Olsson won Saturday's giant slalom in a combined time of 89.52 seconds for his two runs down the hill. His nearest competitor finished more than a second behind.
In Sunday's race, Olsson placed third in 87.45 seconds, a second and half behind the winner. Whitman freshman Ben Volk finished fifth in 90.42 seconds.
Whitman freshman Holly Shelton placed 10th overall in the women's
modified super G event at the U.S. Olympic Team Alpine Trials at Whiteface
Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Saturday, Jan. 3.The length of the super G course was cut by more than half because of high winds and fog that canceled the women's downhill event the day before. Sponsors called the event a "Dash for Cash," since the winner received $10,000 in prize money.
Picabo Street, who recently returned to World Cup skiing after a knee injury a year ago, won the event in 40.96 seconds. Street captured the silver medal in downhill in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.
While Whitman's Shelton placed 10th in Saturday's race, she finished less than a second behind Tatum Skoglund, who was the runner-up behind Street in a time of 42.07 seconds. Shelton was timed in 43.02.
Shelton had also qualified to compete in Friday's ill-fated downhill event.
"Because the events basically wiped out both events, it was obviously a very disappointing time for Holly," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. The U.S. Ski Team had promised an automatic berth on its Olympic roster to the skiers who won the last weekend's downhill and super G events.
Skiers returned to giant slalom action on Monday, Jan. 12, but neither of Whitman's entries fared extremely well. Shelton fell on her first run in the women's event, while Olsson tied for 29th in a field of 130 racers. Italy's Marika Favea, who also skies for Sierra Nevada College, won the women's race, while Pavlovcic posted his second straight victory on the men's side.
Olsson and Shelton enjoyed their best outings on Tuesday, Jan. 13, when the final giant slalom races were held.
In her race Tuesday, Shelton finished 25th in a field of 94 skiers. Her time for the two runs was 2:01.58. Italy's Marcella Biondi, who also skies for Sierra Nevada College, won the event in 1:55.72.
In the men's giant slalom Tuesday, Olsson tied for 27th among nearly 100 skiers. His time was 2:16.93. Sweden Markus Leunig won the race in 2:10.69.
Check back later for more results. The Technical Series continues through Friday, Jan. 16.
Rarity completed his two slalom runs in 95.55 seconds, about 1.5 seconds behind the winner, Jamin Patten. Whitman senior Mike Craven, in third place following his first, slipped on his second run to a 12th place finish overall in a time of 98.36 seconds. Doug Ludlow, another freshman, placed 14th in 99.34 seconds.
Whitman's Brett Macfarlane, Mike Barnett and Ben Volk also competed but failed to complete either their first or second runs.
Aylward finished her two runs in 141.16 seconds, more than three seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Others placing for Whitman were Jessica Burke, 7th, 148.40; Heidi Reifenstein, 10th, 150.17; and Emily K. Nelson, 12th, 150.66. Nearly 80 skiers competed.
Jamin Patten won the men's giant slalom by little more than a second in 133.94 seconds. Just under one second separated the next five finishers, including Craven, who was fifth in 135.60 seconds, and Ludlow, who was sixth in 136.05.
Whitman's Ben Volk and Mike Barnett finished in a tie for 21st. Both skiers were clocked in 143.82.
Matt Rarity failed to finish his first run, while Brett Macfarlane missed a gate on his second run and was disqualified. Nearly 130 skiers competed in the event.
The Whitman men's and women's alpine teams opened defense of their
Northwest Conference ski titles in grand style, scoring solid
victories in a giant slalom event held at Brundage Mountain near McCall,
Idaho.Whitman skiers finished one-two in both the men's and women's races. Freshman Shauna Aylward won the women's event in 115.13 seconds for her two runs down the hill. Sophomore Heidi Reifenstein, who has been slowed in recent weeks by illness and a lack of training, finished second in 117.09.
On the men's side, sophomore Charlie Woodruff edged senior Andy Olsson by a tenth of a second. Woodruff was timed in 109.11, just ahead of Olsson's 109.21.
In the women's team scoring, Whitman enjoyed an eight second cushion over second place Albertson College. Times for the top three Missionaries totaled 351.37 seconds. Albertson was next at 359.74, followed by Seattle University with 366.82, University of Oregon with 394.45, and University of Washington with 397.07.
