The Colby nordic and alpine ski teams have both gotten off to a strong start to the 2009-2010 season.

For the nordic team, the season kicked off with a Thanksgiving training camp in Quebec, and continued with pre-season races in Presque Isle, Maine. After a 2008-2009 season that saw Lucy Garrec '12 awarded with the Mules' first ever Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) carnival win, there were high expectations for both the men's and women's teams.

A young women's team, led by Garrec, and consisting of Captain Jennie Brentrup '10, Missy Krause '12, Kirsten Stray-Gundersen '12, and Olga Golovkina '13, has started off the season strong, receiving a fifth place finish at the St. Michaels Winter Carnival.

On the men's side, the team is led by captain Sam Mathes '10 and Wyatt Fereday '11. Fereday, who qualified for NCAAs during his freshman season, looks to return to that form again this year. The two are joined by freshman standout Jake Barton, and look to repeat the strong team performances of the past few years.

On the alpine side, the women are led by Dana Breakstone '10, who opened the season with a pair of top 25 finishes at the EISA St. Lawrence Winter Carnival. Last weekend, at the UVM Winter Carnival, she cracked the top 10 for the first time this season, with a strong seventh place finish in the Slalom race. Cassady Roberts '13 joined Breakstone in the top 20 with a fifteenth place finish.

On the men's side, returning stars Vincent Lebrun-Fortin '11 and Joshua Kernan '10 look to repeat their strong finishes of previous years. Both skiers are stronger in the slalom. Lebrun-Fortin has not been outside the top-10 in a slalom race this year, while Kernan has only been outside the top 10 once. The two have been joined in scoring by Brian Morgan '12 and Marc Massie '13.

Last weekend at the University of Vermont Carnival in Stowe, Vt, the Mules netted a sixth place team finish, combining scores from both men's and women's nordic and alpine. The strong team finish was highlighted by outstanding performances by Lucy Garrec '12, who placed ninth in Saturday's 5km race, held in the classic style, and eighth in Sunday's 10km freestyle event. Wyatt Fereday '11 also had a strong performance on Sunday, netting a season best sixth place finish in the 10km freestyle.

In the alpine races, the Mules continued their strong showing in Saturdays slalom. Breakstone led the way with a strong seventh, and was joined in the top 30 by Roberts, Lauren McGrath '11, and Makayla Brown '13. However, it was the men's alpine team that stole the show, as Lebrun-Fortin netted a podium position with a second place finish, in Saturday's slalom race. Kernan and Massie finished strong in seventh and sixteenth, leading the Colby men to a win in that race.

Both teams return to action this weekend in the Dartmouth Carnival, with the nordic events held at Oak Hill and the alpine races at the Dartmouth Skiway.