Competing in tough weather conditions and facing a world-class field of skiers, Rachel Walker needed just one slalom run to shake off six weeks of rust as the University of Utah Invitational got underway Wednesday at Park City, Utah.
Walker, a Whitman sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, placed a respectable 30th on her first run, despite drawing a poor starting assignment (49th out of 84 racers) on a slalom course that quickly rutted due to soft snow conditions.
With that one run under her belt, Walker turned plenty of heads by winning the second run, pulling herself into a 14th-place finish overall.
"This was the most talented field of skiers I've ever seen at a college race, so it says a lot about Rachel to see her win the second run," Whitman alpine ski coach Tom Olson said. "She beat some of the best World Cup skiers from all over Europe."
"For most of our skiers, including Rachel, this was just their second day on snow since Thanksgiving," Olson added. "The Northwest just hasn't had any snow yet."
Snow hasn't been a problem in Utah, where competitors awoke to 10 inches of new snow Wednesday morning. "It then snowed most of the day, which is exactly what you don't want for a ski race." Olson said. "Hard-packed ice gives the best race conditions, but all we had today was soft snow and some very deep ruts."
The University of Utah Invitational, which concludes Thursday, marks the start of the NCAA ski season for Whitman and nine other schools in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA). Walker, who qualified for the NCAA Championships last winter, was one of six Whitman women who competed in Wednesday's slalom.
The men's alpine competition got underway Wednesday with the giant slalom. Matt Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, Wash., and Whitman's only racer, placed 39th in field of 77 skiers.
Nate Johnson, a Whitman junior from Mukilteo, Wash., remains sidelined with back problems, and Whitman's top skier, junior Hannes Zirknitzer (Bright, Australia), studied in Europe during the fall semester and has remained there to train for next week's Winter World University Games. Walker also plans to compete in the university games, which will take place in Innsbruck, Austria.
In the women's slalom Wednesday, Walker won the second run in 53.13 seconds to finish with a total time of 1:46.99 for her two runs down the hill. She was less than one second out of ninth place.
Florence Roujas, an University of Denver junior who hails from Embrun, France, won the event in 1:42.27, finishing more than two seconds in front of the Czech Republic's Lucie Zikova, who skies for the University of Colorado. Hailey Duke, a non-college racer, had the day's third-best time.
Whitman's Renee Thibodeau, a sophomore from Fort Kent, Maine, placed 30th among the RMISA racers with a time of 1:58.47. Hailey Kimmel, a first-year skier from Murphys, Calif., was 32nd in 2:03.35. Maria Corcorran, a sophomore from Bellevue, Wash., finished 36th in 2:09.69, while Charlotte Gourlay, a first-year skier from Ketchum, Idaho, was 39th in 2:18.73.
Nicole Wolf, a first-year skier from Littleton, Colo., was one of 12 competitors who failed to finish the first run. "We got five of our six women down the hill, so that's a good start," Olson said. "The sophomores showed real improvement from a year ago, and the first-year skiers did some good things, too."
Matt Bingham, Whitman's only skier on the men's side, also did "some solid skiing for his first college race," Olson added.
Bingham finished his two giant slalom runs in 2:21.03, placing 39th overall but 24th among RMISA skiers.
Benjamin Thornhill, a University of Utah junior from Whistler, B.C., won the men's event in 2:06.11. The University of Alaska's Andreas Neuhauser, a senior from Munderfing, Austria, was second in 2:06.35. The University of Denver's Dominik Schweiger, a senior from Wangle, Austria, was third in 2:06.95.
Rachel Walker finished 19th in the women's giant slalom and Matt Bingham was 24th in the men's slalom to give the Whitman alpine ski teams their best placings in Thursday's University of Utah Invitational at Park City, Utah.
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"The giant slalom is Rachel's best event, but our lack of snow and training back home was obvious in today's racing," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Her timing was off, and timing is crucial in this event. Rachel had a decent day, but she'll get much stronger with more time on snow."
Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, completed her two runs in a combined time of 2:18.49.
Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, Wash., was forced to hike back around a missed gate on his first slalom run, finishing in 3:03.73. "Matt had a rough day and lost a lot of time on the missed gate," Olson said.
As was the case Wednesday, Bingham was the only member of the Whitman men's alpine team to compete. Nate Johnson, a junior from Mukilteo, Wash., is nursing a bad back, and Hannes Zirknitzer, a junior from Bright, Australia, is in Austria, preparing for next week's Winter World University Games.