The Whitman men beat their Albertson counterparts by nearly six seconds. The Missionaries were clocked at 331.25 seconds. Albertson's total was 337.06. The University of British Columbia was next at 345.77, followed by the University of Washington at 362.84 and Eastern Oregon University at 367.64.
The women's even drew 14 schools. There were 15 schools represented on the men's side.
Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson wasn't surprised to see two of his younger skiers -- Aylward and Woodruff -- win the opening events, but he also expects last year's team leaders -- Reifenstein and Olsson -- to hold their own in the weeks ahead.
"Shauna is a very good for a freshman, and she won an event the previous week at Mission Ridge," Olson noted. "But Heidi has had so little training. Once she gets it going, I expect the two of them to battle it out the rest of the way.
Olson forsees the same ongoing competition between Woodruff and Olsson. "Andy won five of the six conference events he entered last season, but he and Charlie was chasing each other the whole way. Charlie loves the sport, and he skied great today. It should be close again."
A second Whitman freshman, Emily K. Nelson, placed fifth in the women's race Friday. Her time was 119.19. Dina Pedro was 11th in 123.09 and Ingrid Backstrom was 14th in 123.55. Jessica Burke was in the fourth place after the first run, but a fall on the second run dropped her back to 21st place overall with a time of 127.89.
Brett Macfarlane placed seventh in the men's race in 112.93. Doug Ludlow, a freshman, finished 11th in 114.71 after placing sixth on his second run. Matt Rarity, also a freshman, placed 13th in 115.00.
Mike Craven, a senior, had trouble on his first run but rebounded to place seventh with his second run and finish 14th overall in 115.63.
"It was a good first day for us," Olson said. "It was great to start strong when we really haven't had much training time. We're as strong as last year, maybe stronger, and we're going to get better with more time on the snow."
The team scores were closer than the day before, but Whitman's alpine ski
teams nonetheless notched their second straight victories in the giant
slalom Saturday in Northwest Conference Collegiate Ski Conference events
at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.The Whitman women outskied their Albertson College counterparts by nearly four seconds. The Missionaries won with a total time of 368.87 seconds for their top three skiers. Albertson was second with a combined time of 372.82 seconds, followed by the University of British Columbia (UBC) with 385.05 seconds, Seattle University with 391.01 and the University of Oregon with 397.28.
The Whitman men edged second place UBC by 2.4 seconds in the team scoring. The Missionaries won with a total time of 344.49 seconds. UBC was next with 346.89, followed by Albertson with 350.64, University of Washington with 361.47 and Seattle University with 369.20.
Whitman's Andy Olsson, who finished second to teammate Charlie Woodruff in Friday's giant slalom, won the event Saturday in a time of 113.12 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Woodruff was third in 114.97.
"Like he did for most of last season, Andy just continues to win," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Andy Charlie continues to give him a good run for the money."
Mike Craven placed sixth for Whitman in 116.40. Others placing for the Missionaries were Brett Macfarlane. 9th, 117.16; Matt Rarity, 12th, 118.52; Doug Ludlow, 16th, 119.92; Scott Steinbrecher, 23rd, 123.29; Josh Rice, 24th, 123.98; and Mike Barnett, 25th, 124.81.
"For freshman, Matt and Doug are skiing very well, especially when you consider they always start at the back of the pack," Olson said.
In the women's race, Albertson's Debbie Russell was victorious in 121.36
seconds. Whitman's Shauna Aylward, who won Friday's giant slalom, finished
second Saturday in 122.04. "Shauna didn't ski as well as she did the day
before, but it's hard to complain," Olson said.
Also placing for the Missionaries were Emily K. Nelson, 3rd, 123.524 (she won the second run); Heidi Reifenstein, 4th, 123.59; Jessica Burke, 6th, 126.81; Ingrid Backstrom, 11th, 128.26; and Dina Pedro, 24th, 133.95.
"Emily Nelson is more of a slalom specialist, but she skied really well in this giant slalom," Olson said. "It was an excellent race for her."
