The women’s ski team continued its dominance in the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Thompson Division, clinching its third-straight division championship on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Sunday River Resort in Bethel, Maine.Seven skiers finished in the top 15 out of 72 racers. Kristin Leggett earned top honors for the Spartans placing first with a total two-time run of 2:34.75. Amee Pierson rounded off the podium placing third for Castleton with a time of 2:38.74 and Ali Spencer just missed the podium placing fourth with a time of 2:40.12.

The Spartans cruised to the top spot finishing with a total team time of 473.60, beating Tufts University by 18.42 seconds.

On the men’s side, six Spartan skiers finished in the top 10, led by sophomore Steven Zotter, who finished second to lead the Spartans to victory finishing with a total two-time run of 2:30.84. Robert Burke rounded off the podium placing third with a total time of 2:30.89. Reed Drechsel, Bobby Jones, Justin Garritt and Brandon Cohen all finished in the top ten and five other skiers placed in the top 20 out of 98 racers.

Castleton’s total team time was 452.74 beating out Tufts, who placed second and Worcester Polytechnic Institute took third. With this win, the men’s team clinches the division championship for the fourth consecutive year.

The Spartans were back in action the next day where both teams placed first once again.

Leggitt placed first for the women and Zotter finish first as well on the men’s side.

Head coach Chris Eder said the wide range of talent on his team has made it so successful.

“We have a lot of depth,” Eder said. ” With the men we are pretty solid one through ten and we can always count on the guys in the back to do well.”

The Spartans will compete at the regional competition next weekend and Eder is very confident both the men and the women will be successful.

“We’re going into this weekend with a very good chance,” he said.

The Spartans are favored to win at regionals and Eder is excited to see if both teams will meet these expectations.

“It’s going to be interesting how the team handles that pressure,” he said.

Castleton will head to Waterville Valley, N.H. on Saturday, Feb. 19 to compete at the regional championships where only the top five teams get a chance to compete at the national championships in Idaho.