Brendan Looney | Sports Editor | blooney@mail.smcvt.edu
Four members of the St. Michael’s alpine ski team competed in the NCAA Championships this week at Whiteface Mountain. Ski racers representing St. Michael’s included Simen Strand ’24, Helene Kristoffersen ’25, Eirik Kveno ’25, and Gray Flanagan ’26. For team scoring during the men’s giant slalom event, St. Michael’s placed second overall, being beaten out only by Colorado. All four racers attained All-America status with their top-ten finishes during the giant slalom event on Wednesday. Results from the men’s giant slalom placed Strand, Kveno, and Flanagan in sixth, eighth, and ninth place respectively, with Kristoffersen placing eighth during the women’s giant slalom.
On Friday, ski racers further participated in the regular slalom events. Sophomore Eirik Kveno landed yet another All-America mark, finishing ninth during the men’s slalom event, with junior Simen Strand and first-year Gray Flanagan placing 21st and 28th respectively. Sophomore Helene Kristofferson finished 16th overall in the women’s slalom event.
The team as a collective placed 11th overall in the tournament with a final point total of 145, breaking the previous school-record 108.5 points set at last year’s championships. In addition to this, as noted by the Athletics department, St. Michael’s also broke the previous team placement record of 12th overall in the championships. This is a good mark for the Purple Knights to end the season on, and provides much hope for future aspirations and seasons to come.
