This past week, the top Division I alpine teams from all over the country traveled to Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont for National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. Of the 18 men who qualified from the East, three were Mules— Brian Morgan ’12, Marc Massie ’13 and Jim Ryan ’14.

The first day of racing was the giant slalom. “The weather was fine,” Ryan said, “but the surface was inconsistent; sometimes [it was] icy, sometimes [it was] soft from the new snow.” Morgan put together two fast runs to finish in 16th place overall, and Massie and Ryan were not far behind in 25th and 28th respectively.

The slalom, originally scheduled for Friday, had to be rescheduled for the following day because of bad weather. The high winds and pouring rain stopped in time for the race, but the racers still faced on-and-off rain showers and a rapidly deteriorating course throughout the day. Colby was in a good position after the first run: Massie and Morgan had the 15th and 16th-fastest times, and Ryan was in 25th place.

Morgan caught a tough break when he received word right before the start of the second run that he had been disqualified, and Massie was similarly unlucky. At the end of an impressive second run, Massie came  toward the finish line with a lot of speed and barely missed the last gate. Before he was disqualified, he was in seventh place overall. Ryan moved up during the second run and ended the day with an impressive sixteenth place finish.

At the end of the NCAA Championships, the University of Colorado stood in first place, followed by the University of Utah and Dartmouth College. The University of Vermont took sixth place on their home hill, and Colby finished the week in 15th place. These races marked the end of a competitive collegiate season.