WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Jill DeVleming placed 12th and led the Whitman College women’s snowboarders to a third-place team showing in the giant slalom event Wednesday as the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships got underway at Maine’s Sugarloaf/USA ski area.
Meanwhile, the Whitman men’s squad placed sixth in its giant slalom team scoring. Simon Pollock led the Missionaries with 16th-place individual finish.
DeVleming, a senior from Clarkston, Wash., finished her two giant slalom runs in 3:20.56. Sara Suffis, a senior from Bainbridge, Wash., was 19th in 3:56.72, while Carolina Van Horn, a sophomore from Davis, Calif., was 23rd in 4:27.90.
Amanda Ford, competing for Sierra Nevada College, won the women’s giant slalom with a time of 2:47.90. Weber State’s Lynn Neil was second in 2:51.88.
Weber State finished first in the women’s giant slalom team scoring. The University of Idaho was second and Whitman third.
Pollack, a senior from Bainbridge Island, Wash., paced the Whitman men with a time of 3:16.21 for his two runs down the hill. Mike Hague, a freshman from Bradford, N.H., was 19th in 3:19.68. Trevor Frank, a sophomore Hayden Lake, Idaho, finished 31st in 3:41.24, and Todd Van Osdol, a sophomore from Salem, Ore., was 36th in 4:09.40.
Whitman’s Matt Cameron, a freshman from Anchorage, Alaska, was in eighth place after his first run. He wasn’t able to take his second run, however, after suffering an injury in a practice run.
Sierra Nevada’s Keith Davis won the men’s giant slalom in 2:21.54. Christopher Nielson, riding for Middlebury College, was second in 2:33.93.
Sierra Nevada took first in the men’s team scoring.
The snowboard competition continues Thursday with the men’s and women’s halfpipe. The boardercross events are set for Saturday.