Cross Country Skiers Lead Team to Fourth

The Crimson ski team now holds fourth place in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships at Williams, largely because of stellar performances by two cousins: Jon Chaffe in cross country and Kim Chaffe in the downhill.

With competition in slalom and jumping yet to be held, Dartmouth has built up a commanding lead over the nine other entries: Vermont, Middlebury, Harvard and Williams follow, in that order. The top five finishers will qualify for the National Collegiate Championships scheduled at Dartmouth two weeks hence.

Jon Chaffe paced the Crimson nordic squad to an unprecedented second place cross country finish on a nine mile course in the Savoy State Forest. Chaffe finished third in 56:11 only 3:46 behind the winner, Ed Williams of Dartmouth. The three other Crimson entrants all finished in the top third of the field, to round out the most successful single race in the team's history.

Middlebury dominated the downhill, sweeping into the first two places. The 1 1/4 mile course on Berlin Mountain plunged 1400 feet, and was described by Crimson coach Charlie Gibson as the "fastest, toughest, and best course we've had all year." Senior Kim Chaffee finished tenth, leading the alpine squad to a seventh place finish in the event.

In order to hold on to fourth place overall, the team will have to perform much better tomorrow in the 40 metre jump than it has in the past. Gibson expects his jumpers to finish in sixth place, which would result in a third-place finish in the nordic combined, a combination of the four best scores in cross country and the jump