The Whitman men and women won both slalom events Sunday at Brundage
Mountain to make a clean sweep of the first weekend of Northwest
Collegiate Ski Conference events."To come back 6-0 after the first weekend is pretty sweet," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
Sunday's margin of victory for the Whitman women was ever so slim. however. With sophomore Ingrid Backstrom winning her first event ever, the Missionaries edged Albertson College in the slalom team scoring by one one-hundredth of a second. The times for Whitman's top three finishers totaled 324.71 seconds -- just ahead of Albertson's 324.71 total.
"That's six women, six runs down the hill under varying conditions, and it was that close -- the blink of an eye," Olson said. "The Albertson women are very good. They are going to challenge us every week. It's going to be a fun season."
Backstrom won the slalom event in 106.79, edging Albertson's Emily Thurber and her 106.83 time. "Ingrid skied to her potential, which was great to see," Olson said. "She had never won a race before at any level, let alone a college race. She was excited."
Whitman freshman Emily K. Nelson won the second run and finished third overall with a time of 107.98. Shauna Aylward, a freshman who placed first and second earlier in the weekend in the two giant slalom events, placed eighth in 109.94.
Also placing for the Whitman women were Heidi Reifenstein, 18th, 117.27; Dina Pedro, 20th, 118.77; and Jessica Burke, 39th, 142.40. Burke fell on her first run. Sunday's slalom drew 15 colleges and about 90 skiers.
In the men's slalom, Whitman's Andy Olsson won his second event in two days. His time was 84.63 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. "What can you say about Andy," Olson asked. "The guy is just amazing."
Whitman's Charlie Woodruff, who finished first and third in the weekend's
two giant slalom events, fell on his first run and did not finish.
In the men's team scoring, Whitman won with a combined time of 262.12 seconds for its top three finishers. The University of British Columbia was more than three seconds back with a time of 265.39 seconds.
"Considering how little time we've had to train this winter, I was very pleased with what our athletes were able to accomplish this first weekend," Olson said. "It was good to have three days of racing. It gave us a chance to work together as a team, and it was a real learning experience for the freshmen."
The men's slalom attracted 16 colleges and about 100 skiers.
Olsson won his third event in four tries, placing first in the men's slalom in a time of 78.93 seconds. Seattle University's Ben Ludlow, the older brother of Whitman's Doug Ludlow, was second in 79.91 seconds. Dave McLorie of the University of British Columbia (UBC) was third in 80.17.
Whitman's top three finishers were timed in 244.12 seconds to win the team scoring. UBC was second with 245.99 seconds, followed by Albertson with 256.75 seconds, Seattle with 258.70 and the University of Washington with 259.99.
Mike Craven placed fifth for Whitman in 81.36 seconds, while Charlie Woodruff was 13th in 83.84 seconds. Also placing for the Missionaries were Matt Rarity, 15th, 85.58; Doug Ludlow, 16th, 86.04; and Mike Barnett, 17th, 86.64. Brett Macfarlane was 13th after the first run, but he fell on his second trip down the hill and did not finish.
The Whitman women failed to win their team scoring for the first time in four events. It was ever so close, however, as Seattle University took first with a total team score of 269.66 seconds, a third of a second ahead of Whitman and its 269.99 total. UBC was third with 279.32 seconds, followed by Albertson with 285.29 seconds and the University of Washington with 311.67.
Albertson's Emily Thurber was a clear-cut individual winner with a time of 85.56 seconds for her two slalom runs. Whitman's Ingrid Backstrom, who had edged Thurber in the slalom last week, was second this time in 88.53 seconds.
Shauna Aylward placed fourth for Whitman in 88.95 seconds. Emily K. Nelson, who was in third place after the first run, fell on her second trip down the hill and finished ninth in 92.51 seconds. Also placing for Whitman were Jessice Burke, 10th, 93.32; Erin Gilbertson, 12th, 95.32; Heidi Reifenstein, 19th, 97.74; and Dina Pedro, 20th, 97.99.
Fifteen schools and about 90 skiers competed in both the men's and women's events.
With Andy Olsson losing a ski on his second run, the Whitman men were edged by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the team scoring by less than a half second. Meanwhile, the Whitman women rebounded from their second-place showing on Saturday to win Sunday's slalom race by more than four seconds over their nearest competitor.
"As the coach, I really don't mind that we're no longer in a position to sweep all eight conference events," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It doesn't hurt to place second once in awhile. It keeps your athletes from getting too over-confident. It shows us that if we don't work together and ski clean, we can be beaten."
