Bobcats Dominate USCSA Championships with Historic Wins and Multiple All-Americans
Lake Placid, NY ~ The Paul Smith's College Nordic ski team had a banner week at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships last week as they claimed their first-ever women's team event national title while taking home six individual national titles, the overall male and female titles, three team national championships, and 24 All-American Honors.
The highlight of the week was certainly the performances of Dolcie Tanguay (Fort Kent, ME) and Aidan Ripp (Cloquet, MN). Tanguay returned from the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Jr. Championships in Estonia a day before the USCSA races started, but despite the travel and significant amount of racing in Europe, she came ready to race. She opened her championship run with a second-place finish in the 7.5k skate followed by a dominating performance in the Classic Sprint race where she took home the win. The Women's 15k was the deciding race for the individual title and the wear of 11 races over the past two weeks was evident. Tanguay, however, was up to the task, nabbing fourth place to seal the individual title. On the final day of competition the team relay was modified to a 2k Uphill Time Trial, and Tanguay set the fastest time of the event by four seconds to cap an amazing week of racing.
Ripp's performance was nothing short of dominant. From the opening race, Ripp set a pace that was unmatched by anyone in the USCSA as he won the opening 7.5k Skate Race by over 44 seconds. Ripp then took the win in the Individual Classic Sprint as well as the 15k Classic Race where he won by over a minute and a half. On the final day of racing, he set the fastest time in the 2k Uphill Time Trial, winning by over twenty seconds. This is Ripp's second overall individual title in the USCSA National Championship, winning it in 2022 as well.
"Both of these performances were incredibly special. Dolcie and Aidan set these as goals a long time ago, and to see them achieve them was wonderful. For Dolcie to fly across the world, return home, and take the overall individual title over the course of four races after racing for two weeks in Europe was incredible. Ripp's performance goes down as the most dominant performance I have seen in the USCSA – four titles in four days and in momentous fashion. These two athletes have meant so much to our program, and I am so thankful for them and happy for them," noted head Coach Matthew Dougherty.
The Bobcats also collected three Team National Championships, including the team championship on the final day for the women who took home the title in the 2k Uphill Team Time Trial (this event was modified from the team relay due to adverse weather conditions). The women finished third overall in the final team points, their third overall podium in the last three years. While the men's team took the championships in the Classic Team Sprint and the Uphill Team Sprint, they finished second in the overall national team championship, a mere two points behind winner Clarkson in the overall classification. In the past two seasons, the Bobcat men have never finished lower than second place in any race at the USCSA National Championship, a result that is unmatched by any team.
Head Coach Matthew Dougherty was extremely proud of his team. "What an incredible week of performances from both teams. We can literally say the whole team stepped up to achieve these results, whether it was Griffin Smith and Jacob Alberga in the Classic Sprints making it to the finals, or Emily Cieslewitz notching a top-15 time in the Classic Sprints. The entire team was committed to the effort, and it was amazing to watch and be a part of. While sometimes you have to have good luck or just avoid the bad luck, this team battled through the good and the bad, and despite the conditions, they persevered and were amazing. Special shout out to our fans and teammates who showed up every day and were by far the best and loudest cheer squad on course."
Over the course of the competition, the Bobcats garnered 24 All-American awards by Aidan Ripp, Phillip Matthews (Half Moon, NY), Diego Schillaci (New Paltz,NY), Jacob Alberga, Timothy Ziegler (Marquette, MI), and Griffin Smith. All six of the men took home All-American honors, which was also unprecedented. Aidan Ripp, Phillip Matthews, and Diego Schillaci all finished in the top-12 in the overall Individual Points race. Dolcie Tanguay and Jessie Church (Bethlehem, NH) took home All-American honors in the women's races, and both were in the top-15 for the overall points.
The Bobcats' season is not over yet, with athletes competing this week in the United States Ski Association (USSA) Junior National Championships and then heading to Fort Kent, ME for the US Biathlon National College Championships on March 21-23, 2024.
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