3.7 - [RELEASE] USCSA 45rd Annual Collegiate National Championships Day 3 Recap

Apr 18
3 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Emma Logan and Jay Moyer

LAKE PLACID, New York. – MARCH 7th, 2024. The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) wrapped up the 3rd day of its 5-day long annual Collegiate National Championships^TM with a men’s and women’s Freeski Slopestyle, women’s Alpine Ski Slalom, and a men’s and women’s Snowboard Slalom race under beautiful sunny skies.

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.

Snowboard alpine kicked off their racing competitions at Whiteface Mountain with a Snowboard Slalom. Lees McRae College’s men’s team won their second National Championship of the week. “It's great being back at Whiteface Resort for the 2024 USCSA Nationals. The team and I look forward to traveling up to Lake Placid every other year for this competition,” said Lees McRae Head Coach Aaron Maas. “The resort and community make for a great venue to host such a large event. The changes this year to a digital seed form and the relocation of the slopestyle event reinforces the idea that USCSA is listening to the feedback of its members and making adjustments to create an ever more efficient event. As always USCSA, Whiteface employees, and NYSEF staff have combined to create a great experience that allows athletes to perform at their best...and that's why we're all here.”

In the women’s Snowboard Slalom race, James Madison University (JMU)’s women’s team put together two solid runs and took home their first team championship of the week. After the win, JMU team captain Elsa Herries said, “We worked really hard to get to nationals and were extremely tired from all the competitions and fun we’ve had this week. We were not expecting 1st place! Huge shoutout to the dirty south and roll Dukes!”

After Wednesday’s variable conditions for the men’s Giant Slalom Alpine Ski race, the sun came back out at Whiteface Mountain for the women’s Slalom. Ideal conditions presented themselves and the women’s field put together two exciting runs.

Rocky Mountain College’s Hilde Sato came back to the competition for redemption after a second place finish in Giant Slalom. Sato led the field after the first run and held on during the second run to finish in first place by 0.60 seconds. Petra Veljkovic from Vermont State University Castleton finished in second place after having the second fastest second run. Rocky Mountain College had another successful day

for the team competition, taking home another team National Championship and with a third place finish by Synne Gaustad Kvinlog.

Babson College’s women’s team had their first podium of the week, finishing in second place. "I am very proud of the Babson women for earning their best discipline result in program history," said Babson Head Coach Jack Long. "After tough conditions in Tuesday's GS race, the women went out today with a great attitude and put their team first."

The men will return to competition on Friday for slalom. Both the men and the women will also compete in dual slalom on Saturday to close out the 2024 USCSA National Championships. “I am very proud of the Babson women for earning their best discipline result in program history,” said Babson Head Coach Jack Long. “After tough conditions in Tuesday's GS race, the women went out today with a great attitude and put their team first.”

The men will return to competition on Friday for slalom. Both the men and the women will also compete in dual slalom on Saturday to close out the 2024 USCSA National Championships.

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