With five of the eight conference events now complete, the Whitman men's and women's teams both have four victories and a second-finish place to their credit. That gives both squads 120 World Cup points in the team scoring and a comfortable lead over their nearest challengers. Albertson College is second in the women's standings with 92 points. UBC is second in the men's standings with 100 points.
"With victories in the next conference event this Saturday, we could pretty well sew up our fifth straight conference titles," Olson said.
In the women's slalom Sunday, Whitman freshmen Emily Nelson and Shauna Aylward finished second and third, respectively, to lead the Missionaries to a first-place team showing. Whitman won the team scoring with a time of 271.30 seconds for its top three finishers. Albertson was second with a time of 275.56 seconds, followed by Seattle University with 276.80, UBC with 279.22 and the University of Washington with 316.55.
Albertson's Emily Thurber won the race in 87.04 seconds. Nelson was second for Whitman in 88.02 seconds, while teammate Aylward was third in 90.77.
"Emily Nelson was in first place after the first run, but then Emily Thurber just smoked the field on the second run," Olson said. "Even though she didn't win, I was very pleased with the way our Emily skied. She wasn't that pleased with herself, though. She said she hasn't skied this poorly in years. The reason is that snow conditions locally haven't been very good, and we haven't had much quality training time at all."
Also placing Sunday for the Whitman women were Ingrid Backstrom, 9th, 92.51; Jessica Burke, 15th, 97.07; Heidi Reifenstein, 16th, 98.24; Erin Gilbertson, 17th, 99.55; and Dina Pedro, 22nd, 99.87.
In the men's slalom Sunday, Whitman's Andy Olsson had a ski pop loose from its binding at the start of his second run. That was all the University of British Columbia (UBC) needed to squeek past the Missionaries and place first in the team scoring.
Led by Dave McLorie, who won the event in a time of 79.98 seconds, UBC placed first in the team scoring with a total time of 243.51 seconds for its top three placers. Whitman placed second in 243.96 seconds. Albertson was third in 247.36 seconds, followed by Oregon State with 252.93 seconds and the University of Oregon with 257.65.
Olsson and teammate Mike Craven were tied for second place after the first run, and Craven held tight on his next run to finish second overall in a time of 80.05 seconds. With Olsson losing his ski on the second run, Whitman's Charlie Woodruff slipped into third place in a time of 80.17.
Olsson's bindings were checked just before the start of his second run, noted his coach, Tom Olson. "It was just one of those fluke things," he said. "Certain motions can cause a ski to pop loose. He was on one ski before he got to the first gate."
Doug Ludlow, who started for Whitman as alternate in the 97th position, finished 10th in a time of 82.70 seconds. "That's quite an accomplishment, to start that far back in the field and finish that high," Olson said.
Mike Barnett placed 14th in 83.44 seconds and Matt Rarity was 15th in 83.74 seconds. Ben Volk placed 34th in 90.15. Brett Macfarlane, after falling on his first run and placing well back in the field, did not start his second run.
"It was unfortunate that Andy lost a ski, but it was still a pretty good weekend for us," Olson said. "We are improving with each race, and we should continue to get stronger each week. It's just too bad the snow conditions in our local area have been so poor, and that we've had so little quality training time."
The Whitman men's alpine team clinched an unprecedented fifth
consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference championship with a
decisive victory in a slalom event Saturday at Mt. Spokane."Five straight conference titles in the men's division is something that has never been done before," Olson said. "The College of Idaho (now Albertson College) won four straight from 1980 to 1983, which we tied last year. But until now, no one had made it five straight."
The news wasn't nearly as good, however, for the Whitman women in their pursuit of a fifth straight title. Three Missionary women fell or lost a skie on their first runs Saturday, which dropped Whitman all the way to eighth place in the team scoring.
Whitman's misfortune gives Albertson College, which won Saturday's slalom, a chance to contest for the women's season title by winning the final two events on Sunday and Monday. Even then, the Whitman women would have to fare poorly in the final events to give Albertson a shot at the title.
Whitman senior Andy Olsson led the men to victory Saturday, placing first in a time of 84.89 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Olsson has won four of six conference events thus far this season.
Rounding out Whitman's top three were Brett Macfarlane, who placed seventh in 89.86 seconds, and freshman Doug Ludlow, who was 14th in 93.04. Mike Barnett placed 15th in 93.35.
