Freshman Lindsay Barksdale for the women and sophomore Aaron Stiassny for the men were Whitman's top finishers as the Missionary alpine ski teams saw their first race action of the winter season Friday in an USSA Junior Olympic qualifying event at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows.
Barksdale, the only Missionary woman on hand for Friday's giant slalom, placed second with a total time of 2:17:03 for her two runs. Christie Eichentopf of the Mount Hood Academy won the event in 2:15.24. About 50 racers competed.
Stiassny placed fourth in the men's giant slalom in a time of 2:09.47. His twin brother Ari, also a sophomore, was close behind in sixth place with a time of 2:09.56.
Whitman senior Tyler Staggs finished 11th in 2:11.84, while freshman Jared Schoening was 23rd in 2:19.23. Nearly 80 skiers competed, with Eric Straw of Mt. Hood Academy posting a winning time of 2:05.22.
Arne Backstrom placed second and Ari Stiassny finished fourth as the Whitman alpine ski teams competed in their first slalom events of the season Saturday at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows.
Mt. Hood Academy's Eric Straw won the men's slalom, one of the USSA Junior Olympic qualifying events, with a time of 1:38.71 for his two runs. Backstrom was second in 1:39.14. Stiassny's fourth-place time was 1:40.92.
Lindsay Barksdale, the only Whitman woman competing in a field of about 50 skiers, placed 14th in 1:51.84.
Others placing in the men's race for Whitman were Jared Schoening, who was 19th in 1:48.57, and Aaron Stiassny, who finished 28th in 1:55.12. Doug Whitfield failed to finish his second run.
"The slalom in particular takes a lot of work, and these races at Mt. Hood are first time we've been on snow this winter," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We're all very rusty, but this at least shows us what we need to work on."
With one day of slalom racing already under their belts, Whitman's Doug Whitfield and Arne Backstrom dominated Sunday's slalom as part of an USSA Junior Olympic qualifying event at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows.
Whitfield used a strong second run to win the event in 1:34.80, nipping Backstrom by about two-tenths of a second. Backstrom, who beat Whitfield in the first run, was second overall in 1:35.12.
Whitman's twin brothers, Ari and Aaron Stiassny, also had good races, placing fifth and eighth, respectively. Their times were 1:38.49 and 1:40.99. Jared Schoening placed 22nd in 1:48.13. More than 70 skiers competed.
In the women's slalom, Whitman freshman Lindsay Barksdale placed 14th for the second day in a row. Her time Sunday was 2:09.30.
With rosters dominated by freshmen and sophomores, the Whitman alpine ski teams opened pursuit of their eighth consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference titles with a pair of giant slalom victories Saturday at Brundage Mountain near McCall, Idaho.
"All in all, it was a great day for our young skiers," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "It's going to be an exciting season. Our teams are very young, but we're also very talented."
Led by freshmen Michelle Wall and Julia Babilis, who placed first and second, respectively, the Missionary women beat second-place Albertson College by more than four seconds. Whitman took first in the team scoring with combined time of 247.65 seconds for its top four finishers. Albertson, the host school, trailed with a team time of 251.62. Seattle University was a distant third, the University of Puget Sound (UPS) was fourth, and Eastern Oregon University fifth. The women's field included 11 teams and about 60 skiers.
The men's team scores were much, much closer. Whitman freshman Brady Sherman won the race, leading the Missionaries to a team score of 231.82 seconds. The University of British Columbia (UBC) was just a sliver of a second behind, finishing with a team time of 231.99. Albertson was third, the University of Oregon fourth, and Seattle fifth. The men's field featured 13 schools and more than 70 athletes.
Marring the victory by the Whitman women was a season-ending injury to sophomore Christina Post. "She finished ninth on her first run, but as she entered the finish arena, she hooked a tip in some soft snow and fell," Olson said. "She broke the tibia in her leg, so her season is unfortunately over."
Wall, who is from Melbourne, Australia, won the women's giant slalom with a time of 81.52 seconds for her two runs down the hill. Babilis, who hails from Ogden, Utah, was second in 82.09. Two more Missionary freshmen, Lindsay Barksdale (Winthrop, Wash.) and Cathy Colpitts (Olympic Valley, Calif.), placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in times of 84.04 and 84.06.
"Our women's team obviously has a bright future when we have four freshmen place in the top seven," Olson said. "They had an incredible day. Our women's team is definitely young, but it's also very fast."
Eva Cardova, a Whitman junior from Slovakia, had trouble on her first run. After hiking around a missed gate, she slipped into 43rd place. She turned the tables on the second run, however, winning that run by more than a second to finish 22th in the final overall standings.
Sherman (Tahoma, Calif.) won the men's giant slalom with a two-run time of 75.93 seconds. UBC's Paul Boskovich was second in 76.61, while Nick Rohrbach of UPS was third in 76.66.
"It was great to see Brady get a victory in his first college race, just as Michelle did in the women's event," Olson said. "They are both great additions to our program."
Arne Backstrom, a Whitman sophomore from Seattle, was fifth in 77.56. Jay Brown, another sophomore from Ketchum, Idaho, took seventh in 78.35. Ari Stiassny, a sophomore from Anchorage, placed ninth in 78.57, while freshman Russ Crandall of Park City, Utah, was was 15th in 79.47.
