Featured Image: USCSA Championships alpine slalom event. Credit: Megan Bronson
BEND, Oregon. – The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) continued its 5-day-long annual Collegiate National Championship Wednesday and Thursday with the men’s and women’s Alpine Ski Slalom, men’s and women’s Snowboard Alpine slalom and giant slalom, men’s and women’s Freeski and Snowboard Slopestyle, and a Nordic 15k Classic Mass Start. Due to the snow and wind moving in over the Cascades, event organizers compressed the schedule and held as many events as possible on Wednesday before conditions deteriorated. 1,206 starts occurred throughout the day across the disciplines competing on Wednesday.
A record-breaking 685 collegiate athletes representing 75 universities across 6 regions competed in the Cascade Mountains last week. This championship represents the best collegiate athletes from around the country. USCSA has member schools in every geographic region of the United States. Events included Alpine Ski and Snowboard Giant Slalom, Alpine Ski and Snowboard Slalom, Cross-Country Sprints, Nordic Relays, Nordic Distance, Slopestyle, Skier and Snowboard Cross, and Rail Jam.
Alpine Ski Racing—Slalom
On the Thunderbird trail, Rocky Mountain College completed their sweep of the team events, winning both the men’s and women’s alpine ski slalom events. Mads Fondevik Syversen from Babson College won the men’s individual National Championship, with Synne Gaustad Kvinlog from Rocky Mountain College winning the women’s Championship.
After the race, Mads said that his winning run was his “greatest USCSA memory.”
Women’s individual champion Synne said that, “winning slalom means so much to me—it was my goal for this Nationals, and it’s such a huge achievement. I couldn’t be happier and honestly didn’t expect it! So grateful for my team and coaches.”
Adding to this, Rocky Mountain College’s head coach Jerry Wolf said, “It was a special win for Synne, and I’m so proud of her. I had a couple of fast gals who graduated last year that she had been chasing. Synne would podium a lot, but wins were hard to come by. This year I brought in a new freshman, Eulalie Giraud, who is super talented. Once again, Synne found wins illusive. Until the biggest race of the year! Congratulations, National Champion.”
Taking third place in the women’s individual slalom event was Reagan Olli from Northern Michigan University. After her race, Reagan said, “I’m extremely blessed and grateful to finish off my last USCSA Nationals with a podium finish. Northern Michigan University has made a name for itself the past few years, and it is amazing to be able to compete at this level. We are so grateful to everyone who supports us: our parents, our coaches, and our teammates.”
Nordic Racing
Racing continued at the Nordic venue with a Nordic 15k Classic Mass Start. St. Olaf College’s women’s team won the combined race, taking first and third place in the individual competition, with Jayna Boonstra from Colorado Mesa University taking third. Colorado Mesa University won the men’s team National Championship, with team member Iver Skaarseth winning the individual Championship. Iver said that there were “difficult conditions out there today. We had a tactical race. CMU had the best skis, so we had a great day out there!”
Snowboard and Freeski Competitions
On the Snowboard and Freeski venues, Alpine Giant Slalom and Slalom were held on the Lower Leeway trail. The University of Minnesota Duluth’s women’s team won both the slalom and giant slalom events, with team member Kylee White winning the individual championship for both events as well. The University of Wisconsin Madison won the men’s team slalom event, while Lees-McRae College won the team Giant Slalom National Championship.
After winning the slalom event, individual national champion Andrew Beery said, “We have been working for this for four years, and we are super happy we could achieve a team win!” Slalom and Giant Slalom Champion Kylee White said, “I am so ecstatic to bring home the first-ever individual snowboard alpine win for UMD! Our team is extremely excited to bring home the hardware for the slalom and GS championships and is so grateful for everyone who has helped us get this far.”
Slopestyle Competitions
At the Slopestyle venue, Westminster University won the men’s and women’s team National Championships, with team member Anthony Turco winning the men’s individual National Championship. Viviana Oram from UCLA won the women’s individual championship. For freeski, Liberty University won the women’s team championship, and Westminster University won the men’s.
Individually, Finn Urey from Westminster University won for the men while Natalee Mckenzie from the University of Maine Farmington won for the women. After his win, Finn said that it was “so unreal to get top 3 with my teammates out here; thankful for such a great experience here at our first USCSA nattys!”
About USCSA
USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate team ski and snowboard competition in North America. The organization believes that student-athletes of all levels and abilities should have access to quality and exciting venues of competition. Our athletes agree that our team orientation fosters a collaborative approach across their collegiate athletic and academic careers, and often this mentality proves indispensable in their adult lives and careers. USCSA includes over 140 institutions from coast to coast, fielding over 4,700 female and male alpine, freestyle, nordic, and snowboarding athletes who participate in more than 300 events annually.
About Mt. Bachelor
Mt. Bachelor is the premier ski area in the Pacific Northwest, offering 4,323 acres of lift-accessible terrain with 360-degree descents from its 9,065’ volcanic peak. The mountain resort is served by three carpets and 12 lifts, seven of which feature high-speed quads and one new high-speed 6-pack lift. Mt. Bachelor also features 15 Woodward Mountain Parks, 56 km of groomed cross-country trails, snowshoeing, and sled dog rides. Summer attractions include downhill mountain biking, ZipTour ziplining, and whitewater rafting with Sun Country Tours. Mt. Bachelor is part of POWDR, a family-owned and operated Adventure Lifestyle Company©. For more information visit www.mtbachelor.com.
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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact jmoyer@uscsa.org
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