Whitman's Charlie Woodruff amd Matt Rarity fell and did not finish. Senior Mike Craven missed the event to stay on campus for his oral examinations. Craven, who is from the Spokane area, is expected to rejoin the team for the final two events at Mt. Spokane.
Whitman won the team scoring with a total time of 267.79 seconds for its top three finishers. Albertson was a distant second with 272.87 seconds. Oregon State was third with 273.93, University of Puget Sound fourth with 288.50, and Seattle University fifth with 299.19. The men's race drew 15 schools and 99 competitors.
In the women's slalom Saturday, Wa-Hi senior Tera Watts took top honors
in a time of 94.98 seconds. Karin Emond of the University of British
Columbia was second in 95.06, followed by Whitman's Ingrid Backstrom in
third place in 95.41 and Erin Gilbertson in fifth place in 96.01.
Whitman also got strong races from Heidi Reifenstein, who was seventh in 96.57 seconds, and Dina Pedro, who was 12th in 100.30. Three of Whitman's top-seeded skiers -- Emily Nelson, Shauna Aylward and Jessica Burke -- either fell or lost a ski on their first runs and did not finish.
Whitman's team scoring suffered badly because times for Gilbertson and Pedro could not be counted. Both skied as alternates Saturday, not as part of Whitman's top five starters. For team scoring, each school counts its best three individual times from its top five skiers.
Because only two of Whitman's top five finished the race, the Missionaries were forced to compute their third individual time by taking 110 percent of the skier who had the slowest time in the race after falling and hiking back around a gate.
Using that formula, the Whitman women finished eighth in a field of 14 schools with a team time of 375.48 seconds. Albertson won the team scoring with a time of 294.68 seconds. UBC was second with 302.13 seconds, followed by the University of Oregon 321.56, University of Washington 333.56, and the University of Idaho 342.72.
"Had we not listed Erin as an alternate, we could have used her score and won the event with a time of 275.48 seconds," Olson said. "This is one of the problems of having so many talented skiers. Who do you designate as your top five when you have seven?"
Snow conditions Saturday were poor and the course itself was arranged such that its difficulty was too high, Olson said. Of the 80 women who started the event, 26 fell and did not finish one of their two runs. The toll was even higher during the men's race, which saw one-third of 99 skiers not complete the event.
"Those percentages are way too high, and they're attributable to the way the course was set and the snow conditions, which were soft and inconsistent along the course," Olson said. "Normally, we figure five to 10 percent is standard for racers not finishing an event."
That three of Whitman's youngest skiers fell and did not finish was a sign of inexperience more than anything, Olson said. "Everyone knew the conditions were bad and the course was tough," he said. "Sometimes the goal is to just stand up and finish. Or, when you fall, there are times when you can hike back around a gate and still finish for the team. That could have helped our team scoring a great deal on Saturday."
"But as I told our women after the race, I'd rather have them make those kinds of mistakes now, rather that at the regional or national championships," Olson added. "This was a very good learning experience for a team that is very young."
Backstrom, Gilbertson, Reifenstein and Pedro all had great runs under the adverse conditions, Olson noted.
"Ingrid has been very steady for us, and Erin is making a nice comeback after missing last year on foreign study," he said. "Erin won the second run Saturday, and you have to remember she started in the 75th position on the first run. A course is in terrible shape after more than 70 skiers have gone through. It gets rutted and it isn't smooth like it was for the 15 skiers."
"It took the women one day longer to clinch, but it was nice to see them come back and ski much stronger and much smarter than the day before," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
With Whitman's Shauna Aylward winning Sunday's giant slalom and two of her teammates placing in the top five, the Missionaries won the team scoring by more than eight seconds. Whitman was first with a team score of 311.89 seconds, followed by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in second place with 320.19 seconds and Seattle University in third with 325.28. Albertson College was fourth with 331.72 and the University of Washington fifth with 357.25.
Aylward won the race in a time of 1:01.37 for her two trips down the hill.
Alyssa Wilson of UBC was three seconds back in 1:04.50. Whitman's Heidi
Reifenstein was third in 1:04.90 and Emily Nelson fifth in 1:05.62.