Doug Whitfield, a Whitman sophomore from Australia, dropped to 56th place on his first run after hiking around a missed gate. He rallied from the back of the pack on his second run, placing seventh to climb to 47th in the event's overall standings. Aaron Stiassny, Ari's twin brother, also had major difficulties on his first run, and despite placing 20th on his second run, he finished 63rd overall.
"Even with Doug having problems on his first run, we still finished with four guys in the top nine, and five in the top 15," Olson said. "The team scoring with UBC was very close, but we think our guys can ski much faster. We think we can widen the gap between ourselves and UBC."
With freshman Brady Sherman winning his second giant slalom race in two days and Eva Cardova making a statement in the women's competition, the Whitman alpine ski teams won two more Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference events Sunday in the Albertson Invitational at Idaho's Brundage Mountain.
Sherman won the men's race with a time of 78.13 seconds for his two runs down the hill. One of his teammates, sophomore Arne Backstrom, was second in 78.72.
Cardova, a junior, bounced back from sub-par race on Saturday to win Sunday's event in 81.37 seconds. She finished a full second ahead of freshman teammate Julia Babilis, who was placed second for the second straight day in 82.37.
Sherman and Babilis (see photo) earned the invitational's high-point awards for best combined performances in the two-day event.
The Missionary women again took first in the team scoring, posting a combined time of 247.21 seconds for their top four. Albertson College was second in 253.59 with Seattle University taking third in 265.83. The University of Puget Sound and University of Idaho placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the field of 11 schools.
The Whitman men, who won Saturday's giant slalom by a fraction of a second, extended their margin of victory in Sunday's event. The Missionaries took first in 236.90, several seconds ahead of second-place Albertson (242.40) and third-place University of British Columbia (246.44). UPS was fourth and the University of Washington fifth among the 12 schools competing.
"Our men's and women's teams really put the hammer down today," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "For having such young teams, we're skiing very fast with a lot of consistency. We really missed having Christina Post with us today, but we finished up our first weekend of conference skiing with four victories in four events."
Post, a sophomore on the women's team, suffered a broken leg in Saturday's racing and will miss the rest of the season.
The Missionary women dominated Sunday's event. In addition to Cardova and Babilis taking the top two spots, freshmen Michelle Wall was fourth (83.47) and Lindsay Barksdale fifth (84.59). Another freshman, Cathy Colpitts, was seventh in 85.28.
In the men's event, Sherman and Backstrom headed a group of six Missionaries into the top 11. Freshman Russ Crandall placed sixth in 80.05. Next in line were three sophomores -- Jay Brown, 8th, 80.61; Aaron Stiassny, 10th, 80.83; and Ari Stiassny, 11th, 80.93.
One of Whitman's best skiers, Doug Whitfield, fell on his first run and did not finish. "It's disappointing to lose someone of Doug's ability, but I'm sure he will bounce back. Other than Doug not having good races and the injury to Christina, it was an awesome weekend for Whitman," Olson said. "The whole gang did well, and these teams will only get stronger as the season continues."
A stressful Saturday on the slopes turned out surprisingly well for the Whitman alpine ski teams as the Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference season continued with a pair of slalom events at Mt. Spokane. The Missionary men stormed back from a poor first run to win their third consecutive NCSC event, beating the University of British (UBC) by seven-tenths of a second, while the Whitman women survived a disastrous second run to place second among 11 schools.
"This was a very trying day, to say the least," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We are a very young team, and slalom is a very tricky event. I was curious and just a little anxious to see how we would do in our first slalom event of the season. We had some problems, but I think we learned a lot about team skiing and the importance of winning as a team, not winning individually. Both teams withstood a lot of pressure and held together, which was great to see."
The Missionary men tumbled to seventh place after a first run in which two of their top seeds had trouble. Doug Whitfield fell and failed to finish, and Arne Backstrom placed 31st after having to hike around a missed gate. Jay Brown and Russ Crandall also had problems, slipping to the back of the pack.
On the brighter side, freshman Brady Sherman skied clean and fast, placing sixth, and sophomore Ari Stiassny wasn't too far behind in 13th place. Stiassny's twin brother, Aaron, was in 15th place, although he and Crandall were not designated among the five Missionaries eligible to count toward the team scoring.
"At that point we were just hoping for a respectable second run that would move us up a few spots from seventh place," Olson said. "The teams ahead us, though, had their troubles on the second run, and we skied well, coming all the way back to edge UBC for first place."
Sherman and Ari Stiassny led Whitman's charge on the second run, placing second and third, respectively. Backstrom and Brown also had top-10 finishes on the second run.
The Missionaries slipped into first place with a team time of 272.31 seconds for their top four finishers. UBC was second in 273.02. Central Oregon Community edged the University of Washington for third place, and Seattle University was fifth in the 13-school men's field.
The University of Oregon's Colby Gail won the race with a time of 84.44 seconds for his two runs. Sherman took third in 86.82. Ari Stiassny was eighth in 90.52 while brother Aaron was ninth in 90.96. Brown was 17th in 94.97 and Backstrom 20th in 95.64. Crandall, hampered by a long hike on his first run, placed 47th in 123.30.
