Wall, Johansson win NCAA slaloms; Utah takes team title

Contact: Rick Adams
(603) 646-2286

Racing on his home hill, Dartmouth College senior Bradley Wall captured the NCAA slalom title Saturday, while University of Utah junior Lina Johansson won the women's slalom at the NCAA Skiing Championships at Dartmouth College today. Johansson's win held the Utes continue to extend their points lead and win the overall team title.

Wall, who competed for his native Australia in the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City, narrowly edged Vermont's Jimmy Cochran for the slalom title. Wall's winning two-run time of 1:40.28 bested Cochran by .02 second. Cochran's Vermont teammate, Scott Kennison, took third in the race in 1:40.55. Wall's win marks the second consecutive hear that a Dartmouth racer has won the NCAA men's slalom; the Big Green's Roger Brown won the crown last year.

Johansson won both runs of the women's race, beating Colby College freshman sensation Jenny Lathrop by nearly a full second. Johansson's winning time was 1:35.03; Lathrop's runner-up time was 1:36.02.

With 682 points, Utah wins its ninth NCAA Championship since 1983. The Utes were virtually a lock to win the championship today after sprinting to a 100 point lead after Friday's Nordic events. Runner-up Vermont vaulted three places on the final day of competition on the strength of its Alpine racers and scored 551 points. Colorado was third with 546.5 points.

The 2004 NCAA Skiing Championships will be hosted by the University of Nevada-Reno.

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