Babson College Takes Top Spot in USCSA Men’s Slalom

The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) continued its 5-day long annual national championships on Friday with the men’s slalom. Alpine skiers ended their competitions on Drapers Drop with the men’s slalom. In yet another extremely close competition, Babson College edged out Castleton University by a mere 0.04 seconds to claim the team title in the discipline.

“To see our men rally together on the biggest stage and perform the way they did could not make our coaching staff more proud,” said Babson assistant coach Jack Barber after the race. “We lost one of our top skiers a few days before the event. Our men went in with the mindset to do their best – and they did just that! We could not be more proud of how they competed as a team. None of this would’ve been possible without the incredible sportsmanship and organization of the USCSA and the MacConnell Division.”

Winning his first ever individual national championship was Paul Rechberger from Castleton University.

“When I saw that three guys of our team already finished I knew we’ll have a good team
result. I could focus on my individual race after that and my goal was to finish second, because Andraz was too far ahead and his skiing was really good this week. When I crossed the finish line after the second run I knew I got my silver, but I never thought that it was good enough for gold. I don’t know what to say right now. Just amazing.”

Babson’s top finisher was Jack Blanchard in second place while Teagan Olin of St. Olaf’s College took third.

“It feels great to come down and see everyone excited,” Blanchard said after the race. “It’s a team sport and the support from the team makes it special. It was a crazy day out there and everyone fought hard. We can’t ask for any better way to end the season.”

The final alpine event is a team dual slalom on March 10. Complete results from the men’s slalom are available here.

Release from USCSA