After finishing a dominating season, the ski team will compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Champoinships on Feb. 27-28 at Bryce Mountain in Bayse, Va.

At season's end, Penn State was ranked No. 1 in the Allegheny Ski Conference. Penn State also won the combined team title, the men's overall title and the women's overall title at the Conference Champoinships, held on Feb. 11-12 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. This is the fifth consecutive year the ski team has claimed all three titles.

In addition, 10 skiers garnered All-Conference honors. Rich Cellich, Tom Kennington, Chris Joyce, Scott Peterson and Yaz Grotnik received honors for the men, and Jennifer Zangrilli, Melanie Kazsimer, Renee Boeren, Michelle Peechatka and Laura McIerny received honors for the women.

"The season started off well and we dominated the races from then on," Coach Bob Christiansen said.

Penn State skiers filled 10 of the 20 All-Conference slots. Cellich and Zangrilli took the men's and women's overall titles respectively.

"Last year I finished second at the regionals," Zangrilli said. "This year I had competition from Mel (Kazsimer), but knew if I skied well I would win."

Cellich, who won the title for the second year in a row, had other goals.

"My goals were to go to regionals and then to nationals and try to place in the top five and be All-American."

In the regional championships, the top four teams and individuals from three conferences (Allegheny, Southern and New Jersey) are invited. From these championships, the top three teams and individuals will receive invitations to go to the National championships at Incline Village in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

"The team has a really good chance this year to do well at the championships," Grotnik, the team captain, said. "We have pretty much dominated the conference and gone to the National Championships three out of the past five years."

The women's team went to Nationals last year, but the men's team did not go due to a disqualification.

"The men's team has a really good chance. We have most of our team back," Cellich said.

"We are diversified and strong and we won every race except one this year," Zangrilli agreed.

The regional championships will give Penn State a chance to compete against rivals Appalachian State University and Lees McRae College. Christiansen believes that Lees McRae will give the team the most competition at the regionals.

Both Appalachian State and Lees McRae have school-sponsored programs in which the skiers receive scholarships, unlike Penn State's club team.

"We are going to go down south to their territory and going to give it heck,"

Cellich said. "Last year they were cocky and fidgety about the rules, so hopefully we will go down there and kick them around."