BOZEMAN, Mont. — For the first time in 18 years
and for the first time in the 11-year tenure of head
coach Bill Reichelt, the University of Vermont Catamounts claimed the NCAA Championship on March
10. Although the forecast seemed to predict a change
at last year’s championships when Vermont hosted
and was ranked first heading into competition, a series of unfortunate mishaps prolonged the drought for
one more year.
In 2012, the Catamounts made it pour with points. “It
was definitely worth waiting a year, because that made
it even sweeter,” said Reichelt. “Last winter there was
just so much hype and so many expectations. This
year we knew Utah had a very strong team. Our goal
was to stay in the game until the last day and hopefully out-ski them in the slalom. But we did much better
than that. The team exceeded our expectations on all
fronts.”
By tallying an historic 832 points and winning by a
record-breaking 161-point margin, UVM unleashed
the epic flood. The last time an Eastern school won
NCAAs on Western soil was in 1989, also a Vermont
victory.
Reichelt said he had a positive feeling about this
championship from the moment he arrived in Montana. It was confirmed at the banquet on Tuesday evening when members of the Sioux and Blackfoot tribes
performed a traditional dance. Reichelt is distantly descended from the Cree Nation on his maternal grandmother’s side, and he read the performance as a sign.
“It meant a lot to me,” said Reichelt, “and the message
was to compete with all your heart.”
The skiers from Vermont showed heart in every race
across all disciplines. As former Catamount and future Middlebury Panther David Donaldson was quick
to point out in his EISA blog post, UVM did not have
Vermont rallies from devastating results in 2011 to
claim 2012 NCAA Championship BY C.J. FEEHAN
YEAR OF THE CAT
The University of Vermont Catamounts celebrate with the 2012 NCAA Skiing Championship trophy.
C. J. FEEHAN
