Whitman Snowboarders

Sidestepping second-hand stores, the teams brought back national trophies

Members of the new snowboarding teams were lacking in money — but not in confidence — when they approached Whitman president Tom Cronin early this year. The Missionary snow-boarders were getting ready to drive to a ski resort north of Spokane to compete in the Northwest regional championships. Their question for the president was to the point: If they qualified for the national championships, would he help with travel expenses? Not only did they expect to qualify for nationals, the snowboarders advised the president, they planned to bring home medals and trophies from both the regional and national competitions.

While not previously aware that Whitman even had snowboarding teams, President Cronin was impressed by the pluck shown by the students. Noting that team members had started from scratch, embarking on their first season without a coach or any financial support, he promised to cover any national travel expenses that might become necessary.

True to their word, the Missionary snowboarders qualified for nationals, although their bravado may have wavered a bit as they prepared to head East. Or, maybe their mischievousness just blossomed a bit. Did they make contingency plans, as legend suggests, in case they didn't fare as well at nationals as they promised? Did they talk about cruising through Vermont's second-hand stores, if necessary, to collect medals and trophies to bring home to show their presidential sponsor?

Whitman's national champion snow-boarders are, front row, Nick Crandall, Jay Brown, Lindsey Bloom, and Ben Boynton; back row, Spruce Schoenemann, Amanda Compton, Lusana Schutz, and Rob Spooner.

As it turned out, such plans were not necessary. The men's team won the national team title in boardercross and finished in a first-place tie with Canada's Simon Fraser University in combined scoring. The women's team placed second to Simon Fraser in the giant slalom, boardercross, and combined scoring.

"Our first snowboarding teams were a great success story," Cronin said. "They had some help from Tom Olson, the ski coach, but this was something they did on their own, for the most part. They accomplished their goal, which was to make a good showing for Whitman in a sport that is becoming very popular among young people."