The Hobart and William Smith Alpine skiing teams will compete at the USCSA Mideast Regional Championships at Bristol Mountain this weekend, Feb. 22-23. The Statesmen and Herons will compete in the giant slalom on Saturday and the slalom on Sunday, with both days set to start at 9 a.m. The weekend's top three finishers on both the men's and women's sides will qualify for the USCSA National Championships March 10-15 on Mt. Bachelor in Oregon.
 
The Statesmen are coming off a first-place finish in the giant slalom last weekend at Labrador Mountain. Hobart finished the regular season in first place with nine points, while Colgate followed in second with 25 points. Syracuse rounded out the top three with 29 team points.
 
Hobart is led by first-year Will Patton with seven first place finishes and one second-place finish. His dominant rookie season has seen Patton top the charts in both the giant slalom and the slalom events this season. He will look to lead the Statesmen down Bristol Mountain this weekend in hopes of clinching their second straight bid to the National Championships.
 
Sophomore Ethan Hine and junior Jack Ross have also been consistent contributors to Hobart's success. Ross has tallied eight top 10 finishes, including a second-place finish in the slalom at Bristol Mountain (1:28.47), while Hine added six top 10 finishes.
 
Last season, Hobart finished third with six team points, qualifying for the 2024 USCSA National Championships. Hine led the Statesmen in Lake Placid, finishing seventh out of 121 alpine skiers. He was named a USCSA All-American in three events after finishing top 15 in the skier cross, giant slalom and slalom on Whiteface Mountain.
 
William Smith finished fifth in the giant slalom at Labrador Mountain last weekend. The Herons finished the regular season second in the Mideast Conference with 25 points, trailing only Colgate with nine points. Rounding out the top three is Hamilton with 27 points.
 
The Herons are led by senior Marjorie Plants with six top five finishes this season. Plants will look to continue her successful senior season this weekend in hopes of returning to the national stage for the first time since their inaugural season in 2023.
 
Sophomore Emily Cain and junior Katherine Broderick have also been significant contributors for William Smith this season. Cain tallied six top 20 finishes, highlighted by a 10th-place finish in the giant slalom (2:31.75) on West Mountain. Broderick finished in the top five in two races, posting a season-best fifth-place finish in the slalom (58.97) on West Mountain.
 
Last season, William Smith finished in fifth at the Mideast Championships with 10 points, just missing out on a bid to the National Championships.