Featured Image: An athlete races during the Atlantic Highlands Conference competition at Belleayre Ski Center. Photo by Thomas Wohlbruck.
By Kaitlyn Frye
Midwest Conference
It was an exciting week in the Michigan and Ohio conference at the Otsego Club Resort in Michigan. During the men’s races, Samuel Dehlin led the way for University of Michigan in both slalom and GS, placing first in both races. Sanford Cole joined him, taking third in slalom and second in GS, to secure a first place finish for the team. Michigan State University took second in both races. AIden Lewandowski took second in slalom and seventh in GS, and was joined both times by teammate Hunter Halstead, racing for fifth in slalom, and third in GS, and Nicholas Uhazie in seventh and fourth. Benedict Althoff of the University of Notre Dame snagged sixth during the GS race, and eleventh in slalom, joined by Ian Nordland in ninth, helping the team to third in both races.
The University of Michigan women’s team had an outstanding weekend, taking wins in both slalom and GS as well. Anna Grzelak led the pack in slalom with a first place win, as well as a fourth place win in GS. Teammate Ellie Gruber flipped the script, and took first in GS and fourth in slalom. They were also joined by the efforts of teammates Maria Fornetti, Rebecca Yedid, and Marie Morris. Michigan State University snagged a second place finish, with racer Lila Warren taking third in slalom and second in GS. Racing for the University of Notre Dame, Adelaide Kolka had a strong seventh place finish in slalom, and a fifteenth place finish in GS, helping her team to slide into third.
Northern Michigan University (NMU) put another leading weekend in the books during the Lake Superior and Chicago races at Giants Ridge. During the men’s GS race, NMU occupied the top eight of the top ten fastest finishes, led by Anthony Petkov in first, followed by Eli Heathman and Reed Heathman. James Briggs took tenth place, helping University of Wisconsin Madison into second place. A twelfth place finish from Connor Truman allowed Michigan Technological University to slide into third. Austin Mjanger of St. Olaf College was one of two racers not from NMU to place in the top ten, coming in sixth place, allowing his team to also take sixth.
Despite being forced to cut the race down to a single run per racer, the NMU men did not disappoint during the slalom event either, occupying first through sixth place, as well as ninth, tenth, and eleventh. Kyan Hopke blazed into first with a 33.84 second run, followed by Reed Heathman and Cash Jaeger. Jaggen Qui of University of Wisconsin Madison raced into seventh place for a second place finish for his team, and Connor Truman was close on his heels for eighth place, and third place for Michigan Technological University.
During the women’s GS race, NMU dominated the competition again, with a first place tie between racers Kaylee Byrne and Tommie Jo Springer, with a combined time of 1:04.13 for each. They were followed by teammate Onalee Wallis at third, and joined by six other teammates who all finished with a top ten time. Eva Serene Henschel and Veronica McHenry took seventh and eleventh, for a second place finish for the University of Wisconsin Madison. Paige Mueffelmann snuck into thirteenth place, to lead the University of Minnesota Duluth into third.
During the one run slalom race, NMU was again top of the charts, taking up the top six fastest races. Ashley Schaffer took first for her team, followed by Tommie Jo Springer and Kaylee Byrne to round out the top three. University of Minnesota Twin Cities made an appearance on the podium during this race, taking silver, thanks to a seventh place run by Sophie Janzig, as well as strong races from Abigail Hahs and Elsa Dahl. In third place was the University of Wisconsin Madison, with Harper Randolph snagging ninth.
Allegheny Conference
Pennsylvania State University swept the competition once again during the races at Elk Mountain, with both the men’s and women’s teams taking first in both events. During the first GS race, Shayan Gupta took first with a combined time of 1:03.14 seconds, and was joined by Thomas LaFalce in fifth, Maddox Lee in sixth, and Quinn Hughes in seventh. Lee, LaFalce, and Hughes appeared near the top again during the second GS race, taking third, fourth, and fifth respectively. Zoe Parizek was a dominant force for the second week in a row, once again taking first in both her races. Emmylu Carls and Carolyn Mole both appeared on the podium during both races as well, to secure the win for the team.
