Men’s Skiers Finish Runner-up at National Championships

Saturday’s final day of the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association’s National Championships, held this week at Sugarloaf Mountain, was a very good day for Plymouth State University’s men’s ski team, as the Panthers finished runner-up in the slalom and clinched second place in the combined alpine scoring.The Panthers, who placed fourth in the giant slalom on Thursday, had outstanding performances in Saturday’s slalom to finish second among the 19 teams. All five PSU skiers finished among the top 37 of the 100-plus racers, including two in the top 10.Plymouth State’s performance in the combined alpine scoring marks the third time in five years and fourth time in seven years that the Panthers have placed second at the nationals. Plymouth State was also runner-up in 1998, 2000, and 2001.Plymouth State’s two leaders all season, junior Tyler Barlow and freshman Topher Harlow paced the way Saturday and earned spots on the All-America Team (The Top 20 placers comprise the All-America Team).Barlow, who had placed 21st in the GS, finished sixth in the slalom, earning All-America honors in the slalom for the third straight year. Harlow, who was 15th in the GS, crossed the slalom finish line in ninth place, and becomes a three-time All-America as a freshman (GS, Slalom and combined alpine).Senior Garrett Lashar was Plymouth State’s third fastest finisher, completing his career with a 24th place in the slalom. He had taken 67th in Thursday GS. Sophomore Skip Bartlett came in 30th in the slalom and junior Chad Demetry recovered from a first-run fall to place 37th.Perennial power Sierra Nevada College repeated as team champions in the slalom, with PSU second and Colby-Sawyer College taking third. The rest of the top 10 included Sierra College, the University of British Columbia, Albertson College, Rocky Mountain College, the University of Massachusetts, Colorado Mountain College, and Cornell University. Rounding out the rest of the field, in order of finish, were Clarkson University, Penn State University, Michigan Tech University, U.S. Naval Academy, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of California Berkeley, Syracuse University, Boston College. and St. Olaf College.Sierra Nevada also won the combined alpine, with PSU second, UBC third, and Sierra College and UMass tied for fourth.