Whitman's Walker wasn't alone in the women's competition, however. Charlotte Gourlay, a first-year skier from Ketchum, Idaho, finished 30th with a time of 2:25.39. Sophomore Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine) and first-year skier Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.) placed 33rd and 34th, respectively, in 2:28.93 and 2:29.36. Maria Corcorran, a sophomore from Bellevue, Wash., was 39th in 2:34.22.
Florence Roujas, a French skier who competes for the University of Denver, won Thursday's giant slalom with a time of 2:10.48. Roujas, winning for the second time in two days, edged teammate Pia Rivelsrud (Aalesund, Norway) by five one-hundredths of a second. April Mancuso, a University of Utah senior from Lake Tahoe, Calif., was third in 211.15.
A Frenchman was also the winner Thursday in the men's slalom. Timothee Theaux, a junior at Western State College, took first in 1:40.12. Austria's Dominik Schweiger, a senior at the University of Denver, was the runner-up in 1:41.22.
The two-day University of Utah Invitational, which also included two cross country ski events, was the first NCAA competition of the season for Whitman and the nine other schools in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. The University of Denver took first in the overall team scoring with 568 points. The University of Colorado was second with 488 points, two points ahead of third-place Utah. The universities of Alaska and New Mexico rounded out the top five. Whitman, the only NCAA Div. III school in the ski conference, finished in ninth place with 191 points.
"For our first weekend, I'm very pleased with our performances," Olson said. "That goes for alpine and cross country."
With Whitman still on semester break, Olson and his skiers will remain in Utah for more training on snow. They travel to Jackson, Wyo., on Jan. 13-14 for the next NCAA competition.
With their top two skiers at the Winter World University Games in Austria, the Whitman alpine ski teams ran into some tough sledding as the alpine portion of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Invitational got underway Thursday with giant slalom races at the Snow King Ski Area near Jackson, Wyo.
Charlotte Gourlay, a first-year skier from Ketchum, Idaho, posted Whitman's best finish, placing 27th overall in 1:53.04.
"We're making some progress," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "Charlotte skied a lot better today, as did most of the women. We got here in time to do some training yesterday, which was only our second day of training on snow this season. We hope there's enough snow back home now that we can do some training before our next events in Colorado at the end of the month."
Matt Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, was Whitman's only competitor on the men's side Thursday. Despite falling on his run, Bingham placed 39th in 1:55.18.
Whitman's top alpine skiers, junior Hannes Zirknitzer (Bright, Australia) and sophomore Rachel Walker (Whistler, British Columbia), are in Austria for the next week, representing their home countries in the World University Games. The alpine events get underway Sunday with the downhill and continue next week with the super-G, slalom, and giant slalom.
Sophomores Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine) and Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) were next in line for the Missionaries, in Thursday's race, placing 35th and 40th, respectively, with times of 1:55.64 and 2:02.28. Haily Kimmel, a first-year skier from Murphys, Calif., was 41st in 2:02.65, and another of her first-year teammates, Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.) failed to finish her first run.
Florence Roujas, a French skier who competes for the University of Denver, won the women event in 1:45.35. Norway's Karine Falck-Pedersen, who also skies for Denver, was second in 1:47.76. The University of Colorado's Rachel Roosevelt, a first-year skier from Storrs, Conn., was third in 1:46.80.
The University of Alaska's Andreas Neuhauser, a senior from Munderfing, Austria, won the men's race in 1:39.22. Lars Loeseth Sunde, a sophomore from Oslo, Norway, was second for the University of New Mexico in 1:39.71. The University of Utah's Benjamin Thornhill, a junior from Whistler, B.C., took third in 1:39.76.
The University of Alaska Invitational concludes Friday with the slalom races.
Renee Thibodeau, a sophomore from Fort Kent, Maine, and Charlotte Gourlay, a first-year skier from Ketchum, Idaho, finished 25th and 26th, respectively, in the women's slalom Friday in the University of Alaska Invitational at the Snow King Ski Area near Jackson, Wyo.
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Thibodeau was clocked in 1:42.58, edging Gourlay and her time of 1:42.87. Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.), another of Whitman's first-year skiers, placed 33rd in 1:50.92, while sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) was 35th in 1:52.84. First-year skier Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.) failed to finish her first run.
In the men's slalom Friday, Whitman freshman Matthew Bingham (Seattle, Wash.) failed to finish his second run. Bingham was the only competitor for the Missionary men's team. Whitman's top two alpine skiers, Hannes Zirknitzer (Bright, Australia) and Rachel Walker (Whistler, British Columbia), skipped the University of Alaska Invitational to compete in the Winter World University Games, now underway in Austria.
"Our skiers today had some moments of very good skiing," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "For us, though, these runs are really nothing more than training runs. We haven't had enough snow back home for any training, so we're still just working on our basic timing."
Frances's Timothee Theaux, a junior at Western State College, won the men's race Friday in 1:39.81. The University of Denver's Pia Rivelsrud, a sophomore from Aalesund, Norway, won the women's slalom in 1:30.25.
Whitman's next NCAA races are set for Jan. 28-29 at Winter Park, Colo.
Whitman's Rachel Walker placed 16th among the women while teammate Hannes Zirknitzer finished 27th among the men as the University of Denver Invitational got underway Friday with giant slalom races near Winter Park, Colo.
Both Walker and Zirknitzer rejoined the Whitman alpine teams earlier this week after competing at the Winter World University Games in Austria.
Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, finished her two runs in 2:05.60. In her only previous NCAA race this season, she placed 19th in the giant slalom. "That wasn't a bad finish for Rachel today," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
In the men's giant slalom, Zirknitzer posted a time of 1:58.15 for his two runs. "Hannes is struggling a bit with his giant slalom, and he didn't ski well today," Olson said. "The men's alpine field is also much tougher this year. But the salom is Saturday and that's his best event, so hopefully his results will be better."
Walker and Zirknitzer, Whitman's top two alpine skiers, are focused on qualifying for the NCAA national championships in March. Counting Saturday's slalom, they have five NCAA races remaining to bolster their qualifying bids, which are based on a skier's top two finishes in both slalom and giant slalom. A total of 17 women and 17 men from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Conference, which includes Whitman and nine other schools, qualify for nationals.
Freshman Matt Bingham (Seattle, Wash.) was the only other member of the Whitman men's team to compete Friday. Bingham placed 30th in 2:03.12. "Matt is still frustrated with his skiing, but that's the best race he's had so far this season," Olson said. "Plus, he continues to finish and pick up team points for us."
In the women's giant slalom Saturday, sophomore Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine) and first-year skier Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho) placed 31st and 32nd, respectively, with times of 2:15.44 and 2:16.24. First-year skier Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.) and sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) also went back-to-back, finishing 35th and 36th, respectively, in 2:22.46 and 2:22.95. Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.), another of Whitman first-year competitors, did not finish.
"It wasn't a great day for our women, but with the lack of training most of them have had this year, our expectations aren't tremendously high," Olson said. "Our goal is to use these races as our training runs and continue to get better each week. We want to keep our motivation and attitudes as high as possible."
The University of Denver's Florence Roujas (Embrun, France) won the women's giant slalom Saturday with a time of 1:59.82. The University of Utah's Kimberly Stephens (Park City, Utah) was second and the University of Nevada's Jaana-Maarit Valimaki (Ravakatu, Finland) third.
In the men's giant slalom, the University of New Mexico's Lars Loeseth Sunde (Oslo, Norway) was the winner in 1:50.24. Denver's Dominik Sweiger (Wangle, Austria) was the runner-up, ahead of Denver's David Lamb (Steamboat Springs, Colo.).
Placing seventh on his second run, Whitman junior Hannes Zirknitzer finished 13th overall in the men's slalom at Saturday's University of Denver Invitational at Winter Park, Colo.
Zirknitzer's time for both runs was 1:25.21, less than one second out of sixth place. Dominik Schweiger, an Austrian who skis for Denver, won the event in 1:23.61.
Rachel Walker, Whitman's top alpine skier on the women's side, fell on her second run Saturday and did not finish. Renee Thibodeau, a sophomore from Fort Kent, Maine, took top honors for the Missionaries, placing 35th in 1:43.86. The University of Denver's Florence Roujas (Embrun, France) won her second race in as many days with a time of 1:30.52.
Zirknitzer and Walker both qualified for the NCAA championships a year. There are four qualifying races left in the regular NCAA season. A total of 18 men and 18 women from the western U.S. will advance to the alpine portion of nationals.
"It would be tough for Hannes and Rachel to grab one of those spots, but they both remain very determined," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. Zirknitzer, a junior from Bright, Australia, missed four NCAA qualifying races early in the season while studying Europe and competing in the Winter World University Games. Walker missed two qualifying races while at the university games.
