“It was a really hard course, made harder by poor conditions,” co-captain Soren Anderson said. “The races were not particularly strong in terms of results, though we did have a few standout performances.”
One of those performances came from junior Ian Meyer, who registered his first top-25 finish this season, taking 25th place in the 20K Classic. He was followed by a strong showing of Harvard finishes with junior Devlin Shea in 38th, sophomore Liam Mulshine in 47th, Anderson in 49th, sophomore Conor Green in 54th, and sophomore Haakon Sigurslid in 59th.
In the 10K Classic, Shea notched his second top-40 finish of the weekend in 38th with a time of 24:19.3, with Meyer and Green just on his heels at 40th and 41st.
“I think we all had fun this weekend,” Anderson said. “It was a definitely a bittersweet time for all the seniors. I cannot believe that it’s over, and I’m so grateful for everything the team has given me.”
On the women’s side, freshman Hannah Hardenbaugh claimed a season-best finish with a 31st place showing in the women’s 5K FS. Senior Annie Harvieux and junior Rachel Hampton trailed just behind her in 35th and 36th, respectively.
In the 15K Classic, two Crimson racers registered top-20 finishes out of the 68 racers. Junior Rachel Hampton claimed 18th place with a time of 46:19.7 and senior Hanna Barnes clocked in at 19th with a 46:29.4. Hardenbaugh earned a top-30 finish at 28th, followed by junior Maile Sapp in 39th, freshman Nina Armstrong in 45th, and Harvieux in 58th.
“We were quite consistent this season,” Anderson said. “I think this year was a building year for us. We have a lot of great young talent and we’re waiting for them to mature.”
Despite the end of the regular season, the team will continue practicing for post-season races. Hampton is the only Harvard skier who qualified for the NCAA Championships and will travel to Steamboat, Colo., the weekend of March 9th.
—Staff writer Jamie Chen can be reached at jamie.chen@college.harvard.edu.