Of the 85 men who started the event, only 55 finished. "The course conditions were set very difficult, which took a lot of people out," Olson said. "The course shifted back and forth between flat and steep, which makes it very difficult for the skiers to stay centered."
In the women's slalom, Whitman was in good shape after a first run in which freshman Michelle Wall won and sophomore Eva Cardova placed third. Two more freshmen, Cathy Colpitts and Julia Babilis, were sixth and seventh, and freshman Lindsay Barksdale was in 15th place.
With the Missionaries in first place in the team scoring by more than five seconds, Colpitts was planning to skip her second run to protect a sore knee. But after Barksdale went first and finished strongly, Babilis and Cardova fell and failed to finish. Even though Wall also won the second run, Colpitts was forced into a second trip down the hill in hopes of salvaging Whitman's team score.
Despite missing a gate, hiking and posting a relatively slow time, Colpitts scored well enough to keep the Missionaries in second place. Albertson won the event with a team time of 309.65 seconds. Whitman was a distant second in 329.39, with Seattle taking third in 335.13. Puget Sound was fourth and Oregon fifth.
Wall took first in the individual scoring with a time of 96.96 seconds for her two runs. Barksdale placed 10th in 105.09, and Colpitts finished 30th in 127.34. Walla Walla's Tera Watts, who skied for Washington State, placed fourth overall in 100.64.
By placing second as a team, the Whitman women retained its hold on first place in the overall conference standings. After three events, the Missionaries have two victories and Saturday's second-place showing. The Albertson women have two second-place finishes in addition to their victory Saturday.
Saturday's travails gave way to a more tranquil Sunday as the Whitman men's and women's alpine ski teams won Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference slalom events at Mt. Spokane.
"Both of our teams learned a lot from the trouble we had yesterday and came back strong today," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
The Missionary women, after feeling fortunate to salvage a second-place showing on Saturday, cruised to a 12-second victory on Sunday. With all five of its skiers placing in the top 10, Whitman took first with a team score of 283.92 seconds for its top four finishers. Albertson College was a distant second in 295.88, followed in order by Seattle, University of Oregon and Washington State.
Whitman freshman Michelle Wall won both runs and was first in the individual standings with a total time of 92.48 seconds. Walla Walla's Tera Watts, who skies for Washington State, was second in 93.06, and Whitman sophomore Eva Cardova was third in 94.50. Also placing well for the Missionary women were freshmen Julia Babilis, 7th, 96.94; Cathy Colpitts, 8th, 97.98; and Lindsay Barksdale, 10th, 100.48."When all of our women stand up and finish, they are a definite force," Olson said.
Meanwhile, the Whitman men outskied the University of British Columbia (UBC) for a second straight day, widening their margin of victory from Saturday's miniscule seven-tenths of a second to more than three seconds on Sunday. The Missionaries won with a team score of 269.95 seconds. Rounding out the top five behind second-place UBC were the University of Washington, Albertson and the University of Oregon. A total of 13 schools competed.
UBC's Paul Boskovich won the event with a time of 86.38 seconds. Whitman freshman Brady Sherman won the second run and was second overall in 88.05, edging out Oregon's Colby Gail and 88.07 time. Missionary sophomore Arne Backstrom, who was second on the second run, was fourth overall in 88.14.
Whitman's sophomore twins, Aaron and Ari Stiassny, placed 10th and 11th, respectively, in times of 92.82 and 93.76. Freshman Russ Crandall bounced back from trouble on his first run to place 14th in 94.58. Two more Whitman sophomores, Jay Brown and Doug Whitfield, struggled. Brown failed to finish while Whitfield slipped to 27th place in 101.16.
"Doug continues to struggle a little bit, but his second run Sunday was much better," Olson said. "Hopefully that will get him back on track and back in the top five, where he normally is."
With four victories in four NCSC events to start the season, the Whitman men hold a comfortable lead in the conference standings. With three victories and a second-place finish, the Missionary women also remain in first place midway through the season. Both teams are seeking their eighth straight NCSC titles.
With Arne Backstrom winning his race and Michelle Wall placing second in her event, the Whitman men's and women's alpine ski teams rolled to a pair of giant slalom victories Saturday at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows.
Both Missionary teams can claim their eighth consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference titles by winning again in Sunday's giant slalom competition.
The Whitman men have won all five of the NCSC events held so far. The women's team has four victories and a second-place finish.
"Both teams have been making progress from week to week, and we're skiing pretty well right now," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "If we can win again tomorrow, that will take the pressure off next weekend."
The NCSC season concludes Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 10-11, with slalom races at Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain. "It would be great to have the titles wrapped up by then," Olson said. "That would allow us to mix things up a bit, and our athletes could work on a few things without having too worry too much about the team scoring."
Backstrom, a sophomore, placed first and second a year ago in giant slalom events held at Mt. Hood. He won again on Saturday with a time of 109.89 seconds for his two runs down the hill, edging the University of British Columbia's Alex Boedtker by less than a tenth of a second.
