FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jay Moyer jmoyer@uscsa.org

By Emma Logan and Jay Moyer

LAKE PLACID, New York. – MARCH 6th, 2024. The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) completed day 2 of its 5-day long annual U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships^TM today with a men’s Snowboard and Freeski Rail Jam, women’s Skier and Snowboard Cross, Men’s Alpine Giant Slalom, and a Classic Nordic Sprint race in rainy weather.

A record breaking 621 Collegiate athletes representing 71 colleges and universities are competing at the 2024 U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships^TM, presented by Celsius. This includes alpine, snowboard, freeski, and nordic teams which qualified through their regional championships. Events include Alpine Giant Slalom, Alpine Slalom, Dual Slalom, Nordic Sprints, Nordic Relays, Nordic Distance, Slopestyle, Skier Cross, Snowboard Cross, Rail Jam, Snowboard Slalom, and Snowboard Giant Slalom. As the events unfold over next week at Lake Placid, please join the USCSA athletes, families and friends in celebrating this pinnacle of collegiate competition by following your favorite athletes either in person or online at www.uscsa.org, where team and individual results will be posted daily. Check in daily for live Video feeds online at uscsa.org/broadcast.html.

Nordic competition continued at Mt. Van Hoevenberg with a Classic Team Sprint. Paul Smith’s College’s men’s team took home their first team National Championship in the event, followed by Clarkson University in second and Western Colorado University in third. On the women’s side, St Olaf College won their second team National Championship of the week, followed by University of Wisconsin Madison in second and Paul Smith’s College in third.

“The Olympic Regional Development Authority is doing incredible work to make this event possible and the skiers are taking full advantage,” said USCSA Vice President of Nordic Christi Boggs. “The largest nordic field in USCSA history is tearing it up on World Cup courses. The competition has been tight and exciting!”

In the second day of alpine ski competition, the men kicked off their races with giant slalom on Wednesday. The morning weather left the race arena in a cloud of rain and fog making for low visibility and a variable course surface. Braving the conditions, over 140 athletes started the first run on the quest for a national title. A 45 minute weather delay before the end of the first run delayed the schedule of the events and eventually caused the cancellation of the second run.

After the first run, Lorenzo Mencaccini from Vermont State University Castleton led the field after a firing opening act, leading by 1.58 seconds. Fredrik August Straume from Rocky Mountain College followed in second place and Ethan Rodd from St. Olaf College sat in third place. The athletes did not get a second chance to prove themselves in giant slalom due to weather conditions canceling the second run. Castleton athletes earned back to back giant slalom national championships after Emilie Stene placed first in the women’s race on Tuesday, and the Castleton men’s team took home the team National Championship title for the day.

After their victory, Vermont State University Castleton’s Head Coach Chris Eder said that, “The rain, poor visibility, and the course conditions due to the warm temps definitely posed a challenge to all athletes today. We knew that it would be a difficult challenge and came up with a game plan the night before. Our guys were determined to put their individual goals aside and get to the finish for the betterment of the team. They executed that plan beautifully and really worked well together as a team. I am so proud of them for how they handled the day. We have to thank all the volunteers, the folks from NYSEF, and everyone from USCSA who worked their tails off to make this race possible.”

Alpine athletes will return Thursday where the women will race slalom after one day off following their giant slalom race.

The women will return to competition on Thursday to compete in Slalom. In the meantime, the men start their nationals competition Wednesday in Giant Slalom.

Speaking on their second place finish in the men’s Skier Cross competition held Tuesday, Colorado Mesa University (CMU)’s head coach Jesse Scott said that the, “CMU Mavericks punched in a 2nd place overall in skier cross Monday with seniors Halsey Lucas, Tyler Weldon, sophomore Preston Sobeck and freshman Colby Malpass! Today (3/6) was Men’s championship Giant Slalom and with tough variable conditions due to weather, the race completed with one out of two runs. NYSEF and Whiteface hosts along with all on-hill USCSA volunteers continue to provide outstanding support for the alpine and Freeski venues in the midst of challenging conditions and weather! Go Mavs!!!”

“The ski cross had heavy challenges due to the weather we have been experiencing,” said CMU Team Captain Halsey Lucas. “The crew at Whiteface and USCSA did a great job to create a competition and course that was safe, enjoyable and fast. Racing was good and clean while seeing the classic ski cross unpredictability from blocks and random starts. My team was able to put together some quality runs while staying competitive and enjoying ski cross, this being my last nationals and last college ski races. I am grateful to be racing in such a setting where your team isn't just someone with the same jacket but truly a team throughout the competition and awards.”

All this week the USCSA Broadcast Network will bring audiences over 22 hours of LIVE, multi-camera HD video coverage from all three competition venues. Scott "Boss" Hogg returns to lead the USCSA Broadcast Team at alpine, with ESPN broadcaster Casey Ditzel alongside USCSA nordic legend John Henry Paluszek bringing live daily coverage from the nordic venue at Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex. Additionally, each day’s Awards Ceremonies and the final night’s Champions Banquet and Awards Show will be broadcast on the USCSA X-TRA Channel. To enjoy these online broadcasts, visit www.uscsa.org/broadcast.

Teams began their quest to qualify for the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships^TM in their local conference competitions, held across 11 conferences spanning the nation, this January. Top teams from each conference attend one of 6 regional championships, which decide who ultimately qualifies to participate in events at the Collegiate National Championship.

The USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate team ski racing and snowboarding in America. The USCSA believes that student-athletes of all levels and abilities should have access to quality and exciting venues of competition. USCSA 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. The organization includes 213 colleges from coast to coast, fielding 4,765 male and female, alpine, freestyle, cross-country, snowboarding and nordic ski jumping athletes in over 300 events annually.

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For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact jmoyer@uscsa.org