival (Day 1)

Friday, January 27

Alpine - GS, Burke Mountain / Nordic - 5K Skate, Jackson XC

9 AM

University of New Hampshire

UNH Carnival

The Wildcats celebrate a podium finish by Peder Nersnaes.

Photo by: Allen Lessels

1/27/2023 8:14:00 PM | Skiing

Strong Nordic Start Puts 'Cats Just Behind UVM in UNH Carnival

JACKSON, N.H. – Senior Luci Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.) won the women's 5K freestyle event for her first career victory to lead an impressive Nordic performance for the University of New Hampshire ski team in the first day of the UNH Carnival on Friday at Jackson XC and Burke Mountain in East Burke, Vt.

The UNH women's Nordic group grabbed three spots in the top eight to win the event.

Luci Anderson takes a moment to recap her first career win in the 5K free at Jackson XC! pic.twitter.com/VXgE8OIWDO
— UNH Skiiing (@unhskiing) January 27, 2023

"This morning I was actually thinking that I know all the girls, I know all the competition, and I know how I rank against all of them," Anderson said. "There's always a couple of girls that I have in the back of my mind that I'm thinking about the whole race, but today, thankfully, I was on it and I was able to beat them. It was a good day."

Senior Scott Schulz (Lake Placid, N.Y.) finished second in the 5K freestyle to pace the men's team to a runner-up result in that event.

Scott Schulz shares his insight on a runner-up placement for him and the men's Nordic team in Friday's 5K freestyle. #BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/FAfQq0L85B
— UNH Skiiing (@unhskiing) January 28, 2023

Overall, the Wildcats complied 396 points through the first four events and trail Vermont, which has 425 points. Dartmouth is third with 383 points and Middlebury has 376.

The Carnival concludes Saturday with the women's and men's 20K classic races at Jackson XC and the slalom at Burke Mountain.

On the alpine side, junior Peder Nersnaes (Oslo, Norway) made the podium by putting up a pair of solid runs for a third-place finish and 44 points in a combined time of 2:08.35. He was third after the first run and held his spot after the second.

"It's obviously fun to do well on your own because it's kind of an individual sport, but at the end of the weekend we count the team points," Nersnaes said. "So it's way more fun to do well when the rest of the team does well because it's just a way better spirit in the team and overall better vibes."

Anderson turned in a time of 12 minutes, 44.1 seconds to capture the women's 5K and earn 50 points. Junior Lea Stabaek Wenaas (Oslo, Norway) was fifth (12:59.2) for 41 points and sophomore Beth Granstrom (Revelstoke, B.C.) was eighth (13:05.1) for 35 points.

Schulz turned in a time of 10:57.5 to earn 47 points with his second-place finish.

Junior Seth Wyatt (Bozeman, Mont.) had a time of 11:19.8 for 10^th for 31 points and sophomore Eli Gore (Madison, Wis.) finished in 11:24.7 collected 28 points for his 13^th-place result.

Men's alpine, paced by Nersnaes, finished fourth with 94 points. Freshman Isac Hedstrom (Are, Sweden) scored 26 points with his 14^th-place result in 2:10.52 and sophomore Mons Langaard (Oslo, Norway) earned 24 points for his 18^th-place finish in 2:10.83.

Let's hear from Peder Nersnaes after his 3rd-place finish in GS at Burke Mountain today! #BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/S7eVCjKZbc
— UNH Skiiing (@unhskiing) January 27, 2023

Freshman Hedda Martelleur (Uppsala, Sweden) led the women's alpine team to a seventh-place finish with a 10^th-place result in a time of 2:14.10, earning 30 points. Grad student Lisa Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) was 20^th in 2:14.79 for 21 points and senior Emma Kearing (Carrabassett, Maine) was 24^th for 19 points in 2:15.61.

Lisa Olsson recaps Day 1 of the UNH Carnival from the alpine perspective at Burke Mountain. #BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/xHFdUe3Pd7
— UNH Skiiing (@unhskiing) January 27, 2023

NEXT UP:

The UNH Carnival concludes Saturday at Jackson XC and Burke Mountain.
The Wildcat alpine team competes at Smugglers Notch in the St. Michael's Carnival next weekend.
The UNH alpine and Nordic teams are at the Harvard Carnival on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11 with alpine events at Waterville Valley and Nordic at the Dublin School.