WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College's Hannes Zirknitzer placed 10th in the men's slalom -- winning NCAA All-American honors -- as the alpine portion of the NCAA Skiing Championships concluded today at the Sugar Bowl Ski Area near Donner Summit, Calif.
Zirknitzer, a sophomore from Bright, Australia, is believed to be the first Whitman athlete to win NCAA All-American honors in any sport against Division I competition. All schools involved in NCAA skiing, regardless of their size or ability to give athletic scholarships, compete in the same division. Whitman is the only NCAA Div. III (non-scholarship) school competing in NCAA skiing in the western United States.
Zirknitzer finished his two slalom runs Friday in 1:16.73, less than one second out of sixth place. Meanwhile, in the women's slalom on Friday, Whitman's Rachel Walker placed 29th. Walker, a first-year skier from Whistler, British Columbia, finished her two runs in 1:30.23.
"Hannes was very pleased with his performance today," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson said. "This was his goal, to place in the top 10 and earn All-American honors."
Olson said Zirknitzer skied conservatively on his first run, when the course was set at a higher degree of difficulty. "Hannes then attacked the course on the second run," Olson added. "He took an approach that was both patient and intelligent."
Dartmouth's Paul McDonald, a sophomore from Bellevue, Wash., won the men's slalom in 1:14.09. It marked the third straight year that a Dartmouth skier has won the men's slalom title. Last year's winner, Roger Brown, placed fourth in Friday's race. Brown is a senior from Norwich, Vt.
The University of Nevada-Reno's Michal Rajcan, a sophomore from Slovakia, was Friday's runner-up with a time of 1:14.22. The University of New Mexico's Lars Loeseth, a freshman from Norway, was third in 1:14.29.
In placing 10th, Zirknitzer scored enough points to place Whitman 12th in the team scoring for the men's slalom. Some schools qualified as many as three male and three female athletes for the alpine events.
A year ago as a freshman at the national championships, Zirknitzer placed 27th in the slalom. That performance came with considerable effort, given the fact he had fallen two days earlier in the giant slalom, dislocating a shoulder.
The University of Denver's Pia Rivelsrud, a first-year skier from Norway, won the women's slalom Friday in 1:22.80, finishing well ahead of the runner-up, Courtney Calise of Dartmouth. Calise, a first-year skier from Littleton, N.H., was timed in 1:23.40 for her two runs. Denver's Barbara Knor, a junior from Austria, was third in 1:24.01.
Whitman's Walker, who missed a gate and placed 34th in Wednesday's giant slalom, continued to struggle in Friday's slalom. "Rachel knows she can ski much better than she showed this week," Olson said. "This week has been a growing experiences for Rachel. I'm confident she will come back with a much stronger performance in her second trip to nationals, which is what Hannes did this year."
The NCAA championships end Saturday with the final two nordic events. With the first three events complete, New Mexico is in first place with 488 points. Utah is second with 457.5 points and Denver third with 455 points. The University of Vermont is fourth with 423 points, followed by Middlebury College with 396.5 points and Dartmouth with 363.
Zirknitzer and Walker scored enough points in the alpine events to move Whitman into 18th place in the combined alpine-nordic scoring with 62 points. Whitman is five points behind Boise State University.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information
(509) 527-5902; Email: holden@whitman.edu