Tuning up for the start of their Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference season, Whitman alpine skiers posted a number of strong showings in Northwest Cup slalom and giant slalom events held Jan. 16-18 on Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.
Junior Charlie Woodruff and newcomer Eva Cardova, a freshman from Slovakia, had the best runs for Whitman. Woodruff won the men's giant slalom by two seconds and finished second in the slalom by just over a second. Cardova, who attended Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, before coming to Whitman, was second in the women's giant slalom and fourth in the slalom.
"Charlie is off to a good start, which we expected," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "Eva is a great addition to our team. She has skied for the Slovakian national team, and it wouldn't surprise me to see her ski for her country in the Olympics at some point."
Woodruff won the giant slalom in a time of 175.80 seconds for his two runs. Josh Carpenter of Albertson College was second in 177.76 seconds. Also placing for Whitman were freshman Matt Johanson, 4th, 179.27; Matt Rarity, 11th, 182.88; Doug Ludlow, 14th, 183.16; Scott Steinbrecher, 15th, 183.21; Tyler Staggs, 22nd, 184.67; Ben Volk, 25th, 185.86; Jan Hegewald, 53rd, 193.34; Erich Wolf, 58th, 194.26; and Brett Macfarlane, who fell on his first run and finished 75th in 202.82. A total of 92 skiers finished both runs.
Woodruff was second in the men's slalom in a time of 94.15 seconds for his two runs. Eric Holmer of the Mt. Bachelor Ski Club won the race in 93.01. Mcfarlane placed third in 95.29. Also placing for Whitman were Ludlow, 7th, 98.08; Steinbrecher, 13th, 100.74; Hegewald, 15th, 102.83; Wolf, 23rd, 105.20; and Staggs, 29th, 107.90.
Whitman's Rarity and Volk did not finish their first slalom runs. A total of 84 skiers completed both runs.
Ashley Thornton of the Mt. Bachelor Ski Club won the women's giant slalom in a time of 132.87 seconds, edging Whitman's Cardova by two-tenths of a second. Others placing for Whitman were Heidi Shelton, 9th, 134.66; Dana Wong, 10th, 135.67; Ingrid Backstrom, 14th, 137.40; Melissa Hult, 15th, 137.92; Katherine Darling, 17th, 139.25; and Heidi Reifenstein, 22nd, 143.13.
Shana Sweitzer, a transfer student from Rocky Mountain College who is expected to be one of Whitman's top skiers, fell on her first giant slalom run and did not finish. A second Missionary, Katie Wilson, also failed to finish after falling on her second run. A total of 51 women placed in the race.
"Shana is another great addition to the women's team," Olson said. "She made the U.S. Ski Team when she was 16, and at one time she was in the top 50 in the world in the downhill. She's had some injury problems, and she hasn't skied in two years, but she is a very good athlete."
In the women's slalom, Cardova and Backstrom placed fourth and fifth. Their times, in order, were 99.36 and 99.95 seconds. Kristina Revello of the McCall Ski Racing Team won the race in 95.91 seconds. Hult, a junior transfer student from New York's St. Lawrence University, finished in 109.01 seconds to give Whitman a 13th-place showing.
Wong and Sweitzer did not finish their first slalom runs, while Reifenstein and Wilson fell by the wayside on their second runs. A total of 43 women placed in the slalom.
While the Whitman women crushed their opposition as the Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference season opened Saturday with giant slalom races at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho, the Missionary men finished a very close second to Albertson College.
"The women just cleaned house," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We've never been this strong, or this deep, on the women's side. Hopefully, we can continue to get better as the season goes along."
Led by newcomer Shana Sweitzer, a former member of the U.S. Ski Team, Whitman women claimed the top four individual places and drubbed second-place Albertson by nearly 21 seconds in the team scoring.
Competing in her first year of collegiate skiing, Sweitzer won the women's giant slalom with a time of 124.60 seconds for her two runs down the hill. Sweeping the next three spots for the Missionaries were, in order, Heidi Shelton (125.00), Dana Wong (126.70) and Eva Cordova (126.50). Cordova, a former member of the Slovakia National Team, easily won the first run but then struggled on her second run.
Also placing for Whitman were Ingrid Backstrom, who was seventh in 129.71, and Melissa Hult, who was 11th in 132.72. Katherine Darling, who was in 16th place after her first run, fell on her second run and did not finish. Heidi Reifenstein, a veteran member of the Whitman ski team, had two good runs but was not officially entered in the competition.
Whitman won the team scoring with a combined time of 375.67 seconds for its top three finishers. Albertson was second with a time of 396.56 seconds. Next in line were the University of British Columbia 396.66, Seattle University 399.68, and the University of Washington 408.43. A total of 14 schools and 77 women competed.
On the men's side, Whitman's Charlie Woodruff won both runs and claimed the giant slalom victory with a time of 118.45 seconds. Woodruff also won the giant slalom the previous week in Northwest Cup competition at Brundage Mountain.
