University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
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Gibson LaFountaine 1995 - Skiing
The winner of UVM's 1995 J. Edward Donnelly Award as the top athlete of her class, Gibson LaFountaine, a 2005 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was a two-time All-American and All-East skier for the Catamounts from 1993 to 1995. She was a key member of Vermont's last NCAA Championship ski team in 1994. LaFountaine was the top-ranked female collegiate slalom skier in the United States for three straight seasons. With two NCAA titles in the slalom, she is one of two Catamounts to win the national slalom crown more than once joining fellow UVM Hall of Famer Gabriella Hamburg Sutro '90, a three-time winner during her career.
A native of Lake Placid, N.Y., LaFountaine was away with the U.S. Ski Team much of her freshman year and she did not ski for the Catamounts. She came on strong at midseason of her sophomore campaign finishing second in the slalom at the UVM and Dartmouth Carnivals. She capped her rise to the top with her first NCAA slalom title at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. LaFountaine also finished a solid 19th in the giant slalom as the Catamounts finished as the national runner-up.
Her junior year was her best as she captured three carnival slaloms along with another national title. At the EISAs (Eastern Championships), she was second in the slalom and eighth in the giant slalom. She wrapped up the season with her second straight individual national title in the slalom as Vermont won the NCAA Ski Championship at Sugarloaf, Maine. In her senior season she won four more carnival slalom races and had three top-three finishes in the giant slalom. She earned All-East honors in both events at the EISAs.
Still active in the sporting goods industry, LaFountaine currently resides in Watertown, Mass.
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