BIWABIK, Minn. – Junior Ethan Ross recorded three podium finishes in four races, including a first-place finish in the giant slalom to close out the weekend, as the St. Olaf College men's and women's alpine skiing teams began their seasons with four FIS/USSA races on Saturday and Sunday at Giants Ridge.

St. Olaf competed in FIS slalom races and USSA giant slalom races on both days of a busy opening weekend on the Helsinki and Innsbruck slopes against competitive fields from four different nations and the upper Midwest.

Ross began the weekend by placing third in the FIS slalom (1:18.10) and second in the USSS giant slalom (1:01.03) on Saturday before winning the USSS giant slalom on Sunday