Olson said Zirknitzer turned in a solid performance in Saturday's slalom. "Hannes can be hard on himself," Olson said. "He's just not skiing as fast as he would like. But considering he just had surgery in August, he's doing very well."
Two first-year skiers, Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho) and Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.), along with sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.), also finished Saturday's slalom. Gourlay was 39th in 1:46.43, while Kimmel and Corcorran were 46th and 47th, respectively, in 1:53.53 and 1:53.58. First-year skier Nicole Wolf did not finish her first run.
Matthew Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, was the only competitor for the Whitman men. He placed 36th in 1:35.16.
Whitman travels next weekend to the University of New Mexico Invitational.
Finishing just one second out of the 13th spot, Whitman's Rachel Walker placed 22nd in the women's giant slalom at Friday's University of New Mexico Invitational at Taos Ski Valley near Taos, N.M.
Race officials managed to squeeze in both runs for the women's race before poor visibility forced postponement of the men's giant slalom. Fog and falling snow reduced visibility to near zero. The men's race will be made up in two weeks as part of the Montana State Invitational.
"Once the fog rolled in and snow started falling, it was a total white-out," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, finished her two runs in 2:10.8, exactly one second behind the University of Colorado's Erika Hogan, who finished 13th in a tightly bunched field. "Rachel had a solid day, but she didn't ski nearly as well as she had hoped," Olson said. "We're hoping for better results on Saturday, if we're able to race at all. We're expecting up to a foot of snow overnight."
Three other Missionary women finished both giant slalom runs Friday, placing 37th, 38th and 39th. Sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) led the way with a total time of 2:18.7. First-tear skier Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho) was next in 2:23.3, followed by sophomore Renee Thibodeau in 2:24.0.
Two more first-year skiers, Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.) and Meredith Riley (Park City, Utah), failed to finish their second runs for Whitman.
Two skiers finished in a dead heat for the top spot in the women's race. The University of Utah's Rowena Hyldahl (Cooma, Australia) and Colorado's Lucie Zikova (Prague, Czech Republic) were both clocked in 2:06.4. The University of Denver's Florence Roujas (Embrun, France) was close behind in third with a time of 2:06.9.
In the team scoring for the women's giant slalom, Whitman finished ninth with 19 points, four points behind eighth-place Western State College. Utah and Colorado tied for first with 77 points each, just three points ahead of third place Denver.
Weather permitting, the men's and women's slalom races will take place Saturday.
The race conditions were far less than ideal as Whitman's Hannes Zirknitzer placed 15th in the men's slalom at Saturday's University of New Mexico Invitational at Taos Ski Valley near Taos, N.M.
After the men's giant slalom was postponed Friday due to fog and heavy snow, race officials gave the men's slalom top priority on Saturday morning. "After last night's big snowstorm, everyone worked their tails off today to get the course ready, and we were lucky to get two slalom runs completed for the men," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said.
That meant there was no time Saturday for the scheduled women's slalom. "We just flat ran out of daylight," Olson said.
Both the women's slalom and men's giant slalom will be re-scheduled as part of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association's regional championships, slated for Feb. 25-26 at Bridger Bowl near Bozeman, Mont. "Instead of having two races for the men and two for the women that weekend, we'll have three races instead," Olson said.
The regional championships, which conclude the regular season, are a last opportunity for skiers to qualify for the NCAA Championships, planned for March 9-12 in Stowe, Vt.
Zirknitzer, a Whitman junior from Bright, Australia, finished his two slalom runs Saturday in 1:43.18. Two weeks ago at the University of Denver Invitational, Zirknitzer placed 13th in the slalom event.
Whitman's only other competitor Saturday was freshman Matt Bingham (Seattle, Wash.), who was 26th in 1:49.09.
The University of New Mexico's Lars Loeseth Sunde (Oslo, Norway) won Saturday's slalom in 1:39.21. The University of Utah's Mark Heinrich-Wallace (Park City, Utah) was second in 1:39.69.
"The snowfall last night and today was very heavy -- lots of wet, heavy snow," Olson said. "It took a huge effort to get the course ready. What we need for ski racing is cold and hard, not the wet stuff we had today."
Whitman's Rachel Walker placed 18th in the women's slalom while teammate Hannes Zirknitzer finished 21st in the men's giant slalom as the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) held make-up races Thursday at Bridger Bowl near Bozeman, Mont.
The two races were postponed two weeks ago due to poor weather conditions at the University of New Mexico Invitational at Taos Ski Valley. The events were moved to Thursday at Bridger Bowl, as teams gathered for the NCAA Western Region Championships, which Montana State University is hosting Friday and Saturday.
