3/12/05 - The Panther ski team placed eighth overall at the NCAA Championships hosted by the University of Vermont. Denver won the event, while Middlebury was third team in the top eight from the east.

First-year racer Megan Hughes (Killington, Vt.) became the school's fifth female NCAA Champion in an alpine event, as she captured the slalom championship with a time of 1:25.49. Senior Jessica Smith (Rockport, Maine) placed 19th in the race (1:30.29), while sophomore Tara Martin (Lyndonville, Vt.) came in 30th (1:38.33). Martin placed 12th in the GS in 2:01.35, while Smith and Hughes did not finish.

On the men's side, senior John Rusten (Federal Way, Wash.) turned in a pair of top performances as he  placed second in the slalom (1:19.43) and fourth in the giant slalom (1:46.08). First-year racer Clayton Reed (Stowe, Vt.) was 15th in the GS (1:47.84), while placing 27th (1:36.56) in the slalom. Junior David Coriell (Killington, Vt.) was Middlebury's other alpine skier, placing 19th in the GS (1:49.12) and 23rd in the slalom (1:36.56).

Junior Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) placed 23rd in the men's 10K classical race, with a time of 32:58, while sophomore Beau Baldock (Jackson, Wyo.) did not start. In the 20K freestyle race, Kuzzy placed 22nd (59:50), while Baldock came in 31st (1:01.55).

Sophomore Evelyn Dong (Wayland, Mass.) represented the Middlebury women, placing 22nd (19:08) in the 5K and 24th (49:53) in the 15K race.