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Date: March 9, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Nickerson, Lathrop earn seconds at NCAA meet; Colby second as well

STOWE, Vt. --- The greatest day in the history of the Colby College ski team almost closed with two NCAA Division I champions.

Warner Nickerson (Tilton, N.H.) finished in second place in the men's giant slalom and Abbi Lathrop (North Conway, N.H.) took second in the women's giant slalom on the first day of the NCAA Division I Skiing Championships at Stowe on Wednesday.

Two skiers -- Greg Hardy and Jamie Kingsbury -- skiing on their home course stopped Nickerson and Lathrop from winning national titles.

After the first day of competition, Colby is in second place in the overall team score thanks to fine finishes by all six skiers representing the Mules. University of Vermont is in first place with 216 points, Colby has 186 points and University of Denver is third with 173 points out of 15 teams. The Mules do not have any Nordic skiers at the meet, which will hurt Colby in the overall team score over the next four days.

Nickerson was in fifth place after his first run of 52.48, while Hardy was in second with a trip down the hill at 52.21. Nickerson's second run of 53.03 was second-fastest of the day and was better than Hardy's 53.28, but the Vermont skier had a two-run total of 1:45.49 to narrowly edge out Nickerson's 1:45.51.

Nickerson earned first-team All-America honors for his finish, while teammate Robert Saunders (Park City, Utah) had arguably his best finish of the season and earned second-team All-America honors for finishing in sixth place in 1:46.18 (52.90, 53.28). Charlie Reed (Park City, Utah) got three Colby skiers in the top 25 with his 25th-place finish in 1:51.45.

Kingsbury dominated the women's race with a two-run total time of 1:55.03. Lathrop had runs of 58.84 and 58.69 for a 1:57.53 to have her best finish of the ski season in the biggest race of the year. She earned first-team All-America honors for her placing.

The Colby women had all three skiers (three skiers make a full team) in the top 20. Nicole Wessen (Rockland, Mass.) was 17th in 2:02.71 and Siri Ashton (East Burke, Vt.) took 20th in 2:03.78.

The Colby men placed second in the giant slalom behind Vermont with 96 points. The Colby women took third place with 90 points behind winner Vermont and University of Denver.

Slalom racing will take place on Friday at Stowe. Nickerson won the slalom at the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships.