RIPTON, Vt. – Haley Brewster and Ben Ogden won the 1.25k freestyle sprint races at day one of the Saint Michael's Carnival Friday morning at Rikert Nordic Center on a strong overall day for Vermont. Waverly Gebhardt joined Brewster on the podium placing second overall. After the first day of competition UVM sits in second place with 238 points, seven behind Middlebury.
 
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Results: Men's Sprints | Women's Sprints
Team Scores
 
Vermont had a strong start to the day with eight of their nine skiers qualifying among the initial 30 skiers in the men's and women's field. Ogden was the top male qualifier with a time of 2:39.90 and Gebhardt was the third fastest qualifier on the women's side with a time of 3:10.51.
 
Brewster, Gebhardt and Libby Tuttle advanced to the semifinals for the Catamounts. Brewster won her quarterfinal heat with a time of 3:22.27, while Tuttle finished second in the same heat just .60 seconds behind her. Gebhardt advanced as one of the lucky losers. Brewster also won her semifinal heat, this time with a mark of 3:15.30. Tuttle didn't advance out of the semifinals but remarkably Gebhardt did again as a lucky loser. In the final Brewster skied to the win with a time of 3:10.80 while Gebhardt finished 1.2 seconds behind her in second.
 
Ogden, Jacob Nystedt and Petter Bakken advanced out of the quarterfinals for Vermont on the men's side. Ogden's quarterfinal time of 2:46.36 was the fastest in the field. Ogden preceded to win the first semifinal heat with a time of 2:46.50. Bakken and Nystedt placed sixth in their semifinal heats and collected 61 EISA team points. In the final Ogden defeated Finegan Bailey by 1.9 seconds to claim his third straight EISA win of the season.
 
Nordic action from the Saint Michael's Carnival will wrap up tomorrow morning with the men's and women's 15k Classic, beginning at 10 a.m. from the Rikert Nordic Center.
 
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