Whitman freshman Brady Sherman, who won Saturday's first run, slipped a bit on his second run and placed third in 110.45. Filling out the Missionary top four were Ari Stiassny in sixth place in 112.88 and Doug Whitfield in eighth place in 113.14.
Also finishing for Whitman were Aaron Stiassny (13th, 114.20) and Jay Brown (21st, 116.77). Russ Crandell was ill and unable to race for the Missionaries.
The Whitman men posted a winning team score orf 333.22 seconds, beating second-place Albertson College by more than five seconds. UBC was third, followed by the University of Washington and the University of Oregon. A total of 13 schools competed.
Whitman's Wall, who won three of the first four women's events, nearly added another victory in the women's giant slalom on Saturday. But the University of Puget Sound's Larissa Felli rallied on her second run to nip the Missionary freshman by less than a second. Felli's winning time was 114.30 seconds, while Wall was clocked in 115.19.
Wall's teammates were close on her heels. Two more freshmen, Cathy Colpitts and Lindsay Barksdale, placed third and fourth, respectively, in 115.50 and 115.82. Also placing well were Eva Cardova, who was sixth in 116.48, and Julia Babilis, who placed eighth in 116.95.
The Whitman women were first in the team scoring with a time of 346.51 seconds. Albertson was second in 351.01, beating third-place Puget Sound by less than two seconds. Eastern Oregon University was fourth and the University of Idaho fifth.
Shrugging off a bone-chilling mix of heavy winds, rain and snow, the Whitman alpine ski teams clinched their eighth-consecutive Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference titles with two more giant slalom victories Sunday at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows.
"It was another good day for our skiers, who performed exceedingly well given the weather conditions, but this is a good day to have over," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It was cold and nasty."
Led by sophomore Arne Backstrom, who won the men's giant slalom for a second straight day, the Missionaries kept their undefeated season alive, winning for the sixth time in six events. Whitman won the team scoring with a total time of 342.14 seconds, more than seven seconds ahead of the runner-up, Albertson College. The University of Washington took third in the 13-school field.
Backstrom was a decisive winner in the individual competition, finishing his two runs in 111.75 seconds. Teammate Brady Sherman, a freshman, was second in 114.20. Also placing for the Whitman men were Ari Stiassny, 5th, 116.19; Jay Brown, 7th, 116.98; Aaron Stiassny, 12th, 118.48; and Doug Whitfield, 13th, 118.96. Russ Crandell did not compete because of illness.
Results from the women's race Sunday were the much the same as Saturday. The Missionary women won for the fifth time in six events, again beating second-place Albertson. Whitman's team score for its top four finishers was 367.74 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of Albertson. The University of Puget Sound placed third for a second straight day.
Puget Sound's Larissa Felli claimed her second individual victory in two days, winning on Sunday with a time of 118.56 seconds for her two runs. Whitman freshman Michelle Wall was again second, finishing in 121.78. Others placing for the Missionaries were Eva Cardova, 4th, 122.79; Lindsay Barksdale, 5th, 123.17; and Julia Babilis, 7th, 125.09. Cathy Colpitts took the day off to rest a sore knee.
The NCSC season ends next weekend with a pair of slalom events at Schweitzer Mountain near Sandpoint, Idaho. The top eight men's and top eight women's teams will advance to the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's West Region championships, slated for Feb. 22-24 at Park City, Utah.
With sophomore Arne Backstrom winning his third straight race and freshman Michelle Wall winning her fourth race of the season, the Whitman alpine ski teams continued to steamroll the Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference opposition on Saturday with two slalom victories at Schweitzer Mountain north of Sandpoint, Idaho.
The Missionary teams clinched their eighth consecutive NCSC titles last weekend with giant slalom victories at Oregon's Mt. Hood Meadows. The conference season concludes Sunday with a final set of slalom events at Schweitzer Mountain.
The Missionary men stayed undefeated on Saturday by sweeping the top three individual places and taking six of the top 12 spots. Competing in a field of 13 schools, Whitman took first in the team scoring with a time of 225.62 seconds for its top four finishers. The University of British Columbia was second with a time of 232.96. Albertson College was third, the University of Washington fourth and Central Oregon Community fifth.
Winning their sixth event in seven tries, the Whitman women also swept the top three individual places and filled five of the top six spots. The Missionaries took first in the team scoring with a time of 243.67 for their top four. Second-place Albertson was more then 10 seconds back. Seattle took third, followed by the University of Oregon in fourth and Washington State in fifth.
"This was one of the most dominating performances we've ever had," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We did more than dominate each event. We dominated every run. To quote one of our freshmen, Lindsay Barksdale, `We really dominated today, didn't we?'"
"We're skiing very, very well as a team right now." Olson said. "This group is feeling very confident. Everyone seems to be having a good time."
Backstrom's margin of victory Saturday was razor thin. He won the race in 75.00 seconds for his two runs down the hill. Sophomore Doug Whitfield was second in 75.02 seconds. Freshman Brady Sherman was third in 75.60.
"Arne and Brady have skied well for most of the season, but Doug has had some difficulty," Olson said. "It was great to see Doug get back on track today."