Placing second to Woodruff Saturday was Albertson's Matt Carter, who finished in 119.36. Brett Macfarlane placed sixth for Whitman in 121.38 seconds. Doug Ludlow, Whitman's No. 5 seed, placed ninth in 123.16 seconds. Also placing for Whitman were Scott Steinbrecher, 15th, 124.08; Tyler Staggs, 19th, 126.44; and Jan Hegewald, 22nd, 126.98.
Whitman's third and fourth seeds, Matt Johanson and Matt Rarity, fell on one of their two runs and did not finish.
The Albertson men won the team scoring in a time of 362.59 seconds, edging Whitman by four-tenths of a second. Also placing in the top five were the University of Washington 366.32, Seattle 373.87, and the University of Oregon 378.32.
"Our men's team will have a tougher time repeating as conference champions," Olson said. "We need to ski well each week. We'll need to be consistent and not sporadic. I also told our women to expect stronger competition as the season continues. Other schools, especially the University of British Columbia, have better talent than what they showed in the first event."
The Whitman men's and women's alpine teams have won conference titles in each of the past five years.
Stiff winds blew and snow fell for much of the day Saturday. The course was marked by about two feet of new snow.
While the Whitman women rolled over their opposition for a second straight day, the Whitman men rebounded to edge Albertson College in giant slalom action Sunday afternoon as the first weekend of Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference action ended under sunny skies at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.
The Missionary men needed a tie-breaking formula to claim their victory. Whitman and Albertson were deadlocked in the team scoring, with both sides having a combined time of 343.29 seconds for their top three finishers. Whitman took first because its top three skiers placed fourth, sixth and 12th, for a total of 22 place points. Albertson's top trio finished third, fifth and 19th, for a total of 27 place points.
"It was a very exciting race," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "That's amazing to have two teams send six guys down the hill and have their top three finish with the same combined time.
Whitman's Charlie Woodruff, who won the first run easily, slipped to fourth place overall after absorbing a three-second penalty at the start of his second run. The penalty, which was triggered when one of his ski poles hit the starting wand, pushed his overall time to 112.46 seconds.
Trevor Glaser of Eastern Oregon University won the men's giant slalom in 111.18 seconds. Rob Stewart of the University of Washington was second in 111.69, while Matt Carter of Albertson was third in 111.98.
"Without the three-second penalty, Charlie would have won the race by nearly two seconds," Olson said. "It was just one of those things."
Rounding out Whitman's top three were Brett Macfarlane, whose time was 114.57, and Doug Ludlow, who finished in 116.26. Scott Steinbrecher was close behind for the Missionaries, placing 14th in 116.96. Tyler Staggs fell and hiked on his first run, finishing 42nd in a field of nearly 90 men.
Whitman's Jan Hegewald, in 12th place after his first run, fell on his second run and did not finish. Matt Rarity fell on his first run, while Matt Johanson did the same on his second run.
Meanwhile, the Whitman women were only slightly less impressive than the day before, winning by nearly 15 seconds. Shana Sweitzer won both runs and claimed first place in the individual standings for a second straight day. Her total time was 110.36.
"Shana skied great again," Olson said. "She's still experimenting a little bit with the giant slalom, after being a downhill skier for the U.S. Ski Team. She made some mistakes and is going to get better.
As they did the day before, the Whitman women swept the top four individual places. Eva Cordova was second (112.68), Heidi Shelton third (113.24) and Dana Wong fourth (114.72). Also placing for the Missionaries were Melissa Hult, 15th, 122.32; Ingrid Backstrom, 19th, 123.46; and Katherine Darling, 45th, 141.05. Darling, who fell and hiked on her first run, recovered to post the 15th-best time on the second run.
The Whitman women won the team scoring with a total of 336.28 seconds for their top three finishers. Other schools placing in the top five were Albertson (350.78), University of British Columbia (360.72), Seattle University (366.26) and University of Washington (387.06).
"I don't want our women to get too overconfident," Olson said. "I think some of the other schools will score better as the season progresses. I want our women to be challenged as much as possible before we go to regionals and nationals."
The Whitman women continued to steamroll their Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference opposition by winning a slalom event Saturday at Mt. Hood Meadows near Bend, Oregon. The news wasn't as good for the Whitman men, however, who slipped to a seventh place finish in their slalom event.
"The women again won very handily," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "All seven of our women finished both runs. Our women's team in general is more experienced, and a little more relaxed, than our men's team, and that helps a lot."
Whitman's Shana Sweitzer, a veteran of the U.S. Ski Team who won both giant slalom events the previous weekend, was in first place after Saturday's first slalom run. But she fell on her second run and had to hike back around a gate. That dropped her to an 11th place finish overall with a total time of 137.72 seconds for her two runs.
Whitman's Eva Cordova, a veteran of the Slovokian national team, helped pick up the slack by placing second in 130.02. Monica Meier of the University of British Columbia (UBC) won the event in 129.55, while Emily Thurber of Albertson College took third in 131.67.
