Men's Skiing Finishes Third in National Championships
CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartans put forth a pair of impressive performances to finish third in the combined standings at the USCSA National Championships for the best finish in program history following Saturday's action.
Castleton took sixth overall in the giant slalom on Wednesday but then came through with a third place finish in the slalom on Friday to finish with a combined finish of nine. The Spartans trailed just Clarkson who has a combined finish of seven and Sierra Nevada College who won the giant slalom and took second in the slalom. The previous best finish for Castleton was sixth overall two years ago.
Individually, the Spartans had two skiers earn All-America honors for their combined performance in giant slalom and slalom. First-year student Matt Couture became just the second Castleton skier to earn All-America honors in both the slalom and combined after finishing 12th overall with 103.85 combined points. Junior Ben Hannah earned All-America honors in the combined for the second straight year after taking 13th overall with 104.32 points. Karl Robicsek was third among Spartans by placing 21st with 168.49 combined points.
In addition to his performance on the slopes, Couture also earned Academic All-America honors. To be named an Academic All-American skiers must compete at the USCSA National Championships while also having a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher. Senior Reed Drechsel was Castleton's other Academic All-American.
Women's Skiing Finishes Fifth in National Championships
Lake Placid, N.Y. – The Castleton women's ski team finished its best-ever performance at the USCSA National Championships by taking fifth place in the combined standings following Saturday's action.
The Spartans took fifth place in the giant slalom on Tuesday and then sixth in the slalom on Friday to earn the program's first-ever top-five finish at the National Championships. Castleton's combined finish of 11 was just behind the University of British Columbia who totaled nine.
ECSC MacConnell Division rival Brown came in third (7) while Rocky Mountain College just barely edged Sierra Nevada College for the National Championship after each finished in the top two of both races.
Individually, Blaire Hooper finished just out of All-America status by placing 16th overall in the combined standings with 148.72 points. Lisa Davis was second among Castleton skiers by taking 21st overall (183.90) while Ali Spencer was behind her in 22nd (193.23).
In addition to the team's work on the slopes, five skiers earned Academic All-America honors. To be named an Academic All-American skiers must compete at the USCSA National Championships while also having a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher. Simona Croccolo and Spencer both earned Academic All-America honors last year while Hooper, Erin Luce and Kelsey O'Rourke were selected for the first time.