Skiers bring home hardware from NCAAs

Author: Kellan Florio

Competing against a field studded with former Olympians, world junior champions and national team members from all over the world, Megan Hughes '08 and John Rusten '05 turned in heroic performances to lead the Middlebury alpine and nordic teams into eighth place overall at the NCAA Championships held at Stowe Mountain Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge, Vt. last week. The University of Denver claimed their 18th NCAA title, their fourth in the last six years, with a total of 622.5 points. Host school University of Vermont (UVM) came up short in their bid for their first title since 1994 and finished second for the fourth time over that stretch with 575 points. The University of Utah (545) finished just ahead of last year's champion New Mexico (518) in third, while Dartmouth College (486) rounded out the top five.

Warm weather early in the week followed by subzero temperatures on Tuesday night made for ideal conditions for the giant slalom on Wednesday. With bulletproof ice on Hayride - Stowe's racetrail favoring the eastern skiers, the GS was more like an eastern carnival as the east swept the podium in both the men's and women's events.

Leading the Panthers in the giant slalom was co-captain Rusten. Coming off his best giant slalom result of the season at the Middlebury Carnival two weeks ago, Rusten fed off that momentum to capture fourth place, earning him All-American honors for the second time in his illustrious career. Known for his smooth, tactical approach, Rusten surprised the spectators with an unusually straight line near the bottom of his first run that almost resulted in hooking a tip in mid-air, but somehow he was able to make it through unscathed. His combined time of 1:46.08 left him only six hundredths of a second from a podium spot, occupied by Williams College first-year Charles Christiansen. Greg Hardy of UVM took the victory on his home hill in 1:45.49, while Warner Nickerson of Colby was just two hundredths behind in second. Clayton Reed '08 finished in a respectable 15th place for the Panthers, while 2003 All-American Dave Coriell '06 finished 19th.

"I had nothing to lose since I hadn't been skiing that well in giant slalom all year, so I went for it hard, especially on the first run," commented Rusten. "On the second run I made a pretty big mistake on the top of the pitch, which pissed me off so I let it hang out at the bottom. I could have been a little faster, but obviously I'm happy with the result."

The women struggled to match the men's performance in Wednesday's giant slalom as the harsh conditions claimed both Jess Smith '04.5 and Hughes in the first run, leaving only Tara Martin '07 standing for the second run. Martin came through with a solid afternoon finish to take 12th place overall. UVM's Jamie Kingsbury annihilated the field picking up her second NCAA GS victory by 2.5 seconds over Abbi Lathrop of Colby. Courtney Calise of Dartmouth finished in third, just three hundredths behind Lathrop.

Friday's slalom proved to be a memorable one for the Panthers as Hughes moved up from second after the first run and held off a late charge from Tina Salo of the University of Nevada, Reno to take the slalom victory by a mere four one hundredths of a second. Salo finished second, with a time of 1:25.43, while Florence Roujas of Denver took third, over a second back. Hughes' win marked the first NCAA victory for any Panther skier since Brooke Laundon won the slalom title in 1998.

"I was upset about not finishing the giant slalom, so I was going for the win in the slalom," said Hughes. "I knew how upset I would be if I finished the race feeling like I could have given it more, so I went for it all in the second run."

"I was really pleased and psyched to see her ability to mentally prepare for a national championship, especially after having some bad luck in the giant slalom on Wednesday where she knows she could have been top three," commented Head Alpine Coach Forest Carey. "It was a great way for her to cap off an awesome first year."

Smith, who placed fourth in the NCAA slalom a year ago, slipped a few spots in the second run to finish 19th after taking a gate in the face, while, Martin - who was thought to be destined for a top five result - finished a disappointing 30th.

On the men's side, Rusten concluded his ski-racing career in style, turning in one of his best performances in four years at Middlebury by taking second in the slalom. Evan Weiss and David Chodounsky of Dartmouth led Rusten by a 10th of a second after the first run, but Chodounsky's second run proved insurmountable as the Big Green first-year added to his lead to take the victory in 1:18.12, over a second ahead of Rusten. Giant slalom champ Greg Hardy of UVM rounded out the podium, just 14 hundredths behind Rusten.