Dana Wong and Ingrid Backstrom placed sixth and seventh, respectively, with Whitman in times of 133.19 and 133.82. Also placing for the Missionaries were Katherine Darling, 9th, 136.49; Melissa Hult, 18th, 141.98; and Heidi Reifenstein, 20th, 143.28.
The Whitman women won the team scoring with a combined time of 277.03 seconds for their top three finishers. Albertson was second in 283.94, while UBC was a second back in third place. Seattle University was fourth and the University of Puget Sound fifth.
"It was just another great day for the women," Olson said. "They made a few mistakes, but they know they can continue to improve and get better. We really haven't very much slalom training because of all the snow we've had. We're just making the best of it and learning as we go."
The lack of training has had a bigger impact on the less experienced men's team, Olson added. "They struggled a little bit today. We continue to show our relative youth and inexperience, but we're learning and we're still in the running for the conference title."
Whitman's top skier, Charlie Woodruff, hooked a ski tip on his first run and had to hike back around a gate. Woodruff, who placed first and fourth in the previous week's giant slalom events, finished 33rd overall Saturday in a time of 137.67 seconds.
Brett Macfarlane had Whitman's best two runs, placing sixth in 126.52. Matt Rarity placed 19th in 132.48 while Scott Steinbrecher was a micro-second behind in 10th place in 132.50. Ben Volk finished 26th in 135.17 and Jan Hegewald was 27th in 135.22.
Whitman's Matt Johanson and Doug Ludlow both straddled gates on runs and did not finish.
The Albertson men won the team scoring with a total time of 259.41 seconds. The University of Washington was six seconds back in second place. UBC took third, 10 seconds behind Albertson.
The Whitman men were seventh in a time of 276.69, little more than a half second out of fifth place. "Even with all the trouble we had, we were close to the top five," Olson said.
Despite Saturday's woes, the Whitman men remained in second place in the conference standings, just five points behind first-place Albertson.
While the Whitman women were winning their fourth consecutive Northwest Conference event Sunday, the Missionary men rebounded to place second as weekend ski action concluded abruptly at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows. Heavy snow and winds gusting to 60 miles per hour limited Sunday's slalom competition to just one run rather that two.
Whitman's Shana Sweitzer captured the women's only slalom run with a time of 48.19 seconds to lead the Missionaries to victory. That gives Sweitzer three individual victories in four conference events. Debby Russell and Emily Thurber, both of Albertson College, placed second and third Sunday in times of 50.16 and 50.41 seconds.
Eva Cordova, slowed by a bobble midway through her run, placed fifth for Whitman in a time of 50.77. Others placing for the Missionaries were Dana Wong, 7th, 52.48; Ingrid Backstrom, 9th, 53.00; Katherine Darling, 12th, 55.44; Melissa Hult, 21st, 57.23; and Heidi Reifenstein, 23rd, 57.90.
The Whitman women placed first in the team scoring with a time of 152.14 seconds for t heir top three finishers. Albertson was second with a time of 157.06, followed by the University of British Columbia 161.41, Seattle University 161.44, and the University of Washington 175.28.
"We are halfway through the conference season now, and with our women having won all four events, they obviously have a very commanding lead," Olson said. "Albertson is in second place."
Meanwhile, the Whitman men retained their hold on second place in their standings by placing second in Sunday's single slalom run. The University of Washington took first with a combined time of 142.27 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman was close behind with a team time of 142.42 seconds, while Albertson dropped to third place with a time of 142.81. Seattle University was fourth and the University of Oregon fifth.
Eastern Oregon University's Trevor Glaser won the slalom run in a time of 44.88 seconds. Rob Stewart of the University of Washington was second in 45.29 seconds, while Whitman's Charlie Woodruff was third in 46.10. Brett Macfarlane placed seventh for the Missionaries in 46.48.
Others placing for Whitman were Matt Rarity, 23rd, 49.84; Scott Steinbrecher, 25th, 50.46; Ben Volk, 49th, 54.81; Matt Johanson, 71st, 60.53; and Doug Ludlow, 74th, 63.11.
"The men are still struggling a little bit," Olson said. "It's great to see Charlie and Brett finish in the front of the pack, but what we really need is for a third guy to consistently place in the top 15. Hopefully that will happen as we get more training. We're learning and working hard, and we think we're going to finish strong."
The Whitman alpine women continued to make mincemeat of their opposition, winning their fifth consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference event Saturday, while the Missionary men captured their second straight victory to move into first place in their half of the standings. Both Whitman teams are pursuing their sixth straight conference titles.
Saturday's triumph moved the Whitman women to within one victory of clinching another crown. The men's standings remained very close, however, with Whitman moving just two points ahead of Albertson College and four points ahead of the University of Washington.
The Whitman men were clear-cut victors in Saturday's giant slalom, placing first with a time of 381.07 seconds for their top three finishers. The UW was more than three seconds back in second place with a time of 384.45. Seattle University was fourth (387.57), Albertson fourth (393.62) and the University of British Columbia fifth (394.05). A total of 16 schools competed in the men's event, including nearly 100 individual competitors.
