Kamp, Yoos lead Lees-McRae to Nationals No. 1; LMC Men finish No. 2

By David Rogers. MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, Calif. — By sweeping the top two places in the Snowboard-Cross event, Lilly Kamp (No. 1) and Nicole Yoos (No. 2) propelled Lees-McRae College to first place in the Alpine Combined women’s team competition on March 9 at the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboarding Championships hosted by Mammoth Mountain.

Of the 31 women qualified to compete in the Alpine Combined competition, Lees-McRae’s team championship bid was augmented by Lindsey Fletcher’s No. 14 finish.

Women’s Team Standings, Alpine Combined

1. Lees-McRae
2. University of Nevada-Reno
3. California State University=Long Beach
4. University of Virginia
5. University of California-Berkeley
6. James Madison University
7. The Claremont Colleges (Calif.)
8. San Diego State University
9. University of Southern California
10. Amherst College (Mass.)
11. Northern Arizona University
12. University of Minnesota-Duluth
13. University of Tennessee-Knoxville
14. Boston University
15. University of North Carolina-Charlotte

Bobcat Men Finish No. 2

On the men’s side, Lees-McRae junior Kenneth Stanford placed second among the 50 riders qualified to compete in the Boarder-Cross nationals event, helping Lees-McRae to a second place finish in the Boarder-cross National Championships.

Nineteen men’s teams from schools across the U.S. qualified to compete in the 2023 nationals in the Alpine snowboarding events. Although Nevada-Reno’s highest finisher was at No. 4, the competing team closest to Mammoth, geographically (287 miles), put five riders in the top 12 to capture first place in the team competition.

Lees-McRae’s team also exhibited some roster depth in claiming the No. 2 team placing, with Blake Broussard at No. 11, Chance Markland at No. 13, and Aiden Garner at No. 23, all placing in the top half of the 50-man field.

Men’s Team Standings, Alpine Combined

1. University of Nevada-Reno
2. Lees-McRae College (N.C.)
3. University of Wisconsin-Madison
4. Springfield College (Mass.)
5. James Madison University (Va.)
6. University of Virginia
7. California State University-Sacramento
8. California State University-Long Beach
9. Westminster College (Utah)
10. Boston University
11. University of Minnesota-Duluth
12. University of Southern California
13. University of North Carolina-Charlotte
14. Amherst College
15. The Claremont Colleges
16. University of California-Davis
17. University of Maine-Farmington
18. Columbia University (N.Y.)
19. San Diego State University

In qualifying for Nationals, the Lees-McRae men’s and women’s  teams both finished No. 1 in their respective divisions at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, a sub-organization event of the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. The Lees-McRae head coach is Aaron Maas.