SUNDAY RIVER, Maine -- The Babson College men's alpine ski team opened its ninth appearance at the United States Collegiate Skiing Association (USCSA) National Championships with a clutch performance on Thursday, as the Beavers placed eighth out of 20 teams in the giant slalom.

In the first of the day's two runs, junior Zach Breakstone placed 21st, first-year Kevin Dachos followed in 29th, and senior captain Greg LaFrance came in 33rd. Junior Richard Beneduci ranked 82nd after a tough opening run, and sophomore Clark Chamberlin was disqualified after missing a gate.

Needing three strong scores to post a top-10 team finish, Breakstone, Dachos, and LaFrance each came up with big second runs despite battling deteriorated course conditions. Dachos' second run moved him up a spot to 28th in the final individual standings, while Breakstone finished 31st and LaFrance ended up in 51st place overall. Beneduci also bounced back with a solid second run helping him move him up to 74th in the individual standings.

Babson will conclude its Nationals appearance with the slalom event on Saturday beginning at approximately 9 a.m.