"My success in the slalom is a reflection of how good a coach Forest is," acknowledged Rusten. "We studied a lot of video together and came to the conclusion that I was hunching over too much and rotating my upper body at the top of the turn. We also made some other equipment adjustments and have been continually fine-tuning my technique all year."

"The snow was absolutely bulletproof which is where I'm at my best," continued Rusten. "My first run ended up better than I had expected and my second run was solid, maybe too solid, but I was relieved when I made it through the finish. It was the last race of my career, I wanted to make the most of it."

"I am so psyched for Johnny," exclaimed Carey. "He's been an integral part of the Middlebury ski program for the last four years and he's enjoyed one of the best collegiate ski-racing careers of anyone in the last decade. We're certainly going to miss him."

"This week showed just how competitive Megan and John are," continued Carey. "They're great game day competitors that know what it takes to get the job done."

On the nordic side, the east was no match for the west as the advantage of training at altitude was clearly a factor. While UVM won the overall alpine classification, Denver's dominance in the men's cross-country events gave them the edge they needed to win the overall. In Thursday's 10 km classic, Denver went 1-2-4, while the best eastern skier was UVM's Ethan Foster in 11th. Rene Reisshauer won the event with a time of 30:49.1, who was followed by teammate John Stene, 21 seconds back in second place and Henrik Hoye of Colorado, 17 seconds back in third. Middlebury superstar Garrott Kuzzy '06 was the seventh fastest eastern skier and 23rd overall, while Beau Baldock '07 opted not to start after showing signs of the flu.

Middlebury's lone female representative, Evelyn Dong '07, saved her best performances for last as she finished fourth among eastern skiers and 22nd overall in the 5 km classic, eclipsing her best classic result of the season among eastern skiers by seven places. Mandy Kaempf of the University of Alaska Anchorage topped the podium with a time of 17:19.3, followed by Lindsay Williams of Northern Michigan in second and Martina Stursova of New Mexico in third.

"I was pretty happy just being at NCAA's and experiencing that level of competition," admitted Dong. "I think everything came together for me in the classic race. It's been my weaker event so I went into the race focused but not expecting much."

In the 15 km freestyle on Saturday, Dong impressed once again, placing fifth among eastern skiers and 24th overall. Dong finished three and a half minutes behind repeat winner, Kaempf, who completed the double with a time of 46:18.8. Kaempf's teammate Nicole Deyong finished second, 36 seconds back, while Stursova collected another bronze, 52 seconds back.

"Evelyn had an amazing weekend," commented Head Nordic Coach Terry Aldrich. "It was by far her best race of her life and she should be very happy with her performances."

On the men's side, Kuzzy's attempt to maintain his All-American status from a y
ear ago was jeopardized before the skiers had even left the stadium in the 20 km mass start skate. As is the case with many mass starts, ski and poles often get tangled up and, unfortunately, Kuzzy was the lone victim.

"He fell and was last out of the stadium which meant that he had to expend an inordinate amount of energy to work his way up through the field," explained Aldrich.

Kuzzy would eventually catch the pack, but the leaders had already distanced themselves from the field, spoiling his chances of finishing in the top 10. When it was all said and done, Kuzzy had moved up 16 places to finish 22nd, while Baldock settled for 31st. Reisshauer made it two for two, taking the victory in 55:57.3, followed by Erling Christiansen of Colorado, 11 seconds back in second place, and Hoye, 12 seconds back in third once again.

"Garrott was disappointed with his result, however, he had a phenomenal year and was selected to the EISA All-East team (top five in the East) for the third consecutive year, so he should be proud of his accomplishments," said Aldrich.

That marks the conclusion of the racing season, however, several Panthers will compete at the US Alpine National Championships at Mammoth Mountain later this month.