February 11, 2007

Castleton wins second-consecutive McBrine Division Championship

Lyme, NH-Women: For the second consecutive day, the Castleton women's ski team swept the top four spots in ECSC McBrine Division competition at Pico to capture the division title for the second year in a row. Sunday's race was a giant slalom and was won by Heather Patterson (Stockton, CA / Lincoln), who finished with a two-run time of 1:25.59 for her first career collegiate gold. Patterson was followed by teammate Brenna Nolan (Pittsford, VT / Otter Valley), who posted her best result of the season only .01 seconds behind in the runner-up spot. Freshman Lindsey Wiken (Hampden, ME / Hampden Academy) rounded out the podium in third place, while Nicole Kondziela (Bath, PA / Northampton) placed fourth. Emma Harvey (Kattskill Bay, NY / Lake George Central) and Colleen Pruss (Basking Ridge, NJ / Ridge) also finished in the top-10 in sixth and seventh, respectively. The Spartans finished with a total team time of 344.28, while Yale University could only clock a time of 383.61 for second, well off the pace.

The Castleton women's ski team finished their regular season undefeated in ECSC McBrine Division action. In the overall individual standings, Kondziela took top honors finishing the season with 99 points. Kondziela becomes the first Spartan to win the overall individual title. Patterson finished second in the rankings with 80.5 points, while Harvey (74 points), Nolan (72 points), Wiken (64 points) and Pruss (52 points) ended up fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

Men: The Castleton State College men's ski team captured their second consecutive ECSC McBrine Division title today at Pico Ski Resort by winning the final divisional race of the season. The Spartans placed eight men in the top-10 to secure the team victory. The University of Rhode Island finished in the runner-up spot with a time of 347.28, which was well behind Castleton's 314.87. Yale University was third at 356.31 in the nine team field. The Spartans were led by Greg Towle (Coventry, RI / Bishop Hendricken) who earned his first-ever collegiate victory with a total two run time of 1:16.77. Nick Young of URI check-in over a second behind Towle at 1:17.82. Sophomore Evan Vomacka (Belmont, NH / Bishop Brady) took home the bronze for his first career collegiate podium finish. Justin Schwartz (Bondville, VT / Burr and Burton Academy) and Ryan Dunleavy (Lake George, NY / Lake George Central) rounded out the team scoring in fourth and fifth. Corey Gray (North Conway, NH / Kennett), Tom D'Errico (Shrewsbury, MA / Shrewsbury), Bobby Dreissig (Natick, MA / Natick) and Teddy Panasci (Wamogo, CT / Wamogo Regional) finished sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth, respectively.

The Spartans finish the ECSC McBrine Division season undefeated for the second consecutive year. In the overall individual season standings Schwartz finishes in third with 81 points behind runner-up Young (82 points) of URI and division leader Brett Andrews (89 points) of Yale. The Spartans finished the regular season with nine men in the top-twelve spots. Towle finishes the season with 70 points, which was good enough for fourth overall. Tim Rogers (Wilbraham, MA / Minnechaug Regional) racked up 59 points to earn the fifth spot. Gray finishes in seventh with 54 points, while Jeffrey Giegler (Danbury, CT / Danbury) ends up eight with 50 points. Vomacka and Panasci round out the top-10 with 44 and 39 points, respectively. D'Errico and Dunleavy both missed the top-10 by only a point, as they sit tied for 11th with 38 divisional points.

The Castleton State College Men's and Women's ski teams will be competing next at the USCSA (United State Collegiate Ski Association) Eastern Regional Championships at Waterville Valley, NH on February 24th and 25th.

###Spartans###