WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. – Juniors Vinnie DiNapoli (Ludlow, Vt.) and Melissa Caflisch (Clymer, N.Y.) were individual winners in the slalom race on Sunday, leading the Plymouth State University men’s and women’s ski racing teams to third and second place finishes at the PSU Winter Carnival at Waterville Valley.
DiNapoli finished first among the 80 men’s racers, his third consecutive slalom victory.in the last 10 days. Junior Jason Hey (Northboro, Mass.) provided strong support with a fourth place finish for the second straight day. Two freshmen and a sophomore were PSU’s next finishers, as freshmen Takeru Yoshida (Saitama, Japan) and Dan Hitchcock (Carabasset Valley, Maine) were 14th and 15th, respectively, and sophomore Seth Bartlett (Silver Lake, N.H.) placed 21st.
DiNapoli and Hey led the Panthers to a third-place finish in the team standings. The University of Massachusetts won the team event with Boston College runner-up. The rest of the first after PSU included (in order) Colby-Sawyer College, Babson College, MIT, Saint Anselm College, Brown University, and the University of Connecticut.
Caflish continued her outstanding season, winning the slalom for the second time in 10 days, in addition to a third-place finish in the slalom on Saturday. Freshman Alyssa Deane (Casper, Wyo.) posted a solid finish in support with a ninth place among the 79 racers, while freshman Shelley Bowen (Gilford, N.H.) was 16th and junior Meaghann McKenney (Hubbardston, Mass.) 18th.
The Panther women matched their best team outcome of the year with the second-place finish, just behind Boston College. The rest of the field included (in order) UMass, Brown, Colby-Sawyer, Smith College, Saint Anselm, MIT, Babson and UConn.
Next on the PSU schedule is a slalom race Saturday at Pat’s Peak in Henniker, N.H., and a giant slalom race Sunday at Mount Sunapee (N.H.)
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Clear. Temperature: 72; Wind: W at 8; Conditions as of Wed Jun 19 at 06:00 PM EDT