Also placing for Whitman were Jessica Burke, 12th, 1:10.08; Ingrid Backstrom, 15th, 1:11.27; and Dina Pedro, 22nd, 1:14.82. Erin Gilbertson, who was in the top ten after her first run, fell on her second run and did not finish.
The start of the women's first run was delayed by an hour while race crews salted the course because of soft snow conditions. "The snow had deterioated from the day before," Olson said. "It was really, really lousy, and by the time more than 80 women had made their first run, the course was in terrible condition. There were ruts and holes, so it was a real rodeo for the men on their first run."
The Whitman men held a comfortable lead in the team scoring after that
first run, but race organizers were unable to complete a second run for
the men later in the day because of darkness and fog. "A snow storm blew
in, and it was snowing at the top of the course and raining at the
bottom," Olson said. "It was a real mess. We got the top 30 men through
the second run so we could report the results to the U.S. Ski Association,
but the event will not count in the college standings."
Of the men who finished the second run, Whitman's Charlie Woodruff was first in 95.57 seconds. Teammate Andy Olson was second in a time of 96.65 seconds. Mike Craven was fourth in 97.82 seconds, and Brett Macfarlane was ninth in 99.56. Also placing for Whitman were Doug Ludlow, 11th, 99.73; Mike Barnett, 22nd, 106.41; and Matt Rarity, 28th, 113.96.
The Missionary men, who clinched their fifth straight conference title with a slalom victory last Saturday, added another dominating victory in Monday's giant slalom.
Skiing later in the day on deteriorating snow conditions, the Whitman women slipped to a fourth-place finish in their giant slalom event after losing two of their top skiers to a fall and missed gate. The result was mostly academic, however, since the Missionary women had clinched their fifth straight conference championship with a victory in Sunday's giant slalom.
"We let the men ski first Monday because they didn't get a chance to finish their event Sunday due to the poor weather and snow conditions," Whitman coach Tom Olson said.
"Those conditions were not any better Monday. For the women, in fact, the conditions were ridiculous, almost bordering on the unsafe because of the poor visibility and poor snow conditions. There were ruts and holes, and the course was cold in some places, warm in others. The snow was very unpredictable and very difficult to ski."
Mike Craven, a Whitman senior from Spokane, Wash., wrote a nice finish to his conference ski career, winning Monday's giant slalom on his "home hill" in a time of 97.32 seconds. Teammate Andy Olsson was second in 97.40 seconds for his two runs, and Brett Macfarlane finished fifth in 98.94 seconds. The only Whitman skier to finish was Mike Barnett, who was 20th in 1:05.95.
Freshman Doug Ludlow fell on his first run and broke his collar bone in
two places. "Depending on how quickly he heals, we might lose Doug for the
rest of the season," Olson said. Matt Rarity, another freshman, had a
strong first run but then fell on his second trip. Charlie Woodruff fell
on his first run.
"It was a very demanding day for everyone," Olson said. "The visibility was anywhere from 10 feet to 10 yards. We would get some clearing at times, but then the fog would roll right back within a few minutes."
The Whitman men won the team scoring with a time of 293.66 seconds. The University of British Columbia (UBC) was second with 296.00 seconds, followed by the University of Washington in third with 310.60 seconds. Next in line were Albertson, 312.76, and Oregon State, 321.84.
Jennifer Moss of Seattle University won the women's giant slalom Monday in a time of 1:08.39. Whitman's Heidi Reifenstein was third in 1:11.64. Ingrid Backstrom was eighth in 1:14.67, while Erin Gilbertson placed 15th in 1:19.29.
Whitman's Dina Pedro placed 18th in 1:20.95. After falling and hiking on her first run, Jessica Burke had a strong second run to finish 27th in 1:31.03.
Shauna Aylward and Emily Nelson, Whitman's top-flight freshmen, failed to finish their first runs.
Seattle won the team scoring with a time of 341.22 seconds. UBC was second, Albertson third and Whitman fourth with a time of 357.34 seconds. The University of Washington placed fifth.
In the final conference standings, the Whitman men claimed their title with 150 World Cup points, winning seven of the eight events. UBC was second with 120 points and Albertson third with 97 points. Rounding out the top eight, all of whom advance to the regional championships, were (in order) Seattle University, University of Washington, Oregon State, Eastern Oregon University and the University of Oregon.
