Way to go Battlin' Bears!
Rocky skiers crowned national champions
Bears capture 2nd USCSA title in 3 years
By The Gazette Staff
WINTER PARK, Colo. - What do you get an athletic program celebrating its 20th anniversary season?
How about a second national championship?
The men's ski-racing team at Rocky Mountain College rewarded itself on a snowy Saturday afternoon by finishing on top for the second time in three years at the United States Collegiate Ski Association championships at the Winter Park Resort.
Coach Jerry Wolf's Bears capped a week of captivating performances by winning the slalom races on the Lower Hughes course and cruising to only the second national championship in the private school's 129-year history.
"There was a lot of competition out there," said Wolf. "It was a tough run but we got it done."
Rocky juniors Pete Petry and A.J. Cronk helped the Battlin' Bears bring home the title by placing second and third, respectively, out of 91 finishers in the hotly-contested slalom - the final alpine event of the 29th championships.
Petry, a 26-year-old junior from Red Lodge, placed second at one minute, 31.30 seconds. He was three-hundredths of second behind champion Mickey Ross of Sierra Nevada College, who clocked in at 1:31.27.
Cronk, a 22-year-old junior from Boise, Idaho, was right behind them at 1:31.93.
"Everybody is pretty excited that Rocky Mountain College won," Wolf said. "(Defending champion) Sierra Nevada has been such a stronghold. It's good to take them down."
Rocky went into the final day of the 19-school USCSA championships with the team lead after winning the giant slalom competition on Thursday.
The Bears didn't falter during the first run of Saturday's slalom, with Petry finishing second, Cronk eighth and Scott Anderson 11th.
Rocky returned in the afternoon and had Cronk, who won Thursday's GS, place fourth, followed by Petry in seventh and Anderson 11th.
Anderson, a senior from Rossland, British Columbia, placed 12th overall at 1:33.51. Teammate Erik Willborg, a junior from Rattvik, Sweden, was 22nd at 1:36.66.
Rocky won the national title with two place points (scoring the two firsts). Plymouth State (N.H.) was the runner-up with five points and Sierra Nevada College was third at six points.
The USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate ski racing in the U.S. It consists of 150 colleges - including some large NCAA schools - from coast to coast and includes around 3,800 men and women, participating in over 200 alpine, cross country and snowboarding race events annually.
Rocky athletic director Terry Corey said the school ordered a banner on Friday proclaiming the Bears "2007 USCSA national champions."
"We were that confident," Corey added.
The banner will be hung outside the school's Bair Student Center on Monday, he said.
Sierra Nevada College had skiers finished first, fourth (Martin Stocker) and 11th (Geoffrey Goodman) in the tight slalom race.
Plymouth State, another title contender heading into Saturday, had three skiers finish among the top nine.
Rocky won the slalom with a total time of 276.74 for its top three skiers. SNC was second at 276.90 and Plymouth State third at 284.59.
"They didn't falter at all," Wolf said of his skiers. "There was a lot of competition and a lot of variables, but they came through."
When the Bears won their first title in 2005 in McCall, Idaho, they won the GS and placed second in the slalom to dethrone SNC, which had won the previous 14 championships.
Petry, Cronk, Anderson, Willborg and Aaron Civitarese, who competed in the GS, were all members of the 2005 national championship team.
It was a week of firsts for the Bears, with Cronk becoming the school's first individual national champion with his electrifying win in the GS.
Petry, who is now a three-time first team All-America selection, was fifth in the GS to go along with his second in the slalom.
Cronk, who also earned first team All-America accolades, finished second in the combined standings and Petry was third.
Rocky's women finished fourth at nationals, with Maria Pettersson, a freshman from Sweden, placing eighth in the GS and second in the slalom.
Her runner-up finish in the slalom is also believed to be a school record for a Lady Bear skier at nationals.
She was second in the combined and also received All-America recognition.
Rocky's ski-racing program, which started in 1987, will be holding a 20-year anniversary celebration March 23-24 in Billings and Red Lodge.
A reception will be held on campus on March 23, with an alumni race at Red Lodge Mountain and reception at Bridge Creek restaurant in Red Lodge on March 24.
