Green Skiers Capture National College Title
IT was strictly a Dartmouth party at the Arapahoe Basin and Dillon, Colorado, on March 31 to April 2, as the varsity ski team walked off with the National Collegiate Ski Championships.
The Universities of Denver and Wyoming decided to organize a real nationwide college meet early this year, and invited the cream of the New England, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast regions to a four-events championship.
Due to the gratefully received financial assistance from the Denver Alumni Association and the Jacob Nunnemacher Fund, the Big Green was able to afford that trip during the spring vacation.
When the snow and klister had finally cleared, Coach Walter Prager's boys had claimed the Dick Durrance Trophy, symbolic of the most powerful team in the field. And their margin was by over 40 points, well ahead of Denver and premeet favorite Washington University. The Green scored 1483.84, with Denver in second at 1448.56. Trailing the third-place Huskies were Colorado Western State, Colorado University, Washington State, Montana State, Wyoming, Nevada, and Harvard.
Coach Prager's proteges hopped off to a fast start in the downhill on the first day. Colin Stewart, former Olympic Alpine skier, now in his junior year at college, flashed down the wind-swept, snow-blown incline in barely more than two minutes to capture top honors. Tor Arneberg, captain of the team, came home second, five seconds slower. In third place was an FIS team member from Denver University, Keith Wegeman. Brookie Dodge, returning to varsity action after time out for FIS racing in February, was the third Big Green racer in, with a sixth. Johnny Caldwell took 13th to account for the final scoring spot.
On the next day, under similar adverse conditions, Brookie Dodge—only a secondsemester sophomore—set the pace to win the slalom race. He beat out co-FIS teammate Jim Griffith of the Colorado squad in second place. Dodge's time of 1 minute, 15.8 seconds in his first run was the fastest during the day.
Continuing its all-around strength, Dartmouth took the fourth and eighth spots with Stewart and Arneberg doing the honors. Caldwell sewed up matters with a 22nd.
The 60-man field was then moved to Dillon for the cross-country and jumping events on Sunday, April 2. The locals held their own in those two events, too, being runners-up in each.
With fine weather prevailing, the langlaufers took off on a five-mile grind in the morning. Another American FIS member, Don Johnson of Denver, won the event in little more than 28 minutes. This event was shorter than the Dartmouth competitors had been used to in Eastern competition, but Arneberg took it in his stride for a fifth. Caldwell, competing in all four events too, was eighth, and Charley Tremblay was 12th. Stewart took 20th, to give Dartmouth a team second behind Denver.
The climax came in the jumping activities Sunday afternoon—and Washington finally came through with a team and individual first, Gustav Raaum getting 221.3 points for his efforts. But, as usual, Dartmouth ranked high through its bunching of five jumpers in the first 13. Sophomore Tremblay led his mates with a sixth, Granville "Red" Austin took seventh, and Arneberg eighth. Stewart was 10th, and Caldwell 13 th.
In all-around individual honors, Crosby Perry-Smith of Western State nosed out Dartmouth's Arneberg. The FIS langlaufer was second in his specialty, had two fifths, and a 14th. Tor got a second, a fifth, and two eighths.
The meet concluded one of Dartmouth's most successful seasons under Coach Prager. Although that elusive ISU title had once more slipped through their grasp, the Indians won both their own and the McGill Winter Carnivals, beside the "National Championship"—as the Westerners called the Arapahoe meet.
That meet ended the college careers ot Arneberg, the Norwegian student who has been collecting title after title since he arrived here three years ago, Caldwell, and Austin. Back from that six-man squad will be Stewart and second-year men Tremblay and Dodge.