With Thursday's results, Walker and Zirknitzer improved their standing in terms of qualifying for the NCAA national championships, Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. Both skiers remain on the qualifying bubble, however, and need to finish well in their final races to claim two of the region's final berths at nationals, Olson added.
"Our results Thursday were decent, but we're not close to skiing to our potential," Olson said. "We've had virtually no chance to train this winter, and that continues to just kill us at these races. We've had exactly four training days all winter -- one day as we arrived for each of the four previous race weekends."
The Missionary alpine teams normally train on weekday afternoons and during non-racing weekends at Bluewood, near Dayton, Wash. This winter's lack of snow in the local area eliminated those training opportunities.
"We skied for three days at our last race, and then we were off snow for 12 days until today," Olson said. "It makes it tough for us to compete against others in the conference who have daily access to training sites with snow."
Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, completed her two slalom runs Thursday in 1:35.03. Her best slalom finish this season came last month at the University of Utah Invitational, where she placed 14th.
"This gives Rachel two good slalom finishes," Olson said. "She definitely helped herself today. Hopefully she can come up with a higher finish in Saturday's final slalom race of the season."
Zirknitzer, a junior from Bright, Australia, was clocked in 1:41.59 for his two giant slalom runs Thursday. He finished just one second out of 14th place in a tightly-packed field. "Hannes wanted a higher finish today, but placing 21st is still his best giant slalom result this season," Olson said. "The final giant slalom is Friday, and it would be great to see him break into the top 15."
Zirknitzer, who studied last semester in Austria and then stayed in Europe in compete in the Winter World University Games, missed four of the NCAA's early qualifying races. Walker missed two of those races while also competing in the university games.
Matt Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, was the only other member of the Whitman men's team to compete in Thursday's giant slalom. He placed 30th in 1:46.02. "That was one of Matt's best races of the season," Olson said.
In the women's slalom Thursday, first-year skier Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho) placed 26th for the Missionaries with a time of 1:39.09. Sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) was 32nd in 1:49.83. Placing 34th and 35th, respectively, were first-year skier Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.) in 1:50.36 and sophomore Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine) in 1:54.43.
First-year skiers Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.) and Meredith Riley (Park City, Utah) failed to finish their second runs.
The University of Colorado's Rachel Roosevelt (Storrs, Conn.) won the women's slalom Thursday in 1:29.62. The University of Nevada's Jaana Valimaki (Rovakatu, Finland) was second in 1:29.68, while Colorado's Lucie Zikova (Prague, Czech Republic) was third in 1:30.06.
The University of New Mexico's Lars Loeseth Sunde (Oslo, Norway) won the men's giant slalom Thursday with a time of 1:38.63. Teammate Alex Mach (Ottawa, Canada) was the runner-up in 1:39.37. The University of Denver's David Lamb took third place in 1:39.54.
Thursday's races completed the final team scoring for the University of New Mexico Invitational. In combined men's and women's scoring for alpine and cross country events, Whitman placed seventh among 10 schools with 218 points. Western State College, an NCAA Div. II school, finished eighth, followed by two NCAA Div. I schools, the University of Alaska and Boise State.
Denver finished in first place, followed in order by Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana State, and Nevada.
Improving his chances of qualifying for the NCAA national championships for a third straight season, Whitman's Hannes Zirknitzer placed 15th in the men's giant slalom Friday at the Western Regional Championships, taking place at Bridger Bowl near Bozeman, Mont.
Zirknitzer, a junior from Bright, Australia, completed his two runs in 1:29.01, finishing just 1.3 seconds off the winning time, which was posted by the University of New Mexico's Peter Roering, a sophomore from Oslo, Norway.
"Those are the best back-to-back giant slalom runs I've seen from Hannes," Whitman alpin coach Tom Olson said. "He was in ninth place after the first run. He might have been just a little conservative on his second run, wanting to make sure he finished."
It was Zirknitzer's best giant slalom result of the season. His previous best finish, which came Thursday in a make-up race, was 21st. He missed four early season qualifying races while studying in Europe and competing in last month's Winter World University Games.
Meanwhile, in the women's giant slalom Friday, Whitman's Rachel Walker placed 22nd in 1:47.13. "Rachel wasn't especially happy with either of her two runs," Olson said. "She skied solid -- just as fast as she normally would. It all goes back to the lack of snow and training we've had back home all winter. That lack of training is all that's kept Rachel and Hannes from placing in the top 10 at some of these races."
Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, qualified for nationals a year ago, and she remains in the running for a return ticket. Saturday's slalom events, however, are the final qualifying races of the season.
Matt Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, was the only Missionary who competed in Friday's giant slalom. "Matt missed the second to last gate on his second run," Olson said. "It's too bad. Those were the two best giant slalom runs I've seen from Matt this season."
In the women's giant slalom, first-year skier Charlotte Gourlay (Ketchum, Idaho) placed 25th for Whitman in 1:48.64. "Charlotte just had a blast today," Olson said. "The course was set for her type of skiing, and she made the most of it. She skied very well."
Four other Whitman women placed in pack from 32nd to 35th. Sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.) led the way in 1:53.57, followed by first-year skier Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.) in 1:56.29, sophomore Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine) in 2:01.80, and first-year skier Meredith Riley (Park City, Utah) in 2:03.40. Nicole Wolf (Littleton, Colo.), another of Whitman's first-year skiers, failed to finish her first run.
"Most of the women had at least one good run, or they skied well in parts of the runs," Olson said. "It's hard to maintain much consistancy given the limited time we've had on snow."
The University of Denver's Florence Roujas, a junior from France, won the women's race in 1:39.46.
Hannes Zirknitzer placed a season-high fifth in the men's slalom and Rachel Walker finished 15th in the women's event, but neither performance was enough to advance either Whitman skier to the NCAA National Championships early next month in Stowe, Vt.
"As I've said all season, this is the deepest and most talented field of skiers I've ever seen," Whitman alpin coach Tom Olson said. "It's an incredibly tough group of skiers, especially on the men's side."
Zirknitzer, a junior from Bright, Australia, completed his two slalom runs in 1:38.33, finishing just seven-tenths of a second behind the winner, Luke Patterson of the University of Nevada. "It's really disappointing for Hannes that he's not representing Whitman at nationals for a third consecutive season. But if this had to be the end for him this season, he went out in style. Placing fifth is no small accomplishment."
Eighteen men and 18 women advance to nationals from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiat Ski Association, which includes Whitman, seven NCAA Div. I schools and two NCAA Div. II schools. Zirknitzer finished 16th in the final slalom standings and 29th in the giant slalom scoring, which left him in 24th place overall among the men. Walker, a sophomore from Whistler, British Columbia, who qualified for nationals last season as a freshman, finished 29th overall this winter.
Both Zirknitzer and Walker missed two NCAA qualifying races earlier this season while competing in the Winter World University Games, and Zirknitzer missed two additional qualifiers while completing a semester of study in Europe. "We knew it was a gamble, missing some of the early qualifying races, but events like the World University Games don't come along every day," Olson said.
While the day ended in disappointment for Walker and Zirknitzer, Saturday was one of the season's best days for the Whitman alpine squads. "We never did have any snow at home for training this winter, but as the season went along and we got to race, we slowly but surely got better," Olson said. "Today was a good example of that, even though it's a case of being too little, too late."
As a team, the Whitman women scored 42 points and finished fifth in the 10-school field. The Missionaries finished ahead of Boise State, Montana State, New Mexico, Western State, and Alaska. "We can compete with some of these scholarship schools, but our lack of training opportunities made it very difficult this year," Olson said.
Walker's 15th place time was 1:35.81. Renee Thibodeau, a sophomore from Fort Kent, Maine, was close behind in 18th place in 1:38.88. "That was Renee's best finish of the season," Olson said. "She was right there with Rachel."
Charlotte Gourlay, a first-year skier from Ketchum, Idaho, was next for Whitman, placing 23rd in 1:41.13. Meredith Riley, a first-year teammate from Park City, Utah, was 25th in 1:43.71. Also placing for Whitman were sophomore Maria Corcorran (Bellevue, Wash.), who was 29th in 1:49.59, and first-year skier Hailey Kimmel (Murphys, Calif.), who was 33rd in 1:52.65. Nicole Wolf, a first-year skier from Littleton, Colo., failed to finish her first run.
Matt Bingham, a freshman from Seattle, was the only other competitor for the Whitman men. He missed a gate on his second run, had to had to backtrack, and eventually finished 42nd in 2:28.32. "Matt had a good first run and was in 30th place at that point," Olson said.
The women's slalom was won by Pia Denver's Pia Rivelsrud, a sophomore from Aalesund, Norway. Her time was 1:30.46.