In the women's final standings, Whitman took first with 145 points, winning five of eight events. Albertson was second with 120 points, UBC third with 102 and Seattle fifth with 95. Filling out the top eight teams (all headed to regionals) were the University of Washington, University of Oregon, University of Puget Sound and Western Washington University.
About 30 competitors skied in the men's races, including competitors from Albertson College, Washington State University and University of Idaho, as well as a number of junior racers. Whitman's Andy Olsson won both Saturday's giant slalom (95.83) and Sunday's slalom (84.08). Teammates Charlie Woodruff in the giant slalom (96.32) and Mike Craven (84.65) in the slalom placed second.
Whitman's Brett Macfarlane placed fourth in each race. Matt Rarity was fifth in the giant slalom and seventh in the slalom. Craven added a sixth-place showing in the giant slalom, while Mike Barnett was ninth in the slalom and 11th in the giant slalom.
Others placing for Whitman in the giant slalom were Ben Volk, 13th; Josh Rice, 14th; Sam Harriman, 20th; and Joe Bristol, 21st.
Rice also placed 16th in the slalom. Bristol, Harriman and Scott Steinbrecher filled the next three spots.
Shauna Aylward and Heidi Reifenstein were Whitman's top finishers in the women's events. Aylward was an easy winner in the slalom in 91.75 seconds. Reifenstein was second in 95.10 seconds, followed by teammates Emily Nelson in third and Dina Pedro in fourth. Jessica Burke finished 10th.
Reifenstein placed second in the giant slalom in a time of 100.12 seconds. Aylward was third in 100.36 seconds. Placing fifth through eighth, in order, were Burke, Ingrid Backstrom, Nelson and Erin Gilbertson.
Yet Olson knows that had it had not been for some bad food, the Missionary women might well have won the event.
Whitman freshman Shauna Aylward won the first run of the giant slalom, and
the Missionaries trailed the University of British Columbia by just a
third of a second in the team scoring.
"Unfortunately for us, Shauna ate some bad food at lunch," Olson said. "I don't know if it was food poisoning or what, but it made her sick to her stomach, both on the ski lift and in the starting area. You know she must have been feeling pretty weak."
Although Aylward went ahead with her second run, she fell and had to hike back around two missed gates. Her combined time for the two runs ballooned to 162.49 seconds, dropping her all the way to 59th place in the final standings.
With Aylward falling from the ranks of the front-runners, the University of British Columbia (UBC) was a comfortable winner in the team scoring. UBC's total time for its top three finishers was 362.30 seconds. Whitman was three seconds back in second place with a team time of 365.40 seconds.
"Had Shauna not fallen, had she skied a normal time instead, we would have beaten UBC by three seconds, not lost to them by that amount of time," Olson said.
Montana State University finished in third place with a time of 369.02 seconds. Seattle University was next at 374.25 followed by Albertson College in fifth place at 380.59. A total of 16 teams and 85 skiers competed.
The women's slalom is slated for Saturday. The top five women's teams, based on combined giant slalom and slalom results, will advance to the national championships. "There are teams really battling for those third, fourth and fifth spots," Olson said.
Jennifer Moss of Seattle University was the top individual finisher Thursday with a time of 118.25 seconds for her two giant slalom runs. Karen Edmond of UBC was second in 120.02 seconds.
Whitman freshman Emily Nelson, who won the second run by two seconds,
finished third overall with a total time of 120.23 seconds. Teammate Heidi
Reifenstein, a sophomore who won the region giant slalom race last
season, finished fifth this year in 120.49 seconds.
Also placing for Whitman were two sophomores, Jessica Burke, who placed 12th in 124.68 seconds and Ingrid Backstrom, who finished 18th in 128.69 seconds.
"It was a good race," Olson said. "It was a long course and a difficult course. There has been a lot of new snow, and the light conditions are very, very flat on the course. A lot of the athletes we're getting lost on the top part of the course."
"Our women skied pretty well considering the course conditions," Olson added. "UBC skied very strong today and I'm happy for them, but our women hung in there and skied well, too."
Olsson, a senior, won the event in a time of 117.94 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Teammates Charlie Woodruff and Mike Craven placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in times of 120.29 and 120.65 seconds.
"Andy was just awesome, especially on his second run," Whitman alpine
coach Tom Olson said. "He's just a great skier, very smooth and very
strong."
"Charlie skied very fast but he apparently had a few moments where he almost fell," Olson added. "Mike was ninth after his first run, but then he moved up with a strong second run."
Whitman won the giant slalom team title with a combined time of 358.88 seconds for its top three finishers. Colorado Mountain College was second with 360.23 seconds. Rounding out the top five were Albertson College 368.13, Rocky Mountain College 371.76, and Ft. Lewis College (Durango, Colo.) 373.15.
Placing fifth through eighth were the University of British Columbia 378.05, Seattle University 379.46, and Montana State 381.12. A total of 16 schools and 85 skiers competed.
Placing second behind Olsson in the individual standings was Ryan Barclay of Colorado Mountain College. His time was 118.79 seconds.
Also placing for Whitman were Brett Mcfarlane, 15th, 122.90 seconds, and Matt Rarity, 28th, 131.57 seconds.
"This was a fairly tight race," Olson said. "This is a pretty deep field with a lot of talent.
Snowfall continued at times throughout the day Friday, Olson said. "Conditions were improved from the day before. At least it wasn't snowing hard all day. We're competing on the same hill that will host the Winter Olympics in 2002, and the crews do a good job of keeping it groomed."
The western region championships are being held at the Park City Ski Area about 40 miles east of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Mountain Range. The championships conclude Saturday with the men's and women's slalom events. A year ago, the Whitman men captured the regional title while the Missionary women placed second.
After winning the giant slalom Friday, the Whitman men added a decisive victory in Saturday's slalom to nail down their third regional crown in four years.
The Whitman women also claimed a regional championship Saturday by placing a close second in their slalom event. Combined with their second-place showing in Thursday's giant slalom, the Missionary women finished with the best overall score among the 16 women's teams at regionals. It marked the second in four years that the Whitman women have placed first at regionals.
Olsson won the men's slalom by more than three seconds. His time for his two runs down the hill was 86.53 seconds. Peter Dickson of Rocky Mountain College was second in 89.78 seconds.
Whitman's Mike Craven placed fifth in 90.64 seconds, while teammate Charlie Woodruff was 12th in 93.48. Brett Macfarlane was 16th in 94.74. Matt Rarity fell on his second run and did not finish.
The Missionary men were easy winners in he slalom team scoring with a time of 270.65 seconds for their top three finishers. The University of British Columbia was second in 276.73 seconds. "The men's team beat its nearest competitor by more than six seconds, which is quite a margin," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
Rounding out the top five teams in the men's slalom scoring were Albertson College 278.32, Rocky Mountain College 280.03, and Colorado Mountain College 281.22
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Whitman women missed winning their slalom event by less than four-tenths of a second. Colorado Mountain College (CMC) edged the Missionaries with a time of 293.86 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman was second in 294.24 seconds. Seattle University placed third in 298.99 seconds, followed by the University of British Columbia with 299.04 and Albertson College with 302.84.
CMC's Michelle Madderom won the women's slalom in 92.64 seconds.
Whitman's Ingrid Backstrom was third in 95.32 seconds, while teammate
Shauna Aylward won the second run and placed fourth overall in 95.63.
Erin Gilbertson placed 15th for Whitman in 103.29 seconds. Jessica Burke, who was ninth after the first run, fell on her second run. Heidi Reifenstein fell on her first trip down the hill.
Whitman freshman Emily Nelson, who had placed third two days earlier in the giant slalom, suffered a leg injury in a training run Friday and was unable to ski in Saturday's slalom. "We're just hoping that Emily can get healthy in time for nationals," Olson said.
The regional championships, which drew the top 16 teams from three western conferences, offered five berths to nationals in both the men's and women's divisions.
By winning both the giant slalom and slalom events, the Whitman men advanced to nationals as the top seed with two points. The Albertson men placed third in both events and took the No. 2 seed with six points. Other teams advancing on the men's side were Colorado Mountain College with seven points and Rocky Mountain College and the University of British Columbia with eight points each.
The Whitman women won their regional title by placing second in both events for a combined score of four points. British Columbia was second overall with four points, while the women from Colorado Mountain College and Seattle advanced to nationals with seven points each. Montana State finished with nine points to grab the final berth, edging Albertson -- last year's regional champion -- by a single point.