"Our men's team has improved so much," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "We're really starting to get our act back into shape. Our consistency is much, much better than what it was. After placing seventh three events ago, something that was a real eye-opener for us, we've now won two in a row."
Charlie Woodruff was the man for Whitman Saturday, placing first overall with a time of 125.25 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Winning his second conference event of the season, Woodruff finished a second ahead of Albertson's Josh Carpenter (126.20) and two seconds in front of the UW's Rob Stewart (126.28).
Woodruff had plenty of support from his teammates. Five more Missionaries also placed in the top 14, led by Brett Macfarlane, who was sixth in 127.07, and Doug Ludlow, who took eeighth in 128.75. Also placing high for Whitman were Scott Steinbrecher, 10th, 129.61; Jan Hegewald, 13th, 129.97; and Tyler Staggs, 14th, 130.04.
As they in their four previous conference victories, the Whitman women won big Saturday, taking first in their giant slalom event in a time of 396.10 seconds. Despite losing Shana Sweitzer, their top skier, to a straddled gate, the Missionaries finished 15 seconds ahead of the University of British Columbia. Albertson was third, Seattle fourth and the UW fifth.
"The women are just one day away from clinching their conference title," Olson noted. "Hopefully they can win again on Sunday and wrap it up with two events still left."
Sweitzer won Saturday's first run easily before she straddled a gate on her second trip down the hill. That opened the way for Whitman freshman Heidi Shelton to take first with a time of 130.76 seconds. Eva Cordova, another Missionary newcomer, was second in 131.01. Dana Wong, a third Whitman freshman, placed fourth in 134.33.
Also placing for Whitman were Heidi Reifenstein, who was 13th in 136.88, and Ingrid Backstrom, who took 14th in 137.37. A total of 15 schools and 88 racers competed in the women's event.
Saturday's event took place despite a storm that dumped 18 inches of new snow during the day. The storm closed Snoqualmie Pass and left Sunday's scheduled race in jeopardy of being canceled.
Sixes were wild for the Whitman alpine women Sunday as they clinched a sixth consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference title by winning their sixth conference event in as many tries. With Shana Sweitzer and Eva Cordova placing first and second, respectively, in Sunday's giant slalom event at Crystal Mountain, the Missionaries whipped their nearest competitor by more than 11 seconds in the team scoring.
"The women have definitely clinched, and I'm sure this is earliest we've done it," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "This is the deepest, the strongest women's team I've had in 20 years of coaching. We could win now without even going to the last two slalom events next weekend. We'll be going, though, because we need the slalom training. Just like our men's team, our women are still learning, still improving."
Meanwhile on Sunday, the Whitman men continued their late-season run at a sixth straight conference crown by winning their third consecutive event. Led by Charlie Woodruff, the Missionaries won the men's giant slalom by more than four seconds. In a field of nearly 100 skiers, Whitman placed six racers in the top 17.
"To have that many guys place in the top 17 is incredible," Olson said. "That's a lot of depth. As a group, the guys are really getting dialed in. They've worked very hard at team consistency. Now, not only are they are finishing, they're skiing fast."
Woodruff, who won Saturday's giant slalom, rebounded from a poor first run on Sunday to finish second in a time of 125.04 seconds. Woodruff slipped on his first run and was in 22nd place heading into his second run. He won that second run by three seconds, however, and nearly caught the eventual winner, Trevor Glaser of Eastern Oregon University, who finished his two runs in 124.79 seconds.
Doug Ludlow also had a great second run, rising from 11th place after his first run to place third overall in 127.17. Also placing well for the Missionaries were Tyler Staggs, 8th, 128.57; Matt Johanson, 9th, 128.67; Brett Macfarlane, 10th, 128.87; Scott Steinbrecher, 12th, 128.95; Jan Hegewald, 16th, 129.63; Matt Rarity, 17th, 129.90; and Ben Volk, 35th, 132.50.
The Whitman men won their team scoring with a combined time of 382.60 seconds for their top three finishers. Seattle University was second in 387.11 seconds. Next in line were Albertson College, University of Washington and the University of British Columbia.
With only two events left in the conference season, the Missionary men moved 15 World Cup points ahead of second-place Albertson and 20 points ahead of third-place UW in the race for the conference title. "If we win one of the last two races, or even if we place well in both events, we should wrap up the championship," Olson said.
In the women's giant slalom Sunday, Sweitzer won her fourth conference event of the season in a time of 130.92 seconds for her two runs. Cordova was second in 132.49, while Debby Russell of Albertson was third in 133.80.
Also placing near the top for Whitman were Dana Wong, who was fifth in 136.44, and Heidi Shelton, who placed sixth in 137.30. Shelton, who won Saturday's giant slalom, had an unusually slow first run Sunday that had Olson pondering the possibility of a timing equipment malfunction.
Whitman's Ingrid Backstrom placed 19th Sunday in 139.95. Teammate Heidi Reifenstein finished 22nd in 140.66.
