Senior Peter French and two freshmen, Rachel James and Lisa Haas, were the top Missionary performers when the Whitman cross country teams competed in their first races of the winter Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16-17, at Mt. Bachelor near Bend, Oregon.
Among skiers between the ages of 19 and 24, French finished fourth in the men's 10-kilometer classic in a time of 30:52.7 and fifth in the 10-kilometer freestyle in 30:40.5.
In the women's 19-24 age division, James placed second in the women's 5-kilometer classic and third in the 10-kilometer freestyle. Emily Chenel, a skier from Winthrop, Wash., won both events.
James completed the classic race in a time of 17:40.9, finishing just 12 seconds behind Chenel. Haas, who gave Whitman a second-place showing in the freestyle event, was timed in 37:29.5., finishing about a minute behind Chenel and a minute in front of James, who claimed third place in 38:27.6.
Lindsey Love, another Whitman freshman, also had a good weekend, placing fifth in the freestyle (18:27.7) and seventh in the classic (40:32.6).
Other Missionaries who competed in the women's freestyle were Megan Corazza, 6th, 18:49; Colleen Childs, 8th, 19:11.7; Rebecca Dondlinger, 18th, 20:47.2; and Piper Foster, 21st, 23:55.4.
In the women's classic, Childs placed ninth in 41:24.2, and was followed by Corazza, 11th, 42:17.8; Dondlinger, 14th, 47:01.3; and Foster, 15th, 48:30.4.
In the men's races, Whitman's Cory Root was eighth in the freestyle (33:13.7) and ninth in the classic (34:30.7). Freshman Mark Wilson placed seventh in the freestyle (32:38.7) and 12th in the classic (36:11.2). Ian Bell, also a freshman, took 10th in the classic (35:00.3) and 11th in the freestyle (35:07.2).
Peter French for the men and Rachel James for the women were the top Whitman finishers in the Mt. Catherine Loop, a 13.5-kilometer freestyle race, on Saturday, Jan. 23, at Snoqualmie Pass.
French placed seventh overall, and first in his age division, with a time of 35 minutes, 17 seconds. He finished just two seconds out of fifth place. The race was open to all ages, and a total of 42 skiers competed in the men's division.
James had the best time, 39:40, among 15 skiers in the women's division.
Whitman's Cory Root placed 11th overall in 37:00. Calon Russell also skied for the Missionaries, placing 41st in 48:40.
Whitman's Taylor Dale placed third in the women's division in 41:58. Also placing in the women's division for the Missionaries were Lisa Haas, 4th, 42:00; Megan Corazza, 5th, 42:04; Emily Nelson, 6th, 42:05; Lindsey Love, 7th, 42:06; Piper Foster, 11th, 52:48; Megan Hunter, 13th, 56:58; and Jessica Jern, 14th, 57:55.
A chance to compete against some of the nation's top elite cross country skiers lured the Whitman ski teams to the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center for the annual Sunnyside Pursuit on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 13-14.
Peter French for the men and Lindsey Love for the women posted Whitman's best times in the two-day event, which combined times from Saturday's freestyle race with Sunday's classic race. The Whitman women skied 5-kilometers both days, while the Missionary men skied 7.5-kilometers each day.
French finished with a total time of 49 minutes, 41.6 seconds. Ben Husaby, an elite skier, posted the best overall time, 43:31.3. Two more elite skiers, Mike White and Greg Strome, finished second and third, with French taking fourth overall.
Whitman's Cory Root was fifth overall in 50:32.7. Mark Wilson, a Missionary freshman, had one of his best days of the season, placing sixth in 52:05.2. Ian Bell, another freshman, finished in 56:02.3, while senior Calon Russell posted a time of 57:51.4 despite a recent bout with persistent leg cramps.
On the women's side, freshman Lindsey Love had Whitman's best time, 38 minutes, 41.5 seconds, which placed her fourth overall. Abby McAllister, one of the region's top junior racers, finished in 34:29.1 for the women's best time. Two elite skiers, Julie Southwell and Julie Verke, placed second and third, respectively, with times of 35:34.4 and 36:06.7.
Lisa Haas, another Whitman freshman, took fifth in 39:14. Megan Corazza, also a freshman, was seventh in 40:32.5. Taylor Dale was ninth in 41:03.4, and Colleen Childs was tenth in 42:16.8.
Also competing for the Missionaries were Rebecca Dondlinger, 46:13.7; Adriana Vanbianchi, 47:04.7; Megan Hunter, 48:27; and Jessica Jern, 54:48.1.
