TAYLORS FALLS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's and women's alpine skiing teams both finished second at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) giant slalom event at Wild Mountain on Sunday.

St. Olaf finished less than a second behind Northern Michigan in the both the men's and women's team standings. The Wildcats edged the Oles by 0.56 seconds on the women's side and 0.91 seconds on the men's side.

First year Kate Young was St. Olaf's top finisher for the women, placing third (49.11) with consistently-fast runs of 25.61 seconds and 23.50 seconds. Sophomore Merumo Ishimaru used the third-fastest second run (23.40) to move up from 15th to finish ninth, while senior Sheridan Westphal and first year Lexi Jorgensen were 14th and 15th, respectively.

Sophomore Ethan Ross continued to lead the way for the Ole men, recording the second-fastest first run (23.76) and third-fastest second run (22.04) to finish third (45.80). Ross was just ahead of junior Kaarl Damberg, who finished fourth (45.85), moving up three spots with the second-fastest second run (21.68) of the day. First year Graham Barwick logged the sixth-fastest second run (22.22) to move up from 17th and finish 11th (46.92) and was followed closely by junior Parker Smith in 12th (46.94).

St. Olaf competes at the FIS/USSS races at Mt. La Crosse on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 22-23.