Twin brothers Aaron and Ari Stiassney placed seventh and ninth, respectively, in times of 77.18 and 77.33. Freshman Russ Crandell, who missed last weekend's races due to illness, bounced back to place 12th in 78.50. Jared Schoening, seeing his first conference action of the season, placed 26th in 84.66.
In the women's slalom, Wall placed first in 79.68 seconds. Sophomore Eva Cardova was second in 81.51 seconds, while freshman Julia Babilis was third in 82.48.
Walla Walla's Tera Watts, who skis for Washington State, placed fourth in 82.58. Next in line were two more Whitman freshmen, Cathy Colpitts in fifth in 82.75 and Lindsay Barksdale in sixth in 83.74.
Michelle Wall and Arne Backstrom posted two more slalom victories Sunday at Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain as the Whitman alpine ski teams put the finishing touches on one of their most dominating Northwest Collegiate Ski Conference seasons.
With Backstrom winning his fourth straight race, the Missionary men completed an undefeated NCSC season with their eighth victory in eight events. Wall's latest individual triumph, her fifth of the season, helped the Whitman women post their seventh team victory.
Winners of the last eight conference titles, the Whitman skiers now turn their attention to the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's West Region Championships, which are set for Feb. 22-24 near Park City, Utah. The top five men's and top five women's teams at regionals advance to the national championships in early March.
"Both of our teams are coming together beautifully, and the timing is perfect with regionals coming up soon," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "We're skiing with a combination of confidence and athletic ability that I really haven't had before. Both teams keep getting better and better."
As they did in Saturday's slalom, the Whitman men finished one-two-three in Sunday's final race. Backstrom was first in a time of 80.15 seconds for his two runs. Brady Sherman, who was third on Saturday, moved up a notch to second with a time of 80.44. Doug Whitfield, second on Saturday, was third on Sunday in 81.10.
Whitman's Stiassny twins also swapped places on Sunday, compared to the day before. Ari finished seventh in 83.67, just ahead of Aaron and his eighth-place time of 83.95. Also placing for the Missionaries were Russ Crandell, 14th, in 86.27, and Jared Schoening, 26th, in 92.17.
The men's team scores Sunday were anything but close. Whitman took first in 241.69 seconds for its top four finishers, blasting second-place Albertson by almost 20 seconds. The University of Oregon was third, University of Washington fourth, and Puget Sound fifth. A total of 13 schools competed.
Wall won the women's slalom Sunday in a time of 82.52 seconds. Teammate Eva Cardova was second in 85.28. Cathy Colpitts placed fourth for Whitman in 86.85, while Linday Barksdale was ninth in 89.72. Julia Babilis, in sixth place after her first run, had to hike around a missed gate on her second run and dropped to 39th place in 124.24.
Whitman's winning margin in the women's team scoring was huge. The Missionaries were first in 254.65 seconds, almost 38 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Seattle University. Oregon was third, Albertson fourth and Eastern Oregon fifth.
Wall was a decisive victor in the battle for individual conference championship. In addition to winning five events, she placed second twice and dipped to fourth in one race. She finished 175 place points, far ahead of Cardova's second-place total of 102 points. Cardova won one conference race and placed second twice.
All five Whitman women earned first-team all-conference honors by placing in the top 10 in the final individual standings. Babilis was fifth with 81 points, Barksdale seventh with 77 points and Colpitts ninth with 65 points.
Despite his four race victories, Backstrom was edged by Sherman in a tight battle for the men's individual title. Sherman, steady as a rock throughout the conference season, won two races, placed second three times and finished third in three events. Sherman claimed the individual title with 155 place points
Backstrom was second with 143 points. In addition to his four wins, he placed second, fourth, fifth and 20th in his other races.
Other Missionaries making the top ten to earn first-team all-conference honors were Ari Stiassny, 6th, 67 points; Aaron Stiassny, 9th, 47 points; and Whitfield, 10th, 46 points.
Whitman's Jay Brown, along with Crandell, earned second-team honors by placing in the top 15. Brown was 14th with 27 points. Crandell was 15th with 21 points.
With Eva Cardova and Michelle Wall placing second and third, separated by one one-hundredth of a second, the Whitman women's alpine team shredded the opposition in the giant slalom event as the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's Western Region Championships opened near Park City, Utah.
Competing against 14 other schools, the Missionary women won the team scoring with a combined time of 366.81 seconds for their top three finishers. The University of Puget Sound was a distant second with a time of 379.62 seconds. Albertson College was third, Ft. Lewis College (Durango, Colo.) fourth, and Colorado Mountain College fifth. Filling the next five spots were the University of Wyoming, Colorado State, Weber State, Seattle University, and Rocky Mountain College.
"It was a great showing for our women's team," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "The race was held on the exact same course that the Olympians will be using a year from now. It's a great course, and our women were rocking."
Puget Sound's Larissa Felli won the race with a time of 120.41 seconds for her two runs. Cardova was second in 121.82, edging Wall and her time of 121.83. Lindsay Barksdale added to Whitman's team scoring, placing sixth in 123.16.
