New crop of talented freshmen? Check.

New coach, a former trainer of the U.S. Ski Team? Check.

A Nordic captain with two NCAA Championship appearances under her belt? Check (2001) and check (2002).

Same old season for the Harvard men’s and women’s Nordic and alpine ski teams? With a foundation like the one they laid this season, not likely.

Bolstered by an enviable combination of experience and young talent, the Crimson more than fulfilled its expectations by compiling one of its best seasons in years and further adding to the base of a small but historic program.

The Nordic team was led by the consistently stalwart performances of junior captain Anna McLoon.

McLoon, also a Radcliffe heavyweight rower, had a race for the record books at the UVM Winter Carnival in February. Her first-place finish in the 10K Classic made her the first Harvard skier to win a cross country carnival in more than 20 years.

McLoon’s increasingly high-level finishes over the past three years are a clear accomplishment in a sport in which schools like Dartmouth, Vermont and UNH have essential monopolies on the top spots.

“Without question, the highlight of the season was her performance at UVM,” Nordic coach Peter Graves said. “She’s a remarkable, gifted athlete.”

McLoon capped the season with her third straight NCAA Championship appearance as Harvard’s lone representative. Although she struggled in the free skate, placing 27th, she rebounded in the 15K Classic to finish 19th and provide the Crimson with a 19th-place finish overall.

“Look for Anna to be a top skier in the [Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association] next season,” Graves said.

Graves, a former U.S. Nordic Ski Team coach, found his first year directing the Harvard teams to be rewarding and promising. While acknowledging the high level of competition in the EISA, he said that the team had improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the season.

“Progress is measured individually, and sometimes independently from the results,” Graves said, counting improved fitness, better technique and a growing knowledge of racing tactics among the team’s accomplishments this year.

“It has been a huge honor and a great deal of fun to be the coach here. The sky’s the limit with this team,” Graves said.

Graves added that freshmen Sarah Mitchell and Anna Bingham had both made solid progress in their rookie seasons, and hinted that a certain few incoming freshmen would help to beef up the team’s competitiveness and provide McLoon with Crimson company on the podium.