LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – On Sunday afternoon, the 2026 EISA season kicked off with day one of the Nordic portion of the St. Lawrence Carnival in conjunction with the US National Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. from Mt. Van Hoevenberg. Sunday's competition was the 10k classic interval start, seeing the Catamounts finish the day overall in second place with 217 total points, just seven points behind Dartmouth (224).
 
RELATED LINKS
Day One St. Lawrence Carnival Results (Nordic)
St. Lawrence Carnival Day Two Schedule (Tuesday, Jan. 6)
 
UVM men's Nordic concluded day one with the most points out of any school (118), seeing seven of the eight Vermont skiers place within the top 23 finishers, including two racers coming in at second and third place. Sophomore Tabor Greenberg returned to action on Sunday, racing to second place with a time of 27:01.3, earning his first podium finish of the season in his first race as a Catamount. First year skier Ruben Kretzschmar collected a third-place finish, racing a time of 27:03.5, securing a podium appearance in his first collegiate race in the green and gold. Benon Brattebo (14th, 28:00.0) Petter Bakken (15th, 28:04.1), Luke Rizio (17th, 28:05.1), and Fin Bailey (18th, 28:06.7) all finished seconds away from each other while Owen Young capped off the day for Vermont placing 23rd with a time of 28:29.3.
 
The carnival began with the women Nordic racers taking off first, seeing the UVM women garner the fourth most points out of every school on Sunday (99). 2024 First Team All-American and Graduate Student Haley Brewster returned to action on Sunday, competing in her first EISA race since 2024, collecting a fourth-place finish, racing a time of 30:56.5, just five second away from a podium finish. 2025 EISA All-East Second Team member Kristin Maltun Helland kicked off her season with a top 10 placement, racing to ninth place with a time of 31:39.8. First year skier Lena Poduska accumulated 27 crucial EISA points for Vermont in her first collegiate race, placing 15th after finishing with a time of 32:46.1.
 
NEXT UP
The Catamounts get two days to prepare for the conclusion of the Nordic portion of the St. Lawrence Carnival that takes place on Tuesday (Jan. 6). Tuesday's event will see skiers competing in freestyle sprints, an event that Bailey and Maltun each podiumed in last season while Brattebo earned a top five finish. Day two of the Nordic portion of the St. Lawrence Carnival will begin at 10 a.m. when the men kick things off with their individual sprint qualification round, followed by the women's qualification round at 11:15 a.m. (All times subject to change).