CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington women's alpine team has qualified for the USCSA National Championships after placing 7th overall at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships this weekend at Sugarloaf. Following a 9th-place finish in the giant slalom portion on Saturday, the Beavers bounced back with a 5th-place showing in slalom today to secure their ticket to Lake Placid, New York. This marks the second consecutive season that the women's alpine team has qualified for the National Championship.
Today's 5th-place performance was a total team effort, even as the Beavers' top skier this season, Elanore Robb (Woodbury, Minn.), did not finish her first run and would not contribute to the team's scoring time.
Hokulani Caroselli (Temple, Maine) has been very reliable all season long for the Beavers, and Sunday was no different. Caroselli stepped up big time, finishing in 12th place overall, posting a time of 1:44.65. Caroselli finished her first run with a time of 48.71 seconds, the 10th fastest time of any skier. Caroselli's second run came in at 55.94 seconds.
Lauren Kessen (Sussex, Wisc.) responded big time today after not finishing in her second run on Saturday. Kessen finished 16th overall with a pair of impressive runs. Kessen's first run came in at 50.74 seconds, while her second run was clocked at 56.32 seconds, resulting in a two-run time of 1:47.06.
Fallon Smith (Nelson, N.H.) placed 31st overall as the Beavers' third scoring skier. Smith posted a two-run time of 1:58.26, with a first run time of 55.44 seconds and a second run time of 1:02.82.
The trio of Caroselli, Kessen, and Smith finished with a cumulative team time of 5:29.97 in their 5th-place effort.
Grace Mahmood (Oxford, Conn.) finished just behind Smith in 33rd place but did not contribute to the team's scoring time. Mahmood posted a two-run time of 1:59.03, with a first run time of 55.54 and a second run time of 1:03.49.
For the weekend, Caroselli placed 18th overall, highlighting the weekend for the Beavers. Mahmood and Smith placed 28th and 29th, respectively. Robb's DNF today and Kessen's DNF yesterday hurt their overall weekend scores, but both were vital assets in helping the team qualify for Nationals. Robb placed 43rd overall, while Kessen finished in 46th place for the weekend.
The USCSA National Championships will begin on March 4th and run through March 9th.
