The Army West Point Nordic Skiing team participated in the Clarkson Carnival Nordic Races at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid, NY. The event, part of the ECSC (Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference) season, consisted of two days of Nordic racing. Saturday’s races were skate/freestyle 7.7K competitions, while on Sunday, the participants skied those same 7.7K in the classic Nordic style. CDT Joshua Bassette (Team Captain) secured the highest finishes for the team, completing the Saturday skate race in 23:13 and the Sunday classic race in 24:23; these finishes earned him 6th place in both races, in a field of over 50 skiers. For the West Point men, the next fastest skier was CDT Keith Basnett, who finished at position 40 in the skate race with a time of 30:30, and 41st in the classic race with a time of 50:59.
Closing out the men’s field on Saturday, at positions 51-54 respectively, CDT Spencer Read ’16 with a time of 35:37; CDT Erik Hegeman ’16 finished in 42:41; CDT Pete Zeidler ’16 finished in 50:59; and CDT Preston Bentley ’17 finished in at 1:03:55. On Sunday in the men’s classic race, positions were slightly scrambled: coming in at 45th, CDT Read clocked a time of 40:10; CDT Zeidler finished at position 46 with a time of 41:50; CDT Hegeman came in 47th at 43:58; and CDT Bentley finished in 48th with a time of 44:46. The Army West Point Nordic women faced a field of approximately 40 skiers, and turned in solid results. Saturday, in the skate race, CDT Mimi Mejia finished in 34th place with a race time of 39:02; CDT Emily Beecher finished her skate race in 40th place with a time of 45:48. On Sunday, skiing classic style, CDT Mejia finished with a time of 38:36, to place 21st; CDT Beecher came in at 33rd place with a race time of 45:34.