The Ephs’ ski teams welcomed a large home crowd at Winter Carnival, hosting races at Jiminy Peak and Prospect Mountain over the weekend. Competing on their home courses, the Ephs finished seventh overall out of 14 teams, with two top-10 individual performances from the women’s alpine team.
There was a strong turnout at both venues, with the Williams Outing Club (WOC) organizing transportation and hosting festivities at each course. “WOC did a great job getting people to show up,” Alpine captain Riley McHugh ’26 told the Record. “They had pancakes and music, and it was a super fun atmosphere at the bottom of the hill.”
The team drew energy from the lively home crowd, Eliza Sullivan ’26 said. “It’s really fun racing at other places, but racing at home is a million times more fun just because people get to be there,” she said. “We were just super excited to be on our home hill, and it showed in everyone’s skiing.”
Beyond the support of the crowd, the Ephs also benefited from their familiarity with the terrain. “We definitely have a steeper hill than most of the schools on our circuit,” McHugh said. “So it’s good that we have experience on the hill too.”
The Alpine team opened the carnival with the giant slalom (GS) event on Friday under favorable weather conditions. “The conditions were so good because all the other college races have been freezing, but we got blue skies,” Sullivan said. “It was just such a good vibe out there.”
Ashley Anderson ’29 led the Ephs with a sixth-place finish, scoring 36 points in her first collegiate top-10 finish. Chloe Lathrop ’27 placed 26th, while McHugh finished 35th. The Alpine team totaled 67 points to place fifth out of the 13 teams that competed in the event.
The Ephs carried that momentum into Saturday’s slalom races, where Sullivan finished fourth, earning 41 points. “I was super proud of my performance and really happy to do it in front of all of my friends and family,” Sullivan said. “All of the support really meant so much.”
Behind her, Lathrop placed 14th with 28 points, while Magnolia Conacher ’29 placed 25th, contributing 18 points. With 87 points total, the Alpine team secured third place in the slalom event, marking its second podium finish of the season.
“This weekend was just incredible,” McHugh said. “We have to compete against great Division I schools that have a lot more resources than we do, and we are up there with them.”
At Prospect Mountain, the Nordic team competed in Friday’s 10-kilometer freestyle section, also with good conditions. “I’ve never seen Prospect groomed so well,” Nordic captain Francesca Kitch ’26 said. “The [course] team worked really hard to pull it off.”
In the 10-kilometer race with a field of 95 skiers, Luci Ludwig ’26 led the team in 43rd place, followed closely by Bailey Carmack ’27 in 48th, while Chloe Koch ’27 completed the scoring in 70th.
On Saturday, the Ephs’ top 3×5 classic relay team, composed of Ludwig, Carmack, and Koch, finished 18th, earning 32 points and bringing the Nordic team’s two-day total to 68 points. These scores earned the Ephs ninth place on day one and 10th place on day two among 14 teams.
Without a full-time assistant coach this season, the Nordic team has leaned more heavily on collaboration for its success, creating a unique team dynamic. “It has brought the team a lot closer together, because we have to work together more to make things happen,” Kitch said. “We’re all really driven and hardworking, but also not too competitive with each other. We work with each other to push each other.”
As the Ephs travel to Middlebury for their final carnival this weekend, each team has its sights on NCAA qualifications. “Our goal is always to qualify two women and two men every year, and we’re definitely on that track,” McHugh said.
For the team’s seniors, this upcoming carnival will carry a bittersweet significance as they look to close out their season on a high note. “My hope is that we put everything out there,” Kitch said. “We’re not leaving anything behind.”
Sullivan echoed that sentiment. “It’s the last race, so we just gotta go for it,” she said. “I just hope everyone’s having fun and embracing it for the last time.”
