Panther skiers claw their way to sixth at NCAAs

Author: Anna Furney

Andrew Wagner '09 took full advantage of this year's NCAA Championships. While it is only his second year on the alpine squad, "Billy," as so many of his teammates call him, achieved All-American status in both the men's slalom and the men's giant slalom disciplines. He and Mattie Ford '09, who finished in eighth place in the women's slalom and earned All-American status, highlighted the week's events for the College's ski team.

Wagner and his other nine qualified teammates finished the week's grueling competition tied for sixth place with the University of New Mexico. The 2007 competition ended with fellow East Coast team Dartmouth as the overall champions, followed by the University of Denver, the University of Colorado and the University of Utah. The University of Vermont settled for fifth.

Just qualifying for the NCAA Championships is in itself no small task. Each athlete must finish consistently well enough at each Eastern college's carnival to qualify for the Championships. Only then can they vie for the coveted top-10 finish that rewards All-American status. Not only did Middlebury qualify a full team of six alpine athletes, but it also sent a group of four athletes from the Nordic side.

The week's racing commenced on March 7 at the University of New Hampshire's Jackson Cross Country trails with the men's 10K and women's 5K freestyle events. Cassidy Edwards '09 and Jenny Hamilton '07 took home 17th and 20th with times of 15:01.9 and 15:08.5. Their finishes, while individually strong, could not make up for the short-sided team, and they placed 10th as a team. On the men's side in the 10K, Simi Hamilton '09 finished exceptionally well, grabbing seventh position with a time of 26:08.2. Teammate Tim Reynolds '09 finished in 29th place with a finish time of 27:33.1. These two finishes earned the men's team a cumulative score of 44.0 points for the day's efforts, enough to edge them into seventh place overall.

The alpine events on March 8 proved to be exciting for spectators and teammates alike. While the overcast weather and cold temperatures made for a chilling start to the day's giant slalom runs, the team's three male representatives were successful. Starting with bib number one, Wagner came in fourth, with a cumulative two-run time of 2:22.33. Alec Tarberry '08 followed in 15th with a time of 2:23.95. Clayton Reed '08, who experienced some trouble in the first run and could not salvage his overall score, finished 35th at 3:00.85.

For the women, Captain Lindsay Brush '07 led the female finishers with a time of 2:34.63, which proved fast enough for 13th. The team's other competitors, Ford and Dorothy Muirhead '08 concluded their days in the 25th and 31st positions, respectively.

Friday's 15K classic races saw more strong performances by the Middlebury Nordic team. Jenny Hamilton was the team's first finisher, placing 15th with a time of 50:44.6. Edwards, who came in with the time of 53:15.3, placed 31st. For the men in the 20K, Simi Hamilton finished in 23rd. Reynolds crossed the finish in 31st place. The combined scores placed the women in 12th and the men in 13th.

The week's final events were the men's and women's slalom races.

"It was my goal to be an All-American this year, so after the GS the pressure was off, and I was able to really enjoy the slalom without getting nervous," said Wagner.

Wagner's approach proved to be one of champions, as he finished an exciting week with a second All-American title, capturing the bronze medal with the finish time of 1:43.55 - only .19 seconds behind the 1:43:36 of the day's winner and U.S. Ski Team alumnus, Adam Cole of the University of Denver.

The slalom was a success for the Middlebury women's team as well. Ford, like Wagner in the GS, drew bib number one and held onto her position as one of the top-fifteen racers within the day's pool by finishing the day in eighth.

Although happy for Ford, Brush lamented her 27th-place finish in the slalom. "It was a bittersweet ending for me," she said. "I was a bit disappointed with my results. Yet, all in all, I was happy to be there with all my friends and family supporting me and my teammates."

The enormous effort made by all 10 team members was a success in itself. Individual results from Wagner and Ford were icing on top of the team's mountainous cake of success.