The women's team scoring Sunday was not close, with Whitman taking first with a combined time of 399.85 for its top three. Albertson was second with a time of 411.23. UBC was third in 414.34.
Sunday's races were held as approximately one foot of new snow blew across the course. That was in addition to about 18 inches of new snow that fell Saturday. "It seemed like it took us forever to dig the cars out of the parking lot when it was time to come home," Olson said.
The Whitman women completed the first undefeated Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference season in school history and the Missionary men wrapped up their sixth straight conference title as the regular season ended Sunday with slalom races at the Cypress Bowl near Vancouver, BC.
One day after heavy snow, wind and fog canceled Saturday's races, the weather turned sunny for Sunday's final conference event. "In terms of weather, it was probably one of the best race days we had all season," Whitman coach Tom Olson said.
The Missionary women, who clinched their sixth straight conference title last week, made the most of the break in weather, winning their seventh conference event in as many tries. "We've had some very strong teams in the past, but this is the first time we've had a team win every event," Olson said. "The women have been awesome all season."
Meanwhile, the Whitman men finished a close second Sunday in their slalom event to outpoint Albertson College for this year's conference title. The Missionaries finished atop the season standings with 115 World Cup points, five more than Albertson and 20 more than third-place University of Washington. Rounding out the top eight for the men, all of whom advance to next week's regional championships, were Seattle University, University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Oregon, Eastern Oregon University (EOU) and University of Puget Sound (UPS).
"Our men started slow, but they kept getting better and better, week after week," Olson said. "This was a title they really earned.
Albertson won the men's slalom Sunday with a combined time of 279.29 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman was second with a time of 280.69 seconds, while UBC was third in 288.00,UPS took fourth in 305.14, and the UW was fifth in 308.43.
Eastern Oregon's Trevor Glaser won the event in a time of 88.79 seconds. Despite suffering from the flu, Whitman's Brett Macfarlane won the second run and finished fourth overall in a time of 91.16 seconds. Placing 10th and 11th, respectively, for the Missionaries were Matt Rarity in 94.61 and Doug Ludlow in 94.92.
Also finishing for Whitman were Jan Hegewald, 16th, 99.02, and Scott Steinbrecher, 108.49, 28th. Charlie Woodruff, the team's top skier, was having a great first run when he missed a gate and was forced to hike back. That dropped him to a 23rd-place finish in a time of 106.24.
On the women's side, Shana Sweitzer won her fifth conference event to lead Whitman to victory. Her winning time was 110.06 seconds. Albertson's Emily Thurber was nearly two seconds back in second place.
Whitman's Eva Cordova won the second run and placed fourth overall in 115.59 seconds. Dana Wong was sixth in 116.77 and Ingrid Backstrom was eighth in 117.27. Also placing for Whitman were Melissa Hult, who finished 19th in 130.15, and Katherine Darling, who was 21st in 131.38.
The Whitman women place first as a team with a combined time of 342.42 for its top three finishers. Seattle was second in 351.31, while Albertson was third in 353.68.
The Missionarie women captured their season title with a 125 World Cup points, 25 points in front of second-place Albertson and 45 points ahead of third-place UBC. Rounding out the top eight, in order, were Seattle, UW, UPS, PLU and Washington State.
With poor winter weather wreaking a little havoc, the Whitman women's alpine team opened defense of its U.S. Collegiate Ski Association West Region title Thursday at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho. The Missionaries shook off some pre-race jitters and survived the loss of two skiers to place second in the giant slalom in the 16-team field.
Whitman's Shana Sweitzer won the race, completing her two runs in 119.03 seconds. One of her teammates, Heidi Shelton, placed fifth in 124.35, while Heidi Reifenstein gave the Missionaries their third, highly-critical finish by placing 17th in 129.06.
Whitman's top three gave the Missionaries a team score of 372.44 seconds, which trailed only Albertson College and its winning time of 370.89 seconds. Rounding out the top five teams were Seattle University 384.59, University of British Columbia 389.51, and Montana State University 393.85.
The women's portion of the regional championships will conclude Saturday with a slalom event. Results from both events determine the regional champion. The top five teams also advance to the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships next month in California.
The men's portion of the regional competition starts with the giant slalom Friday and also includes a slalom race on Saturday.
The women's giant slalom was nearly postponed Thursday due to the poor weather conditions. About a foot of heavy, wet snow fell during the day, and fog reduced visibility to near zero at times. "It was a tough course for everyone," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "The course ate a lot of athletes today, including two of ours. We had 78 skiers start the race and only 57 were able to finish. It was a hard luck day for a lot skiers and their teams."
"I think our women were a little nervous prior to the race," Olson added. "They were undefeated during our conference season, so there were some high expectations. They didn't back away, though. They wanted to go for it and ski fast on a day when the course conditions were not very good at all."
"It was good that our women, after all the success they enjoyed during the conference season, felt some pressure today," Olson continued. "They learned a lot that hopefully they can take to nationals.
