WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- There was no question which school took center stage at last week's national ski and snowboard championships at Idaho's Bogus Basin.
When the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association held its awards banquet Saturday night, it was Whitman College athletes and coaches who made repeated trips to the winner's podium, regardless of which sport was involved.
Whitman's cross country ski and snowboard teams thoroughly dominated their opposition, and the Missionary alpine teams held their own in a highly competitive field of 20 schools.
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| Julia Babilis, a member of the Whitman alpine ski team, was one of many Missionary athletes who lit up the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's national championships last week at Idaho's Bogus Basin. |
"It was a special evening for Whitman and a great celebration for the student-athletes who worked so hard throughout the season," Whitman ski coach Tom Olson said. "It was smiles all around for the Missionaries."
"All three of the teams -- cross country, snowboard and alpine -- had a great week, but it was just as incredible to have so many individual national champions," Olson added. "We've had a lot of success in years past, but I don't think we ever had four national champions in one week -- Dan Overgaag and Holly Brooks in cross country, and James Caron and Abbi Stern in snowboarding."
Overgaag, Brooks, Caron and Stern were among the 23 Whitman athletes who collected a total of 58 All-American awards.
Overgaag (Pinedale, Wyoming), a sophomore, led his teammates to victory in all three cross country events. As an individual, he won the classic race, placed second in the freestyle, and sparked the Missionaries to victory in the relay. By winning all three events, the Missionary men were hands-down winners of the cross country combined scoring title.
As might be expected, Overgaag placed first in the individual combined scoring. One of his teammates, sophomore Andrew Kromroy (St. Paul, Minn.), placed seventh in the all-around scoring. Other highlights for the men's cross country team were posted by junior Mark Wilson (Minneapolis, Minn.), who placed fourth in the freestyle, and sophomore Ben Coven (Putney, Vt.), who finished sixth in the classic. Kromroy and Wilson joined with Overgaag to win the relay.
In women's cross country, freshman Holly Brooks (Seattle, Wash.), won the classic race, shared in Whitman's relay victory, and was fourth in the freestyle. The Missionary women won the classic and relay events, placed second in the freestyle, and easily captured the women's all-around scoring title.
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| Kyra Hamilton drives to the cross country finish line. |
Kyra Hamilton (St. Paul, Minn.), a sophomore, also had a great week in the cross country competition, placing second in the classic and fourth in the freestyle. Sarah Schoen (Anchorage, Alaska), a freshman, was fifth in the classic and ninth in the freestyle. Hamilton and Schoen joined with Brooks in winning the women's relay event. In the individual all-around scoring, Hamilton was second and Schoen ninth.
The cross country teams started the week by dominating the 1.3-kilometer sprint races, which were run as a "demonstration" event. Led by freshman Ryan Valaas (Wenatchee, Wash.), the men's team took the top four spots. Overgaag, Wilson and Coven followed Valaas to the finish line. Brooks also led a top-four sweep for the women's team. Placing behind Brooks were Hamilton, junior Megan Corazza (Homer, Alaska) and Schoen.
The men's snowboarding team was just as dominant as its cross country counterpart. The Missionary men won the snowboarding giant slalom and the boardercross event to put a lock on their all-around scoring title.
Freshman James Caron (Ketchum, Idaho) won the boardercross, was second in the giant slalom, and first in the individual all-around scoring. Sophomore Spruce Schoenemann (Pawlet, Vt.) was second in the boardercross, fourth in the giant slalom, and second in the all-around. Senior Justin Brooks (Hailey, Idaho) finished third in the all-around scoring after placing fifth in the boardercross and seventh in giant slalom. Sophomore Jay Brown (Ketchum, Idaho) who also competes for the alpine team, had a third-place showing in the boardercross.
The women's snowboard team was almost as dominant as the men's squad. The Missionary women won the boardercross, placed second in the giant slalom, and took first in the all-around scoring.
Freshman Abbi Stern (Shelburne, Vt.) won the boardercross, was tenth in the giant slalom, and second in the individual all-around scoring. Sophomore Carrie Beck (Orwell, Vt.) was second in the boardercross, ninth in the giant slalom, and third in the all-around.
Two more Missionaries, junior Lindsey Bloom (Juneau, Alaska) and senior Lusana Schutz (Mt. Vernon, Wash.), placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the snowboard all-around scoring. Bloom was fifth in the boardercross and eighth in the giant slalom, while Schutz placed sixth and seventh in the same two events.
The Whitman women's alpine team, for the fourth consecutive year, placed second in their all-around scoring to mighty Sierra Nevada College, which traditionally stocks its roster with European World Cup skiers. As a team, the Missionaries placed third in the giant slalom but came back strong to place second in the slalom.
Two freshmen, Michelle Wall (Melbourne, Australia) and Julia Babilis (Ogden, Utah), paced Whitman's comeback in the slalom, placing fourth and seventh, respectively. A third freshman, Lindsay Barksdale (Winthrop, Wash.), finished sixth in the giant slalom.
All five members of the women's alpine placed in the individual all-around scoring, led by Wall in fifth place and Babilis in ninth. Junior Eva Cardova (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia) placed finished 10th, one place ahead of Barksdale. Freshman Cathy Colpitts (Olympic Valley, Calif.) was 14th.
In the men's alpine competition, Whitman placed fifth in the all-around scoring after placing fifth in the giant slalom and seventh in the slalom. Freshman Brady Sherman (Tahoma, Calif.), finished 11th in the individual all-around scoring, after placing 12th in the slalom and 20th in the giant slalom. Sophomore Arne Backstrom (Seattle, Wash.), placed 14th in the giant slalom but then straddled a gate and was disqualified in the slalom.
"The men's alpine competition was especially tough this year, but our guys know they could have skied much better," Olson said. "They just didn't do it this time. They are already fired up about next year. All of them will be back, and they know what they need to do to challenge Sierra Nevada for the alpine title."
Although the number of schools competing for the national 4-Way Awards has dwindled in recent years, Whitman continued its dominance in that area. The men's and women's 4-Way Awards go to the schools scoring the most points in two alpine and two cross events. The Whitman women won their seventh consecutive 4-way crowns, while the Missionary men made it six out of the last seven.
A total of 11 Whitman athletes representing each of the sports also were recognized during Saturday's banquet with Academic All-American honors. Jayne Bormann, Carrie Beck, Megan Corazza and Katie Villano received first-team honors (3.80 minimum gpa), while Ben Boynton, Dan Cadol and Spruce Schoenemann earned second-team honors (3.50 minimum gpa). Julia Babilis, Lusana Schutz, Michelle Wall and Doug Whitfield received honorable mention (3.30 minimum gpa).
Other Whitman coaches on hand for last week's championships were Eli Brown, Andy Maheras, Charlie Woodruff and Calon Russell.
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| Whitman sophomore snowboarder Spruce Schoenemann bends into a turn. |
CONTACT:
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information, (509) 527-5902
Email: holden@whitman.edu