Steele Takes EISA Combined Championship; Frosh Beusman, Adler Improve Ski Outlook

Captain Ben Steele became the first Harvard skier ever to win the EISA Combined Alpine Championship' Saturday by taking first place in the slalom and fourth in the downhill at the Middlebury Carnival.

Although no other Harvard skiers qualified for the NCAA championships on March 8-10, the Alpine squad turned in its best overall performance of the year, finishing fifth in the slalom and seventh in the downhill.

Two freshmen, Gordon Adler and Bob Beusman, proved that they will challenge the top skiers in the College circuit in the coming years by taking the 20th and 22nd in the combined Alpine standings.

"The pressure was really on them and they really came through when we needed them," coach Peter Carter said last night.

Near Perfection

Steele, skiing two near perfect runs in the slalom, beat second place finisher Jim Vandergrift of Middlebury by over one and a half seconds.

Steele edged St. Lawrence's Brain Vorse by less than three-tenths of a point to gain the combined title.

Harvard slipped to ninth place in the overall team competition after yesterday's jump. The point scoring is heavily weighted on the jumping results, the Crimson's worst event.

Four of five Harvard jumpers are also Alpine skiers so they must compete in two events in one day for most carnivals. Steels, also the Crimson's best jumper, has only been jumping for one season. Three of the other four jumpers have only been jumping for one month.

The University of Vermont grabbed first place in the team standings by placing three jumpers in the top ten. UVM also took firsts in the downhill and in Friday's Cross Country.

The University of New Hampshire upset perennial EISA powers Dartmouth and Middlebury for second place in the meet. However, both Dartmouth and Middlebury qualified as a team for the NCAA championships.