Also competing for the Missionaries were Cathy Colpitts, who finished seventh in 124.15, and Julia Babilis, who slid off course on her first run and was forced to hike back around two gates. She placed 75th in 166.20. "That was a tough break for Julia," Olson said. "She normally finishes right there with Eva and Michelle."
Other than Cardova, a junior, the others racing for the Missionary women's team are freshmen.
The men's portion of the regional championships gets started Friday with the giant slalom. The competition concludes Saturday with both the women's and men's slalom. The top five men's and women's teams, based on combined results, advance to the national championships, which are slated for March 7-10 at Idaho's Bogus Basin.
The Whitman men's team was hit with a major scare Wednesday when sophomore Arne Backstrom suffered shoulder injuries in a training run fall. "At first they thought there was a fracture," Olson said. "Now it appears the shoulder is just badly bruised. He skied again today and seemed confident about racing on Friday. He's going to give it a try at least."
Racing as a freshman at last year's regional championships, Backstrom won both the giant slalom and slalom events, leading the Missionary men to their fourth consecutive regional title. It was their fifth crown in six years.
The Whitman women's team also is the defending regional champion. The women have won two of the last three regional titles.
Shrugging off a painful shoulder injury suffered Thursday in a training run fall, Whitman sophomore Arne Backstrom defended his West Region giant slalom title on Friday, winning the event with a strong second run.
Competing a year ago as a freshman, Backstrom won both the giant slalom and slalom titles at his first U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's regional championships. This year's competition, which is taking place near Park City, Utah, concludes Saturday with the slalom events for both men and women.
Backstrom won the men's giant slalom Friday with a time of 117.89 seconds for his two runs down the hill. In second place after his first run, "Arne just blew the field away on his second run," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "He's just a tremendous competitor."
Kris Dausz of Montana State was second in 118.36, followed by Whitman sophomore Doug Whitfield in third place with a time of 120.72. Missionary freshman Brady Sherman was fifth in 121.63.
Whitman placed first in the giant slalom team scoring for a fifth straight year. The Missionaries topped the 18-school field with a team time of 360.24 seconds for their top three finishers. Montana State was second in 363.28, followed by third-place University of British Columbia and its 366.33 time. Colorado Mountain College was fourth and Rocky Mountain College fifth.
Also competing Thursday for Whitman were sophomore Ari Stiassny, who placed ninth in 122.75 seconds, and freshman Russ Crandall, who was 14th in 123.74. About 90 skiers competed.
Doctors at first thought Backstrom had suffered fractures in his fall Thursday. Later x-rays and examinations seemed to rule out any broken bones, however. "There's a certain of amount of pain in his shoulder, and his range of motion is definitely limited," Olson said. "He isn't able to raise that arm above his shoulder. But Arne doesn't know how to slow down or take it easy, and he seems to have a high pain threshold. He took a couple of Advil and was ready to go. He didn't want to relinquish the giant slalom title he won last year."
"It was an amazing day and performance for Arne, and the rest of the guys didn't do too badly either," Olson added. "Arne was as fast as ever, Doug was back on track, and Brady was as steady and consistent as he's been all year. Plus, we had all five guys finish in the top 15. As our No. 5 guy, Russ Crandall started in the 78th spot and still skied his way to a 14th- place finish. That is no small accomplishment."
Olson said Backstrom might have more difficulty competing in Saturday's slalom, an event that requires more twisting and turning. "One thing we know about Arne, though, is that he's going to give it 110 percent every time he puts on his skis."
The Whitman men will be gunning Saturday for their fifth consecutive all-around regional title, which is based on combined team results from the slalom and giant slalom events. The Missionary women, who won their giant slalom event on Thursday, are on the defending regional champs.
The Whitman women's and men's alpine teams are U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association Western Region champions once again, thanks to another strong performance in Saturday's slalom races at Park City, Utah.
Michelle Wall dominated the women's slalom, winning both runs to finish first and lead the Missionaries to a first-place team showing. The Whitman women, who also won Thursday's giant slalom, claimed their second consecutive regional title with two place points. The Albertson College women, who placed second and third in the two events, was the runner-up in the all-around scoring with five place points.
Meanwhile on Saturday, the Whitman men placed second in their slalom event and ended up sharing this year's regional title with Montana State. The Missionaries won Friday's giant slalom, edging Montana State. The two teams swapped positions in Saturday's slalom, leaving both with three place points in the all-around scoring.
The Whitman men have now won or shared the regional title for each of the last five years, and six of the last seven. The Missionary women have won three of the last four regional crowns.
"It was another great day for Whitman," Missionary alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It could have been a little better on the men's side, but we accomplished our main goal, which is to qualify both teams for the national championships."
The top five men's and women's teams from this year's regional championships advance to the national championships, which are set for March 7-10 at Idaho's Bogus Basin. The women's teams advancing, in addition to Whitman and Albertson, are the University of Puget Sound, Ft. Lewis College (Durango, Colo.) and Colorado State. The men's teams joining Whitman and Montana State at nationals will be the University of British Columbia, Colorado Mountain College and Albertson.
Wall, a Whitman freshman from Australia, was a clear-cut winner in the women's slalom Saturday. Winning both runs, she took first in 80.68 seconds, almost two seconds of Walla Walla's Tera Watts, who skis for Washington State.
