CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine – The University of Maine at Farmington men's alpine ski team kicked off their season in impressive fashion, sweeping the podium and placing six skiers in the top eight to secure a first-place finish in Friday's Reynolds Division giant slalom event at Sugarloaf.
The Beavers dominated the competition, earning just six place points, far ahead of the field. New England College finished second with 41 place points, while the University of Maine at Orono placed third with 48 place points.
Beaver Skiers:
Farmington was led by junior standout Lake Lindelof (Belfast, Maine), who claimed his first gold medal of the season. Lindelof posted a combined two-run time of 1:32.24 to edge out the competition. Sitting in fourth place after the first run with a time of 43.90 seconds, he delivered the second-fastest second run of the day at 48.34 seconds, vaulting him into first place.
Finishing just hundredths of a second behind Lindelof was junior Lance Dolan (Coplin Plantation, Maine), who earned the silver medal with a total time of 1:32.39. Dolan held a 0.59-second lead over Lindelof after the first run, clocking in at 43.31 seconds. However, his second run of 49.08 seconds dropped him narrowly behind his teammate.
Senior Colgan O'Keefe (Westchester, N.Y.) claimed the bronze medal, completing the Beavers' podium sweep. O'Keefe finished with a combined time of 1:32.54, just 0.15 seconds behind Dolan. His first run was timed at 44.22 seconds, while his blistering second run of 48.32 seconds was the fastest of any racer on the hill.
Sophomore Declan Varnerin (Stow, Mass.) had a strong season opener, finishing fifth overall with a combined time of 1:36.46. His first run clocked in at 45.59 seconds, and his second run was 50.87 seconds. As only the top three finishers from each team contribute to the overall score, Varnerin's result did not factor into the Beavers' team total.
Jay Schwartz (Bedford, Mass.) achieved a career-best finish, placing sixth overall. Schwartz posted a two-run time of 1:36.80, with individual run times of 46.45 seconds and 50.35 seconds.
Sophomore Chase Raven (Hudson, Wisc.) was the sixth Beaver to finish in the top eight, placing eighth overall. Raven recorded a total time of 1:39.27, with runs of 45.30 seconds and 53.97 seconds, respectively.
Up Next
The Beavers will return to the slopes tomorrow morning for the slalom event at Sugarloaf. The first runs are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.
