Colby-Sawyer College

Danielle Shannon received the Charger Award for this year’s Outstanding Female Athlete. The award is given to a female who has extraordinary athletic ability and has contributed the most to her team, the College and the world of sport. The award is a token of hard work, good judgment, understanding and determination.  

The award marks the second straight year that Danielle has been honored.

Head Coach Garrett Lashar states, “Danielle’s talents and hard work led the team all season long to compete with the best ski programs in the Eastern Region and Nationwide. Her ability and consistency allowed her win the individual title for the regular season in the very difficult MacConnell Division for the second year in a row; making her first team All-Division for the third straight year. Her performance at the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Regional Championships helped the Colby-Sawyer women grab their third straight Overall ECSC Regional Championship.”

Danielle continued her dominance on the snow in 2010 and garnered numerous awards including:

MacConnell Division Regular Season Champion (1^st); 2 years in a row
ECSC Regional Championship SL—3^rd place—1^st Team All-Conference
ECSC Regional Championship GS—4^th place—1^st Team All-Conference
ECSC Regional Championship Combined 3^rd place—1^st Team All-Conference
USCSA National Championship SL--5^th place—1^st Team All-American
USCSA National Championship GS--9^th place—2^nd Team All-American
USCSA National Championship Combined--5^th place—1^st Team All-American
USCSA National Championship Combined Top American Finisher—qualifying her to U.S. Alpine National Championships; which is the second year in a row for Danielle
MVP of Women’s Ski Team; 2 years in a row

In addition to her on the snow accolades, Danielle also excelled in the classroom. She was on the athletic honor roll and Dean’s List in the fall. Danielle also earned Academic All-American Honors for the thirdyear in a row.

Danielle’s performance all year long kept her and Colby-Sawyer at the forefront of collegiate skiing nationwide. She was voted as the women’s team MVP and once again finished with three All-American Honors this year. With only three possible each year, (GS, SL, and Combined) after her junior year Danielle is a perfect nine-time All-American; receiving three each season. Since Danielle was the first American in the combined standings, she earned a birth to the U.S. Alpine National Championships for the second straight year. Simply to qualify and be invited to this event is incredible honor which gives racers the opportunity to compete against the best skiers in the country and even the world. But her accomplishments in the classroom are equally impressive, making Danielle a most deserving student-athlete to win this prestigious award.

Shawn Dunstan received the Charger Award for the Outstanding Male Athlete. This award is given each year to the male athlete who has extraordinary athletic ability and has contributed the most to his team, the College and the world of sport. The award is a token of hard work, good judgment, understanding and determination.

Head Coach Garrett Lashar states, “Shawn’s hard work and perseverance allowed him to be one of our most improved skiers this year. His physical talents combined with a more confident mental approached to his skiing, led Shawn to become our strongest and most consistent member of the men’s ski team. In college skiing, consistency is one of our main goals but also the hardest to obtain; Shawn’s skiing throughout the regular season was a model of what we strive for.” 

In 10 regular season races, he finished nine of them with his worst result being 3^rd place out of 85 racers. He won three races throughout the regular season and his consistency led him to win the individual title for the very deep MacConnell Division; earning him 1^st Team All-Division. He helped lead the Men’s team to a 2^nd place standing for the regular season as well as 2^nd place at the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference (ECSC) Regional Championship. And at the Regional Championship, Shawn won the slalom title, took 3^rd in the giant slalom, and tied for 1^st in the combined; sharing the crown as the ECSC Men’s Individual Combined Champion.

Shawn’s on the snow accomplishments include the following:

MacConnell Division Regular Season Champion (1^st)—1^st Team All-Division
ECSC Regional SL Champion (1^st)—1^st Team All-Conference
ECSC Regional Championship GS 3^rd place—1^st Team All-Conference
Shared ECSC Regional Combined Champion (T-1^st)—1^st Team All-Conference
USCSA National Championship SL—2^nd place—1^st Team All-American
USCSA National Championship GS—13^th place—2^nd Team All-American
USCSA National Championship Combined--6^th place—2^nd Team All-American
USCSA National Championship Combined Top American Finisher—qualifying him to U.S. Alpine National Championships; first male in CSC history to qualify for this event
MVP of Men’s Ski Team

At the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) National Championships, Shawn skied to a 13^th place result in the GS, but it was his skiing in the SL that turned his season into an epic one. He finished in the silver medal position in the SL, winning the second run, giving him 1^st Team All-American honors in that event. That 2^nd place result vaulted Shawn up the combined standings resulting in three All-American counts. More impressively, he ended up as the top American in the combined standings, which earned Shawn a spot in the U.S. Alpine National Championships.

 “This was great moment for the program as Shawn became the first male skier to ever qualify for this event. Of course, probably an even greater moment for Shawn as to qualify for this event has been a goal of his since he was 15 years old. It was a perfect ending to most likely the best individual season ever by a Colby-Sawyer Men’s ski team member.” – Head Coach Garrett Lashar