Whitman's next three finishers, all first-year skiers, posted nearly identical performances. Cathy Colpitts was fifth in 86.39, followed by Julia Babilis in sixth in 86.62 and Lindsay Barksdale in seventh in 86.63. "That's great team skiing," Olson said. "The women's team stuck together and skied very, very well."
The Missionaries had more than enough depth to cover for one of Eva Cardova's slowest events of the season. Cardova, who placed second in Thursday's giant slalom, was in seventh place after Saturday's first slalom run, despite back spasms. With her back problems worsening, she lost one of her ski poles early in her second run and slipped to a 16th-place finish in 89.61.
Even without Cardova finishing near the front of the pack, the Whitman women placed first in the slalom team scoring with a combined time of 253.70 seconds for their top three finishers. Albertson was more than nine seconds back in second place. Ft. Lewis was third, Puget Sound fourth and Colorado State fifth.
The Missionary men held a four-second lead in their team scoring after their first slalom run Saturday. Doug Whitfield was in first place after that run, with Arne Backstrom sitting in fourth and Brady Sherman in sixth.
Whitfield fell on his second run, however, opening the door for Montana State's Kris Dausz to win the event with a combined time of 81.02 seconds for his two runs. Whitman's Sherman moved up to take second in 81.46. Backstrom, who won Friday's giant slalom despite a painful shoulder injury, finished fifth in 82.64.
Ari Stiassny also contributed to Whitman's team score, placing 28th in 90.41. His twin brother Aaron was 34th in 92.15.
The Montana State men won the slalom team scoring with a combined time of 248.32 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman was second in 254.51 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of third-place Albertson. Colorado State was fourth and Colorado Mountain College fifth.
Despite a rocky first run by its most experienced skier, the Whitman women's alpine team placed third in Wednesday's giant slalom event as the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association's national championships began at Idaho's Bogus Basin.
Lindsay Barksdale, a freshman, had Whitman's best individual performance, placing sixth to earn All-American honors in the event.
Romania's Anda Curata, who skies for New Hampshire's Plymouth State College, won the giant slalom with a time of 90.12 seconds for her two runs down the hill. Maria Kvopkova and Alexandra Morallet, two Europeans who compete for Sierra Nevada College, placed second and third.
Sierra Nevada won the team scoring with a time of 276.26 seconds for its top three finishers. Plymouth State was second in 281.54, while Whitman was third in 285.79. Boston College was fourth and the University of Massachusetts fifth. The next five places were filled, in order, by Colby-Sawyer, Brown, Ft. Lewis College, Syracuse, and Albertson. A total of 19 schools and 96 individuals competed.
"It wasn't our best day, but placing third at this level is nothing to hang our heads about," Whitman ski coach Tom Olson said. "We know we can ski faster as a team, which is what we will try to do in Friday's slalom."
Barksdale, one of four first-year skiers on the Whitman women's team, had a sixth-place time of 93.60 seconds. Two more freshmen, Michelle Wall and Julia Babilis, placed 17th and 18th, respectively, in times of 95.82 and 96.72. Close behind were junior Eva Cardova, 19th in 96.32, and freshman Cathy Colpitts, 22nd in 96.62.
Cardova, a native of Slovakia, placed third in the giant slalom at last year's championships, and fifth the year before that.
"It was just one of those days for Eva," Olson said. "Coming out of the starting gate on her first run, she got tangled up and literally did a 360 turn before she straightened out and took off. After that, she had a great first run, but she must have lost at least three or four seconds at the beginning."
Cardova finished her first run in 32nd place. "Eva showed a lot of courage on her second run, bouncing back to move up more than 10 spots," Olson said.
Whitman sophomore Arne Backstrom made just one mistake in Thursday's giant slalom at the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association Championships at Bogus Basin near Boise, Idaho. That one mistake proved costly, however, as Backstrom slipped to a tie for 14th in a highly competitive field of 100 skiers.
Backstrom finished his two runs in 91.05 seconds, less than a second out of fifth place. "The talent level and competition are just incredible," Whitman coach Tom Olson said. "This field, which includes a bunch of European skiers, is the cream of the crop. We might as well be competing against NCAA Div. I teams and their scholarship athletes."
Backstrom made his one mistake on Thursday's first run. "Arne was late on one of the early gates and basically had to make a complete stop," Olson said. "He had a heck of a run after that, and his second run was faster yet. That's what makes ski racing such a frustrating sport. You have to be perfect all the time. That one mistake is what dropped Arne out of the top five."
Martin Kroisleitner, one of several Europeans who ski for Sierra Nevada College (Incline Village, NV), won the giant slalom in a time of 87.67 seconds for his two runs. Drew Drummond of Colby-Sawyer College (New London, NH) was second in 89.60, while Sierra Nevada's Rune Nielsen was third in 89.84.
Sierra Nevada won the team scoring with a combined time of 268.58 seconds for its top three top finishers. Colby-Sawyer was second in 274.91, little more than one second ahead of New Hampshire's Plymouth State College and its third-place time of 275.97.
St. Olaf College of Northfield, Minn., slipped into fourth place with a time of 277.97, less than a half second ahead of fifth-place Whitman and its 278.30 time.
