After a long and successful stint with the B.C. Ski Team, Whistler’s Ali Leighton is tearing it up as a skier in the U.S. college stream.

Leighton, now a member of the Montana State University ski team based in Bozeman, is happily settled in as an Exercise Science student at the NCAA Division 1 school. The idea of college racing appealed to her because after many years of racing with the B.C. team and the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC), the past winner of the Pontiac Cup women’s series standings wasn’t ready to leave her sport behind.

“I decided on racing college because I wasn't really done with the sport and thought that I could still enjoy ski racing in a more relaxed setting,” Leighton wrote in an email to The Question. “College racing is a great opportunity to get an education and to continue with skiing in a competitive environment.”

Leighton, who knocked off national team racers to win a silver medal in the 2006 Pontiac GMC Canadian Championships super G event in Whistler, said she loves “the team aspect of college racing,” where individual results are combined to help the team score. The Alpine team tallies are then added to the Nordic team’s score for a total to rank against the other schools.

Happily describing how the college circuit is taking her to interesting places such as New Mexico and Alaska, Leighton said college racing is still highly competitive.

“There are lots of Europeans that come over to race NCAA that have good points and are fast skiers. It compares to races at the NorAm level that I participated in with the B.C. team,” she wrote.

With a 10th-place result at a race in Park City last season and several top-10 second-run times in slalom and giant slalom races this season, Leighton said she came well prepared to the program thanks to the B.C. team and the WMSC.

“Both teams provided a competitive environment with some great coaching that was able to carry over to my college career. I owe a lot to the WMSC program and Jordan Williams that set me up to qualify for the B.C. team, which really progressed my career,” Leighton wrote.

Williams warmly remembers Leighton’s rise with Kendall Benbow and Danielle Robson as the illustrious RC3 group — the Rookie Chicks 3 — who moved solidly from the WMSC to the provincial ski team. Williams said Leighton’s current path is “great to see,” offering a different set of opportunities and educational advantages while demonstrating what hardworking, focused athletes can achieve.

“She’s really a diligent athlete… Ali was one that was always prepared,” Williams said.

While she misses Whistler, Leighton said she’s happy where she is and enjoying the chance to try something new. She chose Montana State because it seemed like the best fit for her, with the school located in an active, outdoors-minded community like Whistler and a great group of athletes on the team, plus a passionate coach.

Leighton said she also misses racing super G — her favourite event with the B.C. team — but she sated her craving in a recent FIS Development Speed Series event at Big Sky Resort, where she finished fifth in a super G race.

After taking some lumps and hikes in the Western Regionals event in Reno, Nev., Leighton is hoping to tackle some more FIS races to close out the year with some solid results.