With an effort that was more gutty than spectacular, the men's alpine team scored well enough in the slalom to hold off the Air Force Academy and nail down the men's 4-way title at the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association championships at Mt. Snow, Vermont. The Whitman women had wrapped up their 4-way title on Friday.
"For the second straight year we're bringing home the men's 4-way and the women's 4-way titles," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "That's four national championships in two years. Not too many schools ever do that in any sport at any level."
According to Olson, the memory of Brad Stenger, a member of the cross country team who was killed last summer in a van accident, was the inspiration behind Whitman's season-long effort to repeat as national champions.
"From the beginning, we dedicated this season to Brad Stenger," Olson said. "Even though we lost one of our comrades along the way, we made it back as national champions. And even though Brad wasn't here in the physical sense, he was here spiritually, there's no doubt about that. This season, and these titles, belong to Brad."
The 4-way titles are based on combined results from two alpine and two cross country events. The USCSA championships concluded Saturday with the men's slalom. With its top alpine skier, Andy Olsson, sidelined with a knee injury, Whitman got off to a strong start on the first slalom run. Gery Benedetti placed fifth and Mike Craven placed 15th. Disaster struck on the second run, however, when Benedetti fell and Craven dropped to 22nd after skidding around a gate and hiking back.
That left the pressure on Whitman's next three skiers, two of them freshmen, to finish their second runs and preserve Whitman's lead in the 4-way competition over the Air Force Academy. "They knew they didn't have to ski fast for us to win the title," Olson said. "They needed to ski solid, stand up and finish with good times, and that's what they did."
Chris Bromley placed 46th in a field of 115 skiers. Freshman Curtis Haynie was 48th, and freshman Scott Siler placed 56th despite an injured shoulder. As a team, Whitman finished 10th in the slalom in a field of 17 teams.
"What makes these titles more gratifying, in addition to all the adversity we faced this season, is that we have such young teams, men and women," Olson said. "We thought this was going to be a rebuilding year. We had just one senior, Julie Stafford, at nationals."
To repeat as national 4-way champions, after losing a handful of talented skiers to graduation and struggling through a winter of uncooperative weather, Whitman needed a strong team effort, Olson noted. "We couldn't have done this without a total team effort. I'm so proud of this bunch. It's been so much fun watching this group work through the adversity and still come out on top. No one ever got discouraged."
With the cross country relay team placing second and the alpine team taking sixth in the slalom, the Whitman women finished on top of the four-way scoring with 27 points -- a whopping 52 points ahead of their nearest challenger, the University of California-Davis. Army was third and the University of Minnesota-Duluth fourth. The Air Force Academy, MIT and Cornell rounded out the women's 4-way field. A year ago, the Whitman women won the national title by a scant four points.
"Whitman has the best women's ski team in the nation for the second straight year," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "To repeat as national champions is quite an accomplishment for the women, and hopefully the men can do the same on Saturday. What makes it more gratifying is that we have such a young team, women and men. We thought this was going to be a rebuilding year."
The men's team got another big boost from its cross country squad on Friday. The Missionary relay team outskied the Air Force Academy -- Whitman's primary rival for the men's 4-way title -- to finish in third place, little more than a minute out of second place.
Heading into the final event, the men's slalom on Saturday, Whitman leads the men's 4-way scoring with 39 points. Air Force is second with 67 points, followed by the University of Minnesota-Duluth in third with 92 points.
"The men's cross country team did a great job in the relay," Olson said. "Our men's alpine team gave us the 4-way lead over Air Force on Thursday, and our cross country team extended the margin on Friday."
With its strong showing in the 7.5-kilometer relay, the Whitman men slipped into third place in the final nordic combined scoring. "I was very pleased with the way the guys skied and competed today," Whitman cross country coach Chris Hinderman said. "They knew what they had to do, and they skied tough. Zach Vestal skied a great second leg for us. We moved up in the nordic combined scoring, and we beat Air Force to help the team in the 4-way scoring."
Peter French skied the first leg for Whitman, and Neil McMahon finished up.
Cornell won the men's relay Friday in just over one hour, 28 minutes, and also placed first in the final nordic combined scoring. The University of Minnesota-Duluth was second in the relay event in 1:33.30, with Whitman close behind in 1:34.43. Air Force, which finished second in the nordic combined, placed fourth in the relay in 1:35.22.
In the women's cross country 5-kilometer relay Friday, Whitman needed to finish ahead of rival Cornell University to retain its hold on second place in the final nordic combined scoring. The Missionary women did just that, placing second in just over one hour, 21 minutes, nearly 90 seconds ahead of third-place Cornell. The Air Force Academy won the relay and captured the nordic combined title.
After Koren Bell skied the first leg for Whitman, Kirsten Pattinson passed a Cornell skier on the second leg to move the Missionaries into second. Julie Stafford kept Whitman in front of Cornell on the final leg.
In the women's slalom Friday, Whitman's Erin Gilbertsonplaced 2lst in 1:20.27. Megan Moore was 24th in 1:21.74, and Erin Kelly was 35th in 1:27.39. Anne Fletcher was 40th in 1:28.79, and Kristy Parcher fell on her second run.
"The women's alpine team is very young, all sophomores and freshmen," Olson noted. "They might be young, but they're stand-up skiers and very solid, talented athletes."
