WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Ben Chaddock for the men and Emily Baker, Lucia Paciotti and Lauren Parsons for the women have brought a fresh wave of talent to the Whitman College alpine ski teams.
Chaddock, a freshman from Richmond, British Columbia, steps to the head of the class for a Missionary men's squad that lacks numbers this winter.
"Ben has been out of high school for three years, chasing the Canadian national ski team," Whitman alpine coach Tom Olson says. "He finished in the top 15 in three of four events at last year's Canadian nationals. We lack numbers on the men's team this season, but Ben gives us a big talent at the top. There's no question - the guy is good, and he has an excellent shot at qualifying for the NCAA championships this season."
While depth is a problem on the men's side, that isn't the case on a women's team led by seniors Rachel Walker (Whistler, B.C.) and Renee Thibodeau (Fort Kent, Maine).
"We're hoping Rachel can make it back to the nationals this season, and Renee has been our No. 2 skier for a few years now," Olson said. "Put those two together with our three first-year skiers and we've got more talent and depth on the women's team than we've had for several years. All three of our new skiers have had a good deal of success at the Junior Olympic level, and there's no reason why they shouldn't do well in college racing."
The Whitman alpine teams kick off their NCAA qualifying season with the Montana State Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 6-7, at Big Sky, Mont. Olson and his skiers will gather Jan. 2 at Big Sky, where a series of non-college races will give the women a final tune-up. The men will spend a few days in training at nearby Bridger Bowl.
With Whitman's semester break still in effect, the Missionary skiers will head to Utah on Monday, Jan. 8, for more training and non-college races. The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) season resumes on Saturday and Sunday, 13-14, with the University of Utah Invitational at Park City.
The RMISA season continues in February with three additional weekends of skiing at mountains in Colorado, California and New Mexico. Each of the 10 RMISA schools can qualify as many as three alpine men and three alpine women for the NCAA National Championships, set for March 8-10 at Jackson, New Hampshire.
Competition for national berths is fierce, however. RMISA is allotted 18 slots for alpine women and 17 alpine men for the national championships. And Whitman, an NCAA Div. III school, is by far the smallest college or university in the western ski conference. Seven NCAA Div. I schools, including the universities of Utah, Denver, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado, tend to dominate the team competition. The group also includes two NCAA Div. II schools, Western State College and the University of Alaska-Anchorage.
Each of the five weekends of RMISA skiing feature two slalom and two giant slalom races for men and women. While individual skiers are trying to strengthen their national qualifying credentials, team scores are kept at each weekend event.
"Our alpine teams know we're going up against Division I schools with European World Cup skiers on athletic scholarships," Olson says. "But our skiers enjoy competing against some of the best skiers in the world, and we think we can narrow the gap this season in the team scoring, especially on the women's side."
"If our only competition was the other Division III schools in the East, we'd have no trouble competing for a national championship," Olson says. "But since schools from all divisions compete at the NCAA national ski championships, our goal each year is to finish in the top 15."
Given last spring's graduation of NCAA All-American Hannes Zirknitzer, Chaddock comes to the Whitman men's team at just the right time. "Not to take anything away from Hannes, but Ben is a probably a better all-around skier than Hannes was when he first came to Whitman," Olson says. "Ben's point profile in the giant slalom is far better."
Zirknitzer, a slalom specialist from Bright, Australia, twice qualified for the NCAA championships. After falling and dislocating a shoulder during his first trip to nationals, he bounced back to earn All-American honors during his second national championship.
"Ben is probably just as talented as Hannes in the slalom, but Ben is stronger in the giant slalom," Olson says. "If Ben can have consistent top 10 finishes in the giant slalom races, his chances of qualifying for nationals will be excellent."
On race days, however, Chaddock might have just one male teammate. Sophomore Andy Erickson (Kirkland, Wash.) has bounced back from a recent illness and is ready to go, but two more sophomores, Marc Nabelek (Corvallis, Ore.) and Greg Phillips (Sandy, Utah) are questionable after competing this fall on the men's soccer team.
"Marc, who skied for us last season, is probably our No. 2 skier right now, but tying to do two sports at Whitman is not easy," Olson says. “Marc is struggling a little bit right now, trying to keep up with everything, and he won't be ready for the first two RMISA events. We'll have to wait and see after that."
Phillips returned to Whitman this fall after a two-year mission for his church. "After his soccer season, Greg is probably going to concentrate on his academic work for the rest of this school year," Olson says. "And there's a chance that health issues may keep Andy Erickson from racing this season."
As a freshman last winter, Erickson finished seven of his 10 race starts, placing as high as 35th in a consistently strong men’s field.
A tireless recruiter, Olson has high hopes that next year's freshman class will get his men's team back on a solid foundation. "The recruiting never stops, and I'm hoping we can enroll four to six new skiers for the men's team next season."
Numbers aren't a problem for the women's team this winter. "It's great to have this much depth with the women, although it definitely makes it tougher to pick the traveling team each week," Olson says. "We have returning skiers who won't be going to all the races this season. Having this intra-squad competition for the traveling team spots helps keep all the skiers on their toes."
Walker, who qualified for the NCAA championships in each of her first two seasons at Whitman, fell just a little short last winter. In the qualifying races, she placed as high as 12th in one giant slalom race and 16th in one slalom event. "Rachel has the talent and experience that it takes to make nationals," Olson says. "She's already shown that."
Thibodeau, who placed as high as 18th as a sophomore during the RMISA season, got off to a slow start last season after studying abroad during the fall semester. "Renee, Rachel and the three first-year skiers give us a very strong core group," Olson says. "They can feed off one another on race day. It helps take the pressure off everyone when you know your teammates can ski."
Emily Baker, who comes to Whitman from Boulder, Colo., might be the best of the first-year Missionary skiers, Olson says. "Emily has better slalom points right now than Rachel, our team captain and best skier for the past three seasons. Emily could really surprise people in our conference this season, especially in the slalom."
Walker remains Whitman's top giant slalom racer, but another of the first-year skiers, Lucia Paciotti (Poulsbo, Wash.), shows great potential in that event as well, Olson says. "Lucia is going to be our next Rachel in the giant slalom. I don't think Lucia knows how good she can be. It's going to be fun watching her mature as an athlete over the next few years."
Lauren Parsons (Ketchum, Idaho), Whitman's third first-year skier, brings the "best mix of slalom and giant slalom skills," Olson says. "She's solid in both events."
Olson plans to take five to seven women to most of the NCAA qualifying events. Charlotte Gourlay, a junior from Ketchum, Idaho, and Maria Corcorran, a senior from Bellevue, Wash., will also ski in at least of the races. Both Gourlay and Corcorran have competed for the Missionaries in past seasons.
Three more juniors -- Hailey Kimmel, Meredith Riley and Nicole Wolf -- are on the women's roster but have decided not to race this season, Olson says. "Situations change, and there's always the chance they could come back. We're just thankful to have enough depth to be flexible."
"This is going to be a good season," Olson predicts. "Our Nordic (cross country) skiers as well as our alpine skiers have shown a phenomenal work ethic this fall. They have worked as hard an any athletes I've ever had at Whitman."
The Whitman Nordic teams, coached by Nathan Alsobrook, will compete in their first college races on Jan. 13-14 at Soldier Hollow, Utah.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information,
(509) 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu