Sunday River, ME - The Castleton State College men's ski team skied to a 9th place finish in Friday's USCSA National Championship slalom event at Sunday River, ME.  The 9th place result, along with Thursday's 8th place finish, puts the team in 8th place overall out of 20 of the top teams in the nation. 

The Spartans found themselves in trouble early, as only two skiers finished the course cleanly with minimal errors, while two others missed gates and hiked. After the first run, Castleton stood in 12th place, but relied on a solid second run to move up in the team standings.

Freshman William Richard Colt (Hanover, NH) led the way with a sixth place finish out of 113 athletes.  Colt, 6th after the first run, laid down a solid second run to maintain his position.  Charles Robbins (Mendon, VT) was 34th after the first leg of the event, but moved into 29th with a solid second run for the Spartans.  Castleton's third finisher was Justin Schwartz (Bondville, VT).  Schwartz found himself hiking during his first run to place 69th, but skied a smart and conservative second run to place 54th overall and secure a respectable 9th place team finish. 

The Spartans wrap up their season in eighth place overall out of 20 teams at the USCSA National Championships.