Sierra Nevada College was an easy winner in the women's slalom and alpine combined scoring. Rocky Mountain College was in second in the women's slalom Friday, followed in order by Boston College, Seattle University, St. Olaf's and Whitman.
With two events in the books, the Whitman men lead the 4-way race with 24 points. Air Force is next with 43 points, followed by Clarkson College with 69 points. Based on Wednesday's events, the Whitman women also lead their 4-way competition with 14 points. The University of California-Davis is in second with 37 points, and Army (West Point) is third with 46 points.
In the men's giant slalom Thursday, Whitman slipped to sixth place with a combined time of 378.17 seconds for its top three racers. "If Andy was healthy and able to ski, we could have finished anywhere from second to fourth," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "But Andy could barely walk (Thursday), let alone ski."
Both Craven and Benedetti earned All-American honorable mention recognition by placing in the top 15 (there were 115 skiers in the event). Craven placed 13th in 1:23.83. Benedetti was 14th in 1:23.87. "Mike and Gery had outstanding races," Olson said. "Everyone on the team is skiing very well, very solid. We're making major improvements with each day of training. It's too bad our weather didn't give us a chance to do more training earlier in the season."
Freshman Scott Siler hooked a gate late in his first run and did not finish. Another freshman, Curtis Haynie, placed 43rd in 1:30.47, and Chris Bromley was 50th in 1:31.72.
With a lineup bolstered by European World Cup skiers, Sierra Nevada College won the men's giant slalom. Brigham Young University was second.
The men's and women's cross country freestyle events also were held Thursday, March 7, a day earlier than scheduled because of weather conditions. Freshman Koren Bell placed 10th in the women's 7.5-kilometer freestyle in 34:35.94. Julie Stafford was right behind in 11th place in 34:36.52, while Kirsten Pattinson had one of her best races of the season, placing 13th in 36:59.69. Bell earned first-team All-American honors, while Stafford and Pattinson received honorable mention recognition. The Whitman women placed second as a team behind Air Force -- a team they also trail in cross country combined scoring with one event left.
In Thursday's 10-kilometer men's freestyle, Neil McMahon continued to bounce back from a recent illness by placing 10th in 37:16.36. "Neil hasn't been feeling well, but I've watched him in practice and he has excellent technique," Whitman cross country coach Chris Hinderman said. "He looked very good today."
Also finishing for Whitman were Zach Vestal, 12th, 37:49.56; Peter French, 22nd, 39:28.39; and Nicholas Hinz, 27th, 40:49.28. McMahon made the All-American first team. Vestal was honorable mention.
Cornell University topped a strong field in the men's freestyle, and Whitman men placed fourth. Whitman is third in the combined cross country scoring.
Andy Olsson fell on a training run and suffered badly sprained knee ligaments. Olsson may not recover in time for Saturday's slalom. Olsson won four conference events earlier this season, and he placed second in the slalom two weeks ago in the western region championships.
Freshman Koren Bell registered Whitman's best individual performance Wednesday, placing third in the women's 7.5-kilometer classic race. She finished less than five seconds out of second place and 13 seconds out of first. Her time was 50 minutes, 44.12 seconds. "Koren was in the race the whole way," Whitman cross country coach Chris Hinderman said. "She skied tough, which is great to see from a freshman."
Bell's two teammates also earned first-team All-American honors by finishing in the top ten in the classic event. Julie Stafford was seventh in 50:01.68, and Kirsten Pattinson was 10th in 59:01.02. Air Force placed first in the team scoring with 12 points. Cornell University was second with 16 points and Whitman third with 19.
In the men's 15-kilomter classic on Wednesday, Whitman freshman Peter French also earned first-team All-American honors by placing ninth in 1.06:41.3. Two teammates garnered honorable mention recognition. Nick Hinz was 11th in 1.09:04.72, and Zach Vestal placed 14th in 1.10:42.06. Slowed by recent illness, Neil McMahon placed 16th in 1.11:20.48.
"Peter French wanted to finish higher, but this was a very strong field," Hinderman noted. "Both Cornell and MIT have very good teams." Hinz turned in one of his best races of the season, Hinderman noted. "Zach won this event at nationals last year, but the freestyle really is his strongest event."
Cornell won the men's classic with 11 points. Air Force was second with 23 points, followed by Whitman with 34 points.
In the women's giant slalom Wednesday, Whitman freshman Megan Moore placed 17th in a time of 1:32.09 for her two runs. Nearly 100 skiers competed. Next in line for Whitman were Anne Fletcher, 31st, 1:37.60; Kristy Parcher, 36th, 1:40.71; Erin Gilbertson, 40th, 1:42.17; and Jennifer Gustafson, 45th, 1:43.55.
"Our goal was to make the top five, but we made some minor mistakes that prevented us from placing higher than we did," Olson said. "We're at nationals and were just a little rusty because we've had so little training time for the past two months due to the poor weather and flooding."
With five European World Cup skiers sweeping the top five places, Sierra Nevada College won the women's giant slalom by a wide margin. Rocky Mountain College was second, followed in order by Seattle University, Plymouth State, Smith College and Boston College. With a team score of 410.40 seconds, Whitman finished less than two seconds out of fifth place.