Park City, Utah - Chauncey Morgan and Ella Spear represented Colby's Alpine Ski team at the NCAA Skiing Championships hosted by the University of Utah.  Both Mules had top-1o results during the regular season on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) circuit, and were looking to put the Mules on the map skiing against the best collegiate racers in the country. 

The championship field is made up of 34 men and 34 women from eastern and western institutions, many of which are Division I scholarship levels.  Many of the participants hail from a different country, as the United States educational structure attracts many foreign athletes looking to continue competing on the national stage while receiving an education.  Morgan was one of nine Americans in the men's field, and Spear was one of 14 Americans in the women's field.  Furthermore, several competitors were fresh off a trip to Beijing where they competed in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.  

The Giant Slalom was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but 10 inches of snow delayed the race a day.  The race crew at Park City did an amazing job preparing the hill and the track, and the two Mules set their sites on the world-class race hill at Park City Resort known as CB's.  Despite executing the top section in her first run marvelously, Spear leaned in through the transition from steep to flat and slid out, ending her first NCAA Giant Slalom experience.  Morgan held 30th place after first run, and a stellar second run (23rd) moved him up to 25th overall.  

Filip Forejtek and Magdelana Luczak, both from the University of Colorado, won the events for the men and women, respectively.  

In Friday's Slalom, Spear once again ran into trouble on her first run, ending her day with a disqualification.  Morgan took a 27th place first run and jumped up to 24th position with a second run that was just over a second out of the top-10.  With such a seasoned and talented field of competitors, hundredths and tenths of a second make a world of difference. 

Mathias Tefre of the University of Vermont and Katie Hensein of Denver University took home the gold medals in the men's and women's races, respectively.  

With two finishes inside the top-30, Morgan scored points for Colby in the overall team standings.  Entering the final day of competition with Saturday's Nordic (Freestyle) race, Colby sits in 14th place overall with Alpine and Nordic combined.