Whitman's Rachel James and Peter French placed third and fifth, respectively, in the cross country freestyle events Saturday at the Race of the Methow in Winthrop, Wash.
Despite illness, James finished her 5-kilometer freestyle in 18 minutes, 48 seconds, finishing behind two of the top skiers in the Northwest. Lisa Haas placed fifth for the Missionaries in 19:13.
In the men's 10-kilometer freestyle, French was timed in 32:21, just 16 seconds out of fourth place. Whitman's Cory Root placed 13th in 35:16.
Also placing for the Missionary men were Ian Bell, 18th, 36:30; Calon Russell, 25th, 37:53; and Mark Wilson, who skied with severe back pain to place 31st in 38:26.
Others placing for the Whitman women included Megan Corazza, 9th, 20:07; and Emily Nelson, 10th, 20:13; and Lindsey Love, 12th, 20:22. Rounding out the Missionary finishers were Taylor Dale, 18th, 21:24; Colleen Childs, 19th, 21:24; and Piper Foster, 24th, 23:06.
Rachel James posted another good race and Cory Root maintained his characteristic consistency during the classic events Sunday at the Race of the Methow in Winthrop, Wash.
James placed fourth in the women's 10-kilomter classic in a time of 36 minutes, 12 seconds. Lindsey Love was sixth in 36:46 and Megan Corazza was seventh in 36:53.
In the men's 15-kilometer classic, Root placed 15th in a 45:02. Mark Wilson, recovering from back pain, was 17th in 45:16. Peter French, who placed fifth in Saturday's freestyle race, slipped to 20th (46:59) after a long week of academic study and testing zapped the last of his energy. Also placing for the Whitman men were Ian Bell, 34th, 50:24, and Calon Russell, 36th, 50:42.
In the women's classic race, Whitman also got strong performances from Taylor Dale, who placed 10th in 38:26, and Emily Nelson, who was 11th in 38:31. Others placing for the women were Lisa Haas, 13th, 39:22; Colleen Childs, 16th, 41:27; and Piper Foster, 21st, 48:15
Battling a tough course at high altitude, not to mention a strong field of competitors, the Whitman women's cross country team placed second while the Missionary men took fifth in the freestyle events as the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association's national championships opened Wednesday at Mammoth Mountain, California.
Taylor Dale, a junior, and two freshmen, Lindsey Love and Rachel James, paced Whitman in the women's 10-kilometer freestyle. Dale placed seventh in a time of 43 minutes, 51.48 seconds, while Love was eighth in 44:25.0 and James ninth in 45:31.10.
"Taylor had a great race and so did Lindsey," Whitman cross country coach Nathan Phillips said. "I think it may have helped some that both of them are from areas where the altitude is higher. Other members of our women's team are from the coastal areas of Alaska and have done most of their skiing right at sea level."
Dale is from Crested Butte, Colorado, while Love hails from Jackson, Wyoming.
The cross country courses at Mammoth Mountain start at about 8,700 feet and rise above 9,000 feet, Phillips said. The courses also feature nasty winds, quickly changing snow temperatures and narrow trails that often lead to collisions between competitors, he added.
"Rachel might have placed higher, but she got tangled up four times with other skiers and she fell once," Phillips said.
Katie Johnson of Clarkson College (Potsdam, NY) won the women's race with a time of 39:24.20, beating Jessica Kleiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by more than two minutes. Amy Nesbitt of the Air Force Academy took third place.
Clarkson College was first in the women's team scoring with eight place points. Whitman was second with 21 points, followed by the University of Wyoming with 32 points. Air Force and Carleton College (Northfield, MN) tied for fourth with 33 points. The University of Wisconsin was next in line in the 17-school field with 42 points.
Others placing for Whitman were Lisa Haas, 15th, 46:58.40; Megan Corazza, 21st, 48:18.40; and Emily Nelson, 29th, 55:22.40.
Hans Hinke of the University of Wisconsin won the men's 15-kilometer freestyle with a time of 51:40.2. Denny Feeney of the University of Wyoming was 12 seconds back in second place, and Owen Handley of Carleton took third.
Peter French gave the Whitman men their best showing, placing 19th in 56:14.9. French, a senior, led the race early and stayed with the lead pack for the first half of the course, Phillips noted. "It's just a tough, tough course, especially for the men, and the altitude makes it that much tougher. I know by that the end of the race Peter and a lot of other guys were thoroughly exhausted."