Debby Russell of Albertson placed second in 121.14 seconds, more than two seconds behind Sweitzer's winning time. Michelle Madderom of Colorado State University was third in 123.02 seconds.
Eva Cordova, Whitman's No. 2 seed, failed to finish her first run and dropped from the competition after excessive speed forced her to miss a gate. Dana Wong, the No. 4 Missionary seed, also failed to finish her first run when she hit a hole near the bottom of the hill and was literally ejected from the course. "With the poor visibility, it was really difficult to see problem areas on the course," Olson noted.
With two of Whitman's five skiers out of the race early, the pressure mounted on Reifenstein, the team's No. 5 seed, to finish both of her runs and give the Missionaries a third score for their team time."Heidi came through for us in a pinch," Olson said. "She was strong and she skied well."
Relatively young and inexperienced at the beginning of the season, the Whitman men's alpine ski team continued to blossom Friday on the second day of the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association West Region Championships, winning the giant slalom event at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.
Led by Charlie Woodruff, who won the second run and placed third overall, the Missionary men took first with a team time of 348.48 seconds for its top three finishers. They edged Rocky Mountain College, which was second in 349.18 seconds, and Albertson Collge, which took third in 350.19 seconds. The University of Washington was fourth, Ft. Lewis College of Colorado fifth, and the University of Colorado-Boulder sixth.
"This is a big deal, a huge accomplishment for our men," Whitman alpine ski coach Tom Olson said. "They struggled a little bit early in the season, and they certainly were not expected to win today. But for now, at least in the giant slalom, they are the best in the west."
Weather conditions were similiar to Thursday, when fog and low visbility nearly forced cancelation of the women's giant slalom. "The snow was better today, though, a little more firm than yesterday," Olson said.
Eastern Oregon University's Trevor Glaser won Friday's race in 113.44 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Rob Stewart of the University of Washington was was second in 113.61, while Whitman's Woodruff was third in 113.74
Tyler Staggs placed 11th for Whitman in 117.13, and Brett Macfarlane was 15th in 117.71. Doug Ludlow took 24th in 119.72 seconds, and Scott Steinbrecher was 27th in 120.31. A total of 84 skiers started the race, representing 16 schools, and 67 finished.
"I couldn't be more pleased with the way Tyler skied," Olson said. "He is only a sophomore, and this is first real season skiing at this level. He has advanced to the point where he's skiing fast and making a real contribution."
After Friday's first run, Whitman was in third place in the team scoring, trailing both Albertson and the University of Washington by little more than a second. "The competition was pretty tight after the first run," Olson said. "With our second run, we skied smart, we skied clean, and Charlie uncorked a heck of a run. The guys were tremendously excited that they pulled it off."
The regional championships conclude Saturday with the men's and women's slalom events. The top five men's teams and top five women's teams, based on combined giant slalom and slalom results, advance to the national champioinships next month in California.
The Whitman men's alpine team survived some stiff competition Saturday to finish in a three-way tie for the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association's west region title and earn a return ticket to the national championships.
But Saturday's final day of regional competition at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho, was a cakewalk for the Whitman men compared to what the Missionary women's team endured to earn its berth at nationals.
"What an intense day," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said late Saturday. "There was a lot of stress and uncertainty, especially for our women's team, but we pulled it out. All that is really important is that our alpine and cross country teams can now compete for their fifth consecutive all-around national championships."
On Saturday, the Whitman men slipped to a third-place showing in a highly competitive slalom event. That left the Missionaries in a three-way tie with Albertson College and Rocky Mountain College in the final regional point standings. A tie-breaking formula gave Rocky Mountain the actual men's title with Whitman taking second and Albertson third.
The top five teams advance to the national championships, which are slated for March 10-13 at Mammoth Mountain in California. Fort Lewis College of Colorado will go as the No. 4 seed on the men's side, while the University of Washington goes as the No. 5 seed.
For Whitman, the men's slalom was a bit anticlimatic Saturday, coming in the wake of the women's slalom held earlier in the day.
The Missionary women jumped in front by two seconds in the team scoring after the first run. "We were in great shape, even though we had lost Eva Cordova on the first run and Katherine Darling had a slow time because she had to hike back around a missed gate," Olson said. "All we needed was for our other three skiers to finish their second runs, ski clean and fast, and there was a chance the women might win their second straight regional title."
Those high hopes quickly crumbled, however, when Whitman's Shana Sweitzer, in second place after her first run, lost a ski on her second trip down the hill to drop from the competition. Visions of a regional title were replaced by the distinct possibility that the women's team might not qualify for nationals at all.
Ingrid Backstrom and Dana Wong, Whitman's next two Missionary skiers, responded with strong second runs, eventually placing sixth and seventh, respectively. That left all the pressure on Darling, Whitman's last skier. For the Missionaries to have any chance of qualifying for nationals, she had to finish her second run.
Darling came through in the clutch, finishing her run without a hitch. The uncertainty continued, however. As Olson got the men's team ready to race, the Missionary women scrambled to decipher the overall results.
