The St. Lawrence University Nordic ski team competed last week at the 2012 United States National Championships in Rumford, ME to prepare for the upcoming carnival season. Sophomore Eric Lustgarten highlighted the week with a victory in the junior men's division of the classic sprint held on Sunday.

Lustgarten, who is amongst the top skiers on the St. Lawrence men's team this season, won the 1.6k classic sprint, and was also 37th in the 10k junior men's classic race on Friday.

"Eric has always demonstrated fantastic speed and we knew this could be a great event for him, but to have him win was very special and exciting to watch," said St. Lawrence head coach Ethan Townsend.

Also competing throughout the week on the men's side were Adam Terko, Austin Meng and Teo Jackson. Terko had consistent performances which bode well for the upcoming collegiate season including a 91st place finish in the 15k freestyle. Meng and Jackson also competed hard and will look to make an impact in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, seniors Caroline Carpenter, Leah Hart and Amanda Moreland represented the Saints in the women's events. Carpenter was 26th in the women's 20k classic, which was the top finish of the week for the Shelburne, VT native. Hart's lone event was the 10k free, where she was 81st, five places behind Carpenter. Moreland competed in the opening freestyle sprint, but an injury prevented her from competing the rest of the week as she looks to return for the carnival season.

"Caroline's 26th place finish in the classic event was one of the best races I've seen her ski," added Coach Townsend. "I'm very excited to see what she does in our opening weekend."

Both the men's and women's Nordic ski teams will head to Jackson, NH this weekend for a training camp before heading to Rumford, ME for the 2012 Bates Carnival to open the EISA season.