The Hobart and William Smith Alpine skiing teams will compete at the USCSA Mideast Regional Championships at Bristol Mountain this weekend, Feb. 21-22. 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 teams on both the men's and women's sides will qualify for the USCSA National Championships March 9-14 on Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York.
 
The Statesmen are coming off first-place finishes in both the giant slalom and slalom last weekend at Labrador Mountain. Hobart finished the regular season in first place with 16 points, while Colgate followed in second with 23 points. Syracuse rounded out the top three with 30 points.
 
Hobart is led by sophomore Will Patton with four first-place finishes and two second-place finishes. Patton has continued to dominate in his second season for the Statesmen, topping 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 third straight bid to the National Championships.
 
Junior Ethan Hine and first-year Zachary Wargo have also been consistent contributors to Hobart's success. Wargo has tallied five top five finishes, including a second-place finish in the slalom at Labrador Mountain (1:29.99), while Hine has also added five top five finishes this season.
 
Last season, Hobart won both events to capture the regional championship, qualifying for the 2025 USCSA National Championships. Patton led the Statesmen at nationals, finishing fourth out of 143 alpine skiers, while Hine finished 11th. Patton was named an All-American in the skier cross, giant slalom and slalom after finishing top 15 in each event, while Hine earned All-America honors in the Giant Slalom and Slalom races.
 
William Smith finished first in the slalom and third in the giant slalom at Labrador Mountain last weekend. The Herons finished the regular season second in the Mideast Conference with 16 points, trailing Colgate by four points. Rounding out the top three was Hamilton with 27 team points
 
The Herons are led by first-year Aspen McAuley, with nine first place finishes this season. McAuley will look to continue her dominating rookie season this weekend in hopes of helping the Herons return to the national stage for the second straight year.
 
Seniors Kate Broderick and Julia Bragg have also been significant contributors for William Smith this season. Broderick tallied five top 10 finishes, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in the slalom (1:55.17) on West Mountain. Bragg finished in the top 20 in five races, posting a season-best fourth-place finish in the giant slalom (2:07.02) on Bristol Mountain.
 
Last season, William Smith finished second at the Mideast Championships with five points, qualifying for the 2026 USCSA National Championships. Marjorie Plants '25 led the Herons in Oregon, finishing 34th out of 142 alpine skiers.