The Middlebury ski team opened up its 2016 season at the Bates Carnival. Alpine events took place at Sunday River, while the nordic teams competed at the Quarry Road Recreational Area in Waterville. The Panthers sit in fourth place after four events, as action resumes on Saturday with the women's 5K and men's 10K freestyle races as well as the slalom events.

Kelsey Phinney had the fastest qualifying time in the women's 1.5K sprints race, beating the field by nearly five seconds. After fighting her way through several races, Phinney ended up placing second overall. Aiding the team's effort in the sprint were Nicolette Amber and Katie Feldman. Amber turned in a qualifying time of 4:18.9 to place 14th overall, while Feldman was 41st after a time of 4:30.1 in the qualifying heat.

On the men's side, Patrick McElravey was the team leader, earning a qualifying time of 3:33.7 to place 12th in the men's classic sprints. Two spots behind in 14th place was Evan Weinman (3:33.8), while Zeb Millslage rounded out the scorers in 58th place (3:48.9).

The men's alpine team placed four racers in the top-12 in the giant slalom. Rob Cone paced the group, finishing fourth overall with a time of 2:14.67. Two spots back in sixth was Riley Plant, who had the second-fastest time in the second run to finish in 2:14.84. Colin Hayes was 11th with a time of 1:08.32 to round out the scorers. Just behind Hayes with a 12th-place effort was Christopher McKenna, who crossed the line in 2:16.29.

The women's alpine team was led by Caroline Bartlett, whose seventh-place effort came in a time of 2:21.19. Lexi Calcagni was Middlebury's next finisher, coming in 15th overall with a time of 2:21.99. Rounding out the scorers was Katy Greene, who finished 20th in 2:23.08. Both Elle Gilbert and Linley Shaw were unable to finish their first runs.