"We didn't ski as well or fast as fast as we're capable," Olson said. "We may have been a little too tentative on the first run. On the second run, though, the guys really got after it and moved up a few notches."
The amount of time separating second-place Colby-Sawyer and fifth-place Whitman was minimal, Olson also noted. "The four teams that finished ahead of us were all champions of their conferences and regions," he said. "They didn't beat us by much, but at least we got beat by some very good teams."
A total of 19 schools competed in the men's giant slalom. Green Mountain College placed sixth and was followed, in order, by the University of British Columbia, Boston College, Lees-McRae College, and Alfred University.
Brady Sherman, a freshman, had Whitman's next best performance, placing 20th in 92.87 seconds. Sophomore Doug Whitfield finished 25th in 93.50. Two more sophomores, Ari Stiassny and Jay Brown, placed 42nd and 43rd, respectively, in times of 95.59 and 95.74 seconds.
A somewhat angry Whitman women's alpine ski team, still a little disappointed after placing third in Wednesday's giant slalom, came storming back in Friday's slalom event to beat everyone but mighty Sierra Nevada College as the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association Championships continued at Idaho's Bogus Basin.
"I really think the third-place finish Wednesday made Whitman's women kind of mad," Missionary ski coach Tom Olson said. "They came back like a swarm of bees today. They were ready to attack, and they did."
Sierra Nevada, a perennial national champion, won Friday's slalom team scoring with a time of 230.84 seconds for its top three finishers. Whitman was second with a time of 236.90 seconds, while Boston College took third in 244.30. New Hampshire's Plymouth State College placed fourth.
"Sierra Nevada is always the team to beat," Olson said. "Year in and year out, its roster is dominated by World Cup skiers. Some of its skiers this year just walked off their national teams not too long ago."
By placing second as a team in Friday's slalom, Whitman also slipped into second-place in the women's alpine all-around scoring. Sierra Nevada, by winning both alpine events, claimed the all-around title with two place points. Whitman, after finishing third on Wednesday and second Friday, took the runner-up spot with five place points. Plymouth State was third with six points and Boston College fourth with seven points.
The Whitman women have now placed second to Sierra Nevada in the alpine combined scoring in each of the past four years. Sierra Nevada has won every women's alpine combined title since 1991 -- with the exception of 1997 when the Missionary women pulled a rare upset to win the all-around championship.
Romania's Anda Curata, who skies for Plymouth State, won Friday's slalom with a time of 73.18 seconds. She also won Wednesday's giant slalom.
Maria Kvopkova of Slovakia and Pavla Raclavska of the Czech Republic led Sierra Nevada to Friday's team victory by placing second and third. Their times were 73.90 and 76.38.
Whitman's top finisher, freshman Michelle Wall, placed fourth in 76.40, just two one-hundredths of a second out of third place. Julia Babilis, another Missionary freshman, placed seventh in 79.57. Eva Cardova, a Whitman junior from Slovakia who has battled back spasms for the past two weeks, finished 11th in 80.93.
Two more freshmen also placed high up the standings for the Missionaries. Cathy Colpitts was 15th in 82.60, while Lindsay Barksdale placed 23rd in 84.79. About 90 skiers competed, representating more than 20 schools.
Wall, Babilis, Cardova and Colpitts earned All-American honors by placing in the top 15.
"I was very proud of the way our women came back today and competed," Olson said.
"They showed a few of the Eastern schools that, outside of Sierra Nevada, Whitman is the
still the team to beat."
With two of its five skiers failing to finish both runs, the Whitman men's alpine team slipped to a seventh-place finish in the slalom event as the U.S. Collegiate Snowsport Association national championships came to a close Saturday at Idaho's Bogus Basin.
The Missionaries, who placed fifth in Thursday's giant slalom, finished the week in fifth place in the alpine combined scoring. Sierra Nevada College won both men's alpine events to win the alpine combined scoring title.
Sierra Nevada skiers placed first and second in Saturday's slalom. Michael Allgaeuer won the race in 76.80 seconds for his two runs. Teammate Martin Kroisleitner was a close second in 76.89.
Sierra Nevada (Incline Village, NV) won the slalom team scoring with a time of 232.40 seconds for its top three finishers. New Hampshire's Plymouth State College was second in 239.75 seconds, while Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT) was third in 246.60.
Whitman was seventh with a time of 254.08 seconds. Brady Sherman, a freshman, was the top Missionary finisher, placing 12th in 81.05. By placing in the top 15, Sherman earned All-American honors for the event. More than 90 skiers competed Saturday.
Also scoring for the Missionaries were sophomores Doug Whitfield, who placed 17th in 83.30, and sophomore Ari Stiassny, who was 43rd in 89.73.
Arne Backstrom, one of Whitman's top skiers, was disqualified on his first run after he straddled one of the gates. Aaron Stiassny fell on his second run and failed to finish.
"It was a tough day for us," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "It was a solid, respectable finish, but we know we could have skied much better and placed much higher. The teams that finished ahead of us in the alpine combined scoring, other than Sierra Nevada, were Plymouth State, Colby-Sawyer, and Green Mountain, and all of those schools have very good programs."