The Villanova University men’s team placed second in both races. Caleb Goldstein was their top racer, with a fourth-place finish during the first race, and moving up to second place during his next race. Noah Richert of Messiah University had an outstanding weekend, placing third during his first race to lead his team to third. He finished in first individually during the second race, although it was only enough for a fourth place finish for the team. West Virginia University was able to scoop up the bronze instead, led by Hunter Walchusky in ninth.
The women’s races saw some consistent racing this weekend, with West Virginia University claiming silver in both races, and Carnegie Mellon seeing the bronze both times as well. Molly Burns was a star racer for West Virginia, placing third in her first race, and fourth in her second. Lara Villard was both fast and consistent, taking ninth place twice, the first time with a run of 1:23.89. She was able to shave off four seconds of her first combined time during her second race, with a time of 1:19.43.
Mideast Conference
The Mideast conference held a slalom race at Labrador Mountain that saw Cornell University take the gold for the men’s team. Antoine Marc paved the way for the team with a second place finish, with help from teammates Lukas Schemmel and Jacob Temes. Hobart and William Smith Colleges snatched up second place, with Zachary Wargo taking third, and Jack Meagher and Jake Labanowski going back-to-back for tenth and eleventh. Syracuse University rounded out the podium, with a top racer in Patrick Debley, who placed eighth. Justin Shafritz finished the race first overall with a time of 1:24.14, although that still wasn’t enough to pull up Skidmore University from the bottom of the pack.
The Colgate University women’s team snagged first place in their slalom race, with Kate Goodrich in second, Charlotte Morris in fourth, and Carissa Dunlap rounding out the group in fifth. Aspen McAuley led Hobart and William Smith Colleges into second place, with a first place finish individually. Hamilton College took the last spot on the podium, with a third place finish from racer Charlotte Osgood.
Northwest Conference
Montana State University was the dominant force at Silver Mountain in the Northwest Conference, seeing both the men’s and women’s teams in first place during both races. Etienne Dollar led the way for the men’s team, placing first in the first GS race, and second during the following GS race. Jake Farwig took second and Augustus Dain took third during the first race. Dain was third again in the following race. Sierra Scanlan placed second during both races, as the leader for the women’s team. Avryl Haas and Izzy Bielen joined her in third and fourth places during the first race. Bielen appeared again, this time to take third place, and was followed by Brenna Ritchie at fourth.
During the first men’s race, Oregon State University took second, thanks to Cooper Tilson, Cooper Andrus, and Liam Rogers. Luke Falter took sixth place, racing for Washington State University, to help his team to third place.
In the second race, Ford Hodgkins sped into first place for the University of Washington to help them take second, and Luke Falter appeared once again at fourth place, for Washington State University to place third once again.
Sage Sappenfield was the first place racer individually during the first women’s GS race. She was joined by teammate Jenna Lynch at ninth, helping the University of Oregon find second place on the podium. Tyne Beckwith of the University of Washington took eighth, and her team placed third.
Sappenfield appeared once again at first, with Lynch improving to a seventh place finish during the second race, for another silver medal for Oregon. Tyne Beckwith improved to fifth, allowing Washington State to finish third once again.
Northern California
Stanford opened up their season with a first place finish in men’s GS, during the first race for the Northern California conference at Donner Ski Ranch. Kyan Gandhi led the team with a second place finish, followed by teammate Guillaume Fevrier at third, and Leopold Rousseau in seventh. Theodore Shanno placed first with a time of 39.01 seconds, for the University of California Davis, who were second overall. University of California Berkeley trailed after them in third, led by Thomas Decugis and a time of 44.61 seconds for a fifth place finish.
Despite a first place finish from Charlotte Courtois and a fifth place finish from Julia Feldhaus, the Stanford women’s team took second place, falling to UC Davis. Maya Hsu led the way for the UC Davis team, coming in second place, and followed quickly behind by Rachel Pope in fourth place, Emilia Demolino in sixth, and Maya Hill in seventh. UC Berkeley took third, with assistance from Lauren Stendall and a third place ribbon.
Atlantic Highlands
The Atlantic Highlands men’s GS race at Belleayre Ski Center on Saturday saw Lehigh University snatch up first, with Ian Kenyon in first place, followed by Aaron Martin and Eben Gifford at third and fourth respectively. Kenyon just barely scraped into first with a time of 1:21.47 seconds, just .05 seconds ahead of second place racer James Lahrman of the United States Military Academy. The United States Military Academy took third place, beat out by Fairfield University, who were led by Timothy Teguis with a seventh place finish.