Rocky skiers crowned national champions
Bears capture 2nd USCSA title in 3 years
By The Gazette Staff
WINTER PARK, Colo. - What do you get an athletic program celebrating its 20th anniversary season?
How about a second national championship?
The men's ski-racing team at Rocky Mountain College rewarded itself on a snowy Saturday afternoon by finishing on top for the second time in three years at the United States Collegiate Ski Association championships at the Winter Park Resort.
Coach Jerry Wolf's Bears capped a week of captivating performances by winning the slalom races on the Lower Hughes course and cruising to only the second national championship in the private school's 129-year history.
"There was a lot of competition out there," said Wolf. "It was a tough run but we got it done."
Rocky juniors Pete Petry and A.J. Cronk helped the Battlin' Bears bring home the title by placing second and third, respectively, out of 91 finishers in the hotly-contested slalom - the final alpine event of the 29th championships.
Petry, a 26-year-old junior from Red Lodge, placed second at one minute, 31.30 seconds. He was three-hundredths of second behind champion Mickey Ross of Sierra Nevada College, who clocked in at 1:31.27.
Cronk, a 22-year-old junior from Boise, Idaho, was right behind them at 1:31.93.
"Everybody is pretty excited that Rocky Mountain College won," Wolf said. "(Defending champion) Sierra Nevada has been such a stronghold. It's good to take them down."
Rocky went into the final day of the 19-school USCSA championships with the team lead after winning the giant slalom competition on Thursday.
The Bears didn't falter during the first run of Saturday's slalom, with Petry finishing second, Cronk eighth and Scott Anderson 11th.
Rocky returned in the afternoon and had Cronk, who won Thursday's GS, place fourth, followed by Petry in seventh and Anderson 11th.
Anderson, a senior from Rossland, British Columbia, placed 12th overall at 1:33.51. Teammate Erik Willborg, a junior from Rattvik, Sweden, was 22nd at 1:36.66.
Rocky won the national title with two place points (scoring the two firsts). Plymouth State (N.H.) was the runner-up with five points and Sierra Nevada College was third at six points.
The USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate ski racing in the U.S. It consists of 150 colleges - including some large NCAA schools - from coast to coast and includes around 3,800 men and women, participating in over 200 alpine, cross country and snowboarding race events annually.
Rocky athletic director Terry Corey said the school ordered a banner on Friday proclaiming the Bears "2007 USCSA national champions."
"We were that confident," Corey added.
The banner will be hung outside the school's Bair Student Center on Monday, he said.
Sierra Nevada College had skiers finished first, fourth (Martin Stocker) and 11th (Geoffrey Goodman) in the tight slalom race.
Plymouth State, another title contender heading into Saturday, had three skiers finish among the top nine.
Rocky won the slalom with a total time of 276.74 for its top three skiers. SNC was second at 276.90 and Plymouth State third at 284.59.
"They didn't falter at all," Wolf said of his skiers. "There was a lot of competition and a lot of variables, but they came through."
When the Bears won their first title in 2005 in McCall, Idaho, they won the GS and placed second in the slalom to dethrone SNC, which had won the previous 14 championships.
Petry, Cronk, Anderson, Willborg and Aaron Civitarese, who competed in the GS, were all members of the 2005 national championship team.
It was a week of firsts for the Bears, with Cronk becoming the school's first individual national champion with his electrifying win in the GS.
Petry, who is now a three-time first team All-America selection, was fifth in the GS to go along with his second in the slalom.
Cronk, who also earned first team All-America accolades, finished second in the combined standings and Petry was third.
Rocky's women finished fourth at nationals, with Maria Pettersson, a freshman from Sweden, placing eighth in the GS and second in the slalom.
Her runner-up finish in the slalom is also believed to be a school record for a Lady Bear skier at nationals.
She was second in the combined and also received All-America recognition.
Rocky's ski-racing program, which started in 1987, will be holding a 20-year anniversary celebration March 23-24 in Billings and Red Lodge.
A reception will be held on campus on March 23, with an alumni race at Red Lodge Mountain and reception at Bridge Creek restaurant in Red Lodge on March 24.
