Photo by: Sam Bloom
Bobcat Skiing’s McCarthy Finishes Career as an All-American
3/11/2019 3:48:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing
Jocelyn McCarthy had to wait until she was a senior to achieve All-America accolades for a second time after capturing the distinction as a freshman
The Montana State ski team finished its season placing ninth overall in team standings at the 2019 NCAA Skiing Championships on Saturday. The meet was capped off with the slalom at Stowe Mountain Resort, Vt. Senior alpine skier Jocelyn McCarthy finished in seventh place clocking in at 1 minute, 50.51 seconds to earn her second All-America honors in her four-year career as a Bobcat.
It just took a bit of time to become an All-American for the second time after capturing the distinction the first time.
McCarthy grew up in Edmonton, Alberta., and skied with her family in the Edmonton River Valley. Her dad raced in alpine skiing and encouraged McCarthy and her brother to pursue the sport. McCarthy ended up loving skiing and pursued it further.
McCarthy never pictured herself attending college in Bozeman and competing at the collegiate level until her last year in high school. Her plans changed in a drastic way after her developmental program in Canada was cut.
"I didn't really consider going to school for ski racing and skiing NCAAs until the year before college," Jocelyn said. "I was skiing on the national development team in Canada and they decided to cut their program. I was looking for something that'd be a really good program I could rely on for four years. I looked into skiing and going to school in the western U.S. and this was my top pick."
Thankfully for MSU and McCarthy, the school has been a perfect fit.
Pursuing a career working in interior design back home in Edmonton, McCarthy is dual majoring in business management and interior design. She finished her athletics career as a Bobcat this weekend, but still has a year left to complete both degrees.
Growing up, McCarthy always had creative interests that ignited her academic pursuits.
"I've always been pretty artistic," McCarthy said. "I did a lot of fine arts programs in school and I knew I wanted to do something creative that involved art. I also had a love for interior design and there was a program here, that was a big factor in picking this school."
Double majoring presents unique challenges for student-athletes. During the season when the team can be travelling every two weeks, when McCarthy has days in Bozeman, she's often on campus until midnight.
McCarthy experienced immediate success despite the heavy workload. She placed in the top 10 on two separate occasions her freshman season. She placed eighth in the slalom at the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association/NCAA West Regional Championships and earned All-America honors for the first time by taking 10th in the slalom at the NCAA Skiing Championships.
McCarthy finished her career in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. Her seventh-place finish ended her best season as a Bobcat. Going into the Championships, McCarthy was coming off slalom titles at the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational and the RMISA/NCAA West Regional Championships. Before the NCAA meet, McCarthy remarked this was her best stretch of competitions during her career.
"I feel like this season has been my best season," McCarthy said. "Working through the season, I've been getting better and better as it went on. I was hoping to do well but I wasn't expecting to do this well."
McCarthy's dominance continued at the Championships. On the second day of competition, she finished in 26th place competing in the giant slalom by clocking in at 2:06.67. On the last day of competition, she came through for the team completing the second-fastest time of the slalom on her second run.
"Jocelyn had fire in her belly after a solid first run and said she was just going to go as hard as she could (second run)," head alpine coach Kevin Francis said. "She came out of the gate super aggressive and executed her plan. It was a fantastic way to cap a very successful college career."
When reflecting on her career, the results are far from the first thing on McCarthy's mind. The senior has another year to enjoy the school and the relationships she's built from the ski team, but her career on the mountain came to a close in the best possible way.
"It's been a crazy opportunity to ski for the school the past four years," McCarthy said. "I've loved skiing with all of my teammates here who have become my best friends. The results are definitely nice, but I'm going to look back and remember my teammates and my coaches and everyone involved with athletics."
It just took a bit of time to become an All-American for the second time after capturing the distinction the first time.
McCarthy grew up in Edmonton, Alberta., and skied with her family in the Edmonton River Valley. Her dad raced in alpine skiing and encouraged McCarthy and her brother to pursue the sport. McCarthy ended up loving skiing and pursued it further.
McCarthy never pictured herself attending college in Bozeman and competing at the collegiate level until her last year in high school. Her plans changed in a drastic way after her developmental program in Canada was cut.
"I didn't really consider going to school for ski racing and skiing NCAAs until the year before college," Jocelyn said. "I was skiing on the national development team in Canada and they decided to cut their program. I was looking for something that'd be a really good program I could rely on for four years. I looked into skiing and going to school in the western U.S. and this was my top pick."
Thankfully for MSU and McCarthy, the school has been a perfect fit.
Pursuing a career working in interior design back home in Edmonton, McCarthy is dual majoring in business management and interior design. She finished her athletics career as a Bobcat this weekend, but still has a year left to complete both degrees.
Growing up, McCarthy always had creative interests that ignited her academic pursuits.
"I've always been pretty artistic," McCarthy said. "I did a lot of fine arts programs in school and I knew I wanted to do something creative that involved art. I also had a love for interior design and there was a program here, that was a big factor in picking this school."
Double majoring presents unique challenges for student-athletes. During the season when the team can be travelling every two weeks, when McCarthy has days in Bozeman, she's often on campus until midnight.
McCarthy experienced immediate success despite the heavy workload. She placed in the top 10 on two separate occasions her freshman season. She placed eighth in the slalom at the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association/NCAA West Regional Championships and earned All-America honors for the first time by taking 10th in the slalom at the NCAA Skiing Championships.
McCarthy finished her career in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. Her seventh-place finish ended her best season as a Bobcat. Going into the Championships, McCarthy was coming off slalom titles at the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational and the RMISA/NCAA West Regional Championships. Before the NCAA meet, McCarthy remarked this was her best stretch of competitions during her career.
"I feel like this season has been my best season," McCarthy said. "Working through the season, I've been getting better and better as it went on. I was hoping to do well but I wasn't expecting to do this well."
McCarthy's dominance continued at the Championships. On the second day of competition, she finished in 26th place competing in the giant slalom by clocking in at 2:06.67. On the last day of competition, she came through for the team completing the second-fastest time of the slalom on her second run.
"Jocelyn had fire in her belly after a solid first run and said she was just going to go as hard as she could (second run)," head alpine coach Kevin Francis said. "She came out of the gate super aggressive and executed her plan. It was a fantastic way to cap a very successful college career."
When reflecting on her career, the results are far from the first thing on McCarthy's mind. The senior has another year to enjoy the school and the relationships she's built from the ski team, but her career on the mountain came to a close in the best possible way.
"It's been a crazy opportunity to ski for the school the past four years," McCarthy said. "I've loved skiing with all of my teammates here who have become my best friends. The results are definitely nice, but I'm going to look back and remember my teammates and my coaches and everyone involved with athletics."
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