Fairfield University rose into first place in the women’s GS race, with Sarah Whitaker placing fourth, Katelyn Paliwoda in sixth, and Keara Medeiros in eighth. Kylie Samuelsen of Rutgers University placed second individually, and helped her team to second place as well. Lafayette College snagged third, with Tess Libby leading her team with a fifth place finish. Paige Barta was the first place finisher individually, but it wasn’t enough for the United States Military Academy to crack the podium this time.
Eastern Conference
Over in the Eastern Conference, the MacConnell Division saw an action packed weekend over at Whiteface, in Lake Placid, New York. Castleton led the way in both of the women’s events, finishing first in both slalom and GS. University of Connecticut trailed them in second place during slalom, followed by Babson College. Clarkson University snuck onto the podium during the GS race, followed once again by Babson in third.
The Babson men’s team cruised into first place during both of the men’s races, with Clarkson on their heels at second in both events. UCONN took third during the GS race. However, during the slalom race, Castleton University was able to knock them down to fourth, and claim the bronze medal for themselves.
In the Reynolds Division, it was another week at the top for the University of Maine at Farmington. During the slalom race on Saturday, Lance Dolan placed second, followed by Sam Roy in third. They were joined by four other teammates, all within the top ten race times. St. Joseph’s College of Maine saw consecutive fourth and fifth place finishes from Colin Rathbone and Logan Davis, for second place for the team. Bowdoin College rounded out the podium, led by Alexander Wiseman in tenth.
The GS race saw similar standings, with University of Maine at Farmington at the top, holding seven of the top ten fastest races. Roy improved to second, followed by Magnus Riggs in third. For St. Josephs, Rathbone improved to first, and Davis to third. Bowdoin College once again found themselves in third place.
The women of St. Joseph’s College continued to hold onto their title, with two more first place finishes for the team during the women’s GS races. During the first race, Avalyn Beaudin took second, followed by Megan Cook at third, and Lily Anctil at sixth. Cook improved to second place during the second race, this time followed by Anctil in third, and Beaudin in fourth.
The University of Maine took second place during the first GS race, with Abigail Goodspeed in twelfth place, with teammates Lauren Roy and June Foyt hot on her heels at thirteenth and fourteenth. University of Maine at Farmington snatched third, with Hokulani Caroselli in fourth place, and Rosie St Cyr in fifth.
In the second race, Caroselli and St Cyr placed fifth and sixth respectively, and the team improved to second place. This time they were followed by Bowdoin College, with Sofia Bui in eighth place.
Rocky Mountain Conference
In the Rocky Mountain Conference, the University of Utah men’s team had an outstanding weekend at Purgatory Resort, taking first place in both events. They were led by Tj Weaver, who placed first during the Saturday GS race, and second during the Sunday race. The University of Colorado Boulder followed behind them in second place during both races, with Dylan Thompson finding the podium and taking third both times. Western Colorado University took bronze, with Nicholas Atkins racing for fifth place, and Tucker Schultz taking eighth. Schuyler Clapp finished second individually, but it wasn’t enough for the Colorado School of Mines to find the podium during the Saturday race. However, during the second race, he improved to first, and the team was able to scrape into third.
Jenna Blatchford led the University of Colorado Boulder into first in their Saturday GS race, with a first place finish. She was followed by Kacey Benjaminson in second, and Sydney Kraabel in sixth. Paige Petersen and Lexi Ornstein finished consecutively at third and fourth places, allowing the University of Utah to place second. Colorado Mesa University took bronze, with Gracey Hening racing for seventh. Although the University of Denver didn’t find the podium, Evi Barber had a standout performance with a fifth place finish.
During the Sunday GS race, Kraabel was able to take first for the University of Colorado Boulder, followed by Benjaminson in second, and Blatchford in fourth. The team was first place once again. University of Utah earned a second silver medal for the weekend, with Sienna Hendrickson and a third place finish, and Ornstein appearing at fifth. The University of Denver was able to claim a bronze medal this time, led by Claudia Merizon in twelfth.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact jmoyer@uscsa.org
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