"Trying to get ready for the next race and not knowing if the women had qualified for nationals was just killing me and the men's team," Olson said. "We all knew that our women were the best team in the west -- at least when they all stand up and finish."
The news, when finally radioed up the hill to Olson, was a great relief. Even though his women's team had slipped to seventh in the slalom, it wasn't enough to negate its second- place showing in Thursday's giant slalom. The Missionaries placed fourth overall in the final regional point standings.
Meanwhile, Albertson College and Seattle Univesity took advantage of Whitman's Saturday misfortunes to finish in a tie for the women's regional title. A tie-breaking formula gave Albertson the crown.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) women took third in the overal regional standings. Whitman was fourth, just a single point ahead of Montana State and Rocky Mountain College, two teams that tied for the fifth and final ticket to nationals. The tie- breaker favored Montana.
"There was a lot of heartache inlved, but it was a great learning experience for the women," Olson said. "You have to ski as a team, and you have to stand up and finish. I'm glad they had the opportunity to learn it now rather than at nationals."
In the men's slalom Saturday, Albertson eked out the victory with a team time of 323.06 seconds for its top three finishers. Rocky Mountain was a very close second in 323.36 seconds, while Whitman took third in 326.30.
Whitman's Brett Macfarlane had one of his best days of the season to place fifth in a time of 105.60 seconds for his two slalom runs. Erik Svendsen of the Air Force Academy won the race in 103.11.
Bothered by a slight knee injury suffered earlier in the week, Charlie Woodruff, Whitman's top skier, slipped to an 11th-place showing in 107.25. Also placing for the Missionaries were Matt Rarity, 24th, 113.35; Doug Ludlow, 27th, 113.92; and Scott Steinbrecher, 35th, 116.66.
In the women's slalom Saturday, Seattle University finished on top with a team time of 284.76 seconds. UBC was second and Albertson third. Whitman's seventh-place team time was 325.41 seconds.
UBC's Monica Meier won the slalom race 88.86 seconds for her two runs. Whitman's Backstrom was sixth in 92.64 seconds, while Wong was right behind in seventh in 93.82. Darling finished 56th in 138.95.
Snowboarding, a winter sport that continues to grow in popularity, gained another foothold Tuesday when the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association included its first-ever giant slalom event for snowboarders in its national championships at California's Mammoth Mountain.
Two members of Whitman's alpine ski team, Heidi Shelton and Tyler Staggs, decided to compete in the snowboard events, and Shelton placed seventh in the women's competition. "Heidi has been a recreational snowboarder, so this was her first time in an actual snowboard racing event," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Obviously it went very well for her, but Tyler had some mechanical problems. He broke a binding on his snowboard and he was unable to finish.
Shelton's seventh-place time was 108.45 seconds. She finished about eight seconds behind the winner.
About a dozen colleges had full snowboard teams on hand for the competition, Olson said. "Maybe a snowboarding club is something students can get started next year, and we can bring a snowboard team to nationals."
Two years ago the Whitman women's alpine team upset heavily favored Sierra Nevada College and its stable of World Cup skiers from around the globe to win the alpine combined title at the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships in the Lake Tahoe area.
Is there a chance that history will repeat itself this week as the 1999 USCSA championships unfold at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.?
Sparked by Shana Sweitzer and Eva Cordova, the Whitman women gave Sierra Nevada another run for its money Thursday as the alpine events got underway with the giant slalom event.
Led by Marika Fave of Italy and Sabine Fraise of France, Sierra Nevada won the women's giant slalom Thursday, but Whitman finished a reasonably close second and set the stage for another possible upset in the combined scoring. The Missionaries can still capture the combined alpine title by beating Sierra Nevada in Friday's slalom event.
"If Sierra Nevada should happen to falter in the slalom, which is what happened two years ago, we are a great position to pull another upset," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Sierra Nevada knows that we are right behind them.."
Regardless of what happens Friday, Olson was ready to savor what his women's team accomplished Thursday. "As they have all season, our women skied extremely well," he said. "We have crushed the opposition all season, and that's what we did again on Thursday, except for Sierra Nevada. It really was a case where only two teams were in the running. Sierra Nevada had four women in the top 15 and so did we."
With Fave placing first and Fraise taking third, Sierra Nevada won the team scoring with a combined time of 382.01 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman trailed by just three seconds after the first run and eventually took second with a time of 389.82 seconds. Boston College finished a distant third in the 17-school field with a time of 401.08, while Seattle University was fourth in 410.45 and St. Olaf College fifth in 410.47.
"Our entire women's team was very excited after the first run," Olson said. "We were only three seconds behind, and we knew Sierra Nevada was still catchable. As it turned out, we didn't catch them, but we didn't make it easy for them either. We had some great second runs and all five of our women finished. Sierra Nevada just skied better."
Sweitzer, a former member of the U.S. Ski Team in her first year of collegiate skiing, finished second in Thursday's individual standings with a time of 2:06.80 for her two runs down the hill. Fave won the event with a time of 2:05.82, while Fraise took third in 2:07.82.
"Shana had another great day for us," Olson said. "She was just two one-hundredths of a second out of first place after the first run."
Whitman's Cordova finished fifth in the individual standings in 2:10.55. Also in her first year of collegiate skiing, Cordova is a former member of the Slovakian national ski team.
Whitman also got strong performances from two freshmen. Dana Wong, who is from Vancouver, British Columbia, finished ninth in 2:12.47, while Heidi Shelton of Ketchum, Idaho, shook off a chest cold to place 12th in 2:13.14. Heidi Reifenstein, a junior from Auke Bay, Alaska, finished 32nd in 2:19.70. A total of 96 skiers started the event.
"Our top four all earned All-American honors, which is just outstanding," Olson said. "Our women have worked hard all season. They just never let up."
The Whitman women's alpine team gave perennial champion Sierra Nevada College another run for its money in the slalom event Friday at the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
As they did in Thursday's giant slalom, however, the Sierra Nevada women held off the Missionaries for the victory. "It was an incredible day of racing on the women's side," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It was some of the closest racing I've seen in many years."
Meanwhile, in the men's slalom, Sierra Nevada swept the top three individual places while Whitman slipped to a sixth-place finish in the team scoring. "The men had hoped for a top five finish, and they didn't miss it by much," Olson said. "They're hanging in there."
After Friday's first slalom run in the women's competition, Whitman trailed Sierra Nevada by just three-tenths of a second. Third-place Boston College also trailed the Missionary women by three-tenths of a second.
Sabine Fraise of France had a great second run for Sierra Nevada to win the women's slalom by a wide margin in a time of 103.18. Whitman's Shana Sweitzer finished second in 107.90. Amanda Daffer of Boston College was third in 107.96.
Sierra Nevada won the women's team scoring with a combined time of 334.37 seconds. Whitman was second with a time of 337.05. Boston College finished third in 339.53, while the University of British Columbia was fourth and Plymouth State fifth.
"It was another great showing for our women," Olson said. "Sierra Nevada only beat us by 2.7 seconds, which is the closest anyone has come to Sierra Nevada in the past nine years, not counting two years ago when we actually beat them."
Sweitzer was one of three Missionary women to capture All-American honors in the slalom. The other two were Eva Cordova, who placed ninth in 113.05, and Ingrid Backstrom, who placed 13th in 116.10. Dana Wong finished 16th in 120.32 and Katherine Darling was 29th in 128.02.
Sweitzer, Cordova and Wong also earned All-American honors in the alpine combined scoring, which combines results from the giant slalom and slalom events. Sweitzer finished second, Cordova was seventh and Wong 13th. As a team, the Whitman women finished second in the alpine combined scoring.
Uros Pavlovcic of Sierra Nevada won the men's slalom Friday with a time of 96.11 seconds. His teammates, Marco Pastore and Michael Bortis, took second and third.
Charlie Woodruff had Whitman's best finish. He was 17th in 106.45. Brett Macfarlane was 23rd in 108.59. Also placing for the Missionaries were Doug Ludlow, 38th, 113.38; Scott Steinbrecher, 41st, 113.89; and Matt Rarity, 44th, 114.59.
"It was a very deep, competitive field on the men's side," Olson said. "As they did during the regular season, our men beat everyone from the west, but we ran into some very stiff competition from the East Coast schools.
The Sierra Nevada men won the slalom team scoring with a time of 296.17 seconds. St. Olaf was a distant second in 317.87. Colby-Sawyer College was third, Ft. Lewis College fourth, and Plymouth State fifth. Whitman's sixth-place time was 328.42.
Led by Charlie Woodruff, the Whitman men's alpine team rebounded from a disappointing finish in Friday's slalom to post a strong fourth-place performance in the giant slalom event on Saturday as the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships concluded at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
Woodruff, a junior, placed sixth in a time of 2:02.34. It was his best finish ever in three years of national competition, and it earned him All-American honors in the event.
Sierra Nevada College's contingent of European World Cup skiers swept the top three places to easily win the giant slalom team scoring in a time of 356.11 seconds. In placing fourth with a team time of 377.97 seconds, Whitman finished little more than one second out second place. St. Olaf College was second in 376.77 and Rocky Mountain College third in 376.83.
"It was great to see the guys bounce back like they did," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We're a young team and we know we can do even better."
Also placing for Whitman in the giant slalom were Brett Macfarlane, 21st, 2:06.36; Doug Ludlow, 38th, 2:09.27; Tyler Staggs, 41st, 2:09.70; and Scott Steinbrecher, 49th, 2:10.95.
Whitman's strong showing in the giant slalom lifted the Missionary men to a third-place finish in the alpine combined scoring (slalom and giant slalom). Sierra Nevada was first and St. Olaf second. "Our goal for the alpine men was to place in the top five," Olson said. "To make the top three was great for us."
In the men's individual alpine combined scoring, Woodruff placed 13th overall, which earned him a second All-American award.