Carleton placed first in the men's team scoring with 12 place points. Clarkson College was second with 15 points and the University of Wisconsin third with 20 points. Air Force was fourth with 35 points and Whitman fifth with 60.
Whitman's Calon Russell placed 23rd in 56:58.1, even though he missed the start by a few seconds because of equipment problems. "Calon had a good race, but once you start behind everyone else, it makes it tough," Phillips said.
Also placing for the Missionaries were Cory Root, who was 30th in 59:40, and Ian Bell, who was 38th in 1.02:53.8. Whitman's Mark Bell became ill during the race and was unable to finish. "Some people are very susceptible to the altitude," Phillips said. "Mark could be one of those people."
Phillips expects both Whitman teams to fare much better in Friday's classic races and Saturday's relays. "The classic events are by far are best races," he said. "What's great about the relays for us is that two of the three legs are classic."
French has won the men's classic race at each of the past two national championships. He also led the Missionary men to the past two national titles in the relay race.
Fortunately for Whitman, Wednesday's cross country freestyle events do not count in the scoring for the all-around national titles. The all-around titles are based on two alpine events and two cross country events -- the classic race and relay event. Whitman has won the past four all-around titles in both the men's and women's competition.
The first of the alpine events, the women's giant slalom, was originally scheduled for Wednesday. It was pushed back to Thursday, however, because of heavy snows earlier in the week.
Whitman's Peter French just missed his third consecutive national title in the men's 10-kilometer cross country classic event Friday as the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships continued at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. French, who won the event the past two years, placed second Friday to Sam Coradetti of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"Peter has to be a little disappointed he wasn't able to make it three in a row," Whitman cross country coach Nathan Phillips said. "But he gave it all he had. He was really charging on the hills."
Meanwhile on Friday, in the women's 7.5-kilometer classic, freshmen Rachel James and Lisa Haas placed in the top 10 to pace the Whitman women to a second-place finish in the team scoring.
Katie Johnson and Julie Zimmerman of Clarkson College finished one-two, respectively, in Friday's classic race to lead Clarkson to first place in the team scoring. Johnson individually and Clarkson as a team also won Wednesday's freestyle event.
James was clocked in 28 minutes, 16.9 seconds in placing seventh in the classic. Haas had a time of 28:55.5 in placing tenth. Both earned All-American honors.
Next for the Whitman women was Emily Nelson, who was 13th in 29:13.9. Also placing for the Missionaries were Megan Corazza, 15th, 29:39.2; Taylor Dale, 16th, 29:44.8; and Lindsey Love, 18th, 30:40.1.
"Our women had another great day, especially our contingent from Alaska," Phillips said. "Our top three finishers are all from Alaska."
In finishing second and earning All-American honors in the men's race, French was timed in 36:09.7. Coradett's winning time was not immediately available.
Others who placed for the Whitman men were Cory Root, 32nd, 43:12.5; Ian Bell, 33rd, 44:31.7; and Mark Wilson, 34th, 44:00. Calon Russell was disqualified on a technicality and did not finish.
In the men's team scoring for the classic event, Carleton took first and the Air Force Academy was second. The Whitman men placed seventh.
The Whitman women showed off the depth of their team Saturday, placing two teams in the top four slots of the women's cross country relay event on the final day of the U.S. Collegiate Ski Association national championships at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. Meanwhile the Whitman men placed fourth in a highly competitive men's relay event.
Whitman's first team -- Rachel James, Lisa Haas and Lindsey Love -- placed second in a time of 1:04.09. The Missionary second team -- Emily Nelson, Megan Corazza and Taylor Dale -- took fourth place in 1:04.55. Both teams earned All-American honors.
"Our second team, led by Emily Nelson, was actually ahead of her first team after the first leg of the relay," Whitman cross country coach Nathan Phillips said.
Clarkson College won the women's relay in 1:00.58, while Carleton College placed third in 1:04.36.
In the cross combined team scoring, Whitman finished second behind Clarkson. In the individual combined scoring, James tied for fifth, Dale placed eighth and Haas was 10th. All three earned All-American honors in the combined scoring.
In the men's cross country relay, Whitman placed fourth with Peter French, Cory Root and Calon Russell posting a time of 1:28.33. Cornell University won the race in 1:25.37. Clarkson was second and Carleton third.
"It was very tight men's relay," Phillips said. "The top eight teams were in one pack for the first two legs of the race."
The Whitman men finished fifth in the cross country combined team scoring.