St. Lawrence University senior Eric Lustgarten opened the 2014 EISA Nordic carnival season with a top-25 finish on Friday afternoon in the men's classic race at the Colby Carnival. The Burlington, VT native was 21st overall at Quarry Road, leading his team to eighth place overall.

"While we certainly are not happy with our team placing on the opening day of the EISA season, I think that several of the younger members of the team performed above expectations," said St. Lawrence head coach Ethan Townsend. "I am confident we can do much better tomorrow and as the season progresses."

Lustgarten raced the men's 10k classic in 33:23.8, narrowly missing a top-20 showing while earning 23.0 points for the Scarlet and Brown. He was joined in the scoring by Will Frielinghaus and Austin Meng, who were 36th and 38th, respectively. The trio combined for 47.0 points to land St. Lawrence in eighth position.

First-year student Calvin Swomley finished 41st in the first race of his collegiate career, followed by Kyle Curry (42nd), Phillip Marshall (44th) and fellow rookie Blaine Ayotte (47th). Morgan Holland (64th) and Matt Dier (77th) rounded out the St. Lawrence line-up in the men's race.

Junior Kate Mulcahy was the top Saints' finisher in the women's 5k classic. The Glens Falls, NY native was 50th overall and was joined in the scoring by Erin Perryman (53rd) and Taren McGray (80th). They combined to place 12th in the team standings, with Cassidy Cichowicz (88th) and Laurel Hurd (92nd) also competing.

Silas Talbot's individual victory in the men's 10k classic propelled his Dartmouth College team to victory. The Catamounts of UVM won the women's team title thanks to individual champion Anja Gruber.

The St. Lawrence Nordic teams will compete again tomorrow, Saturday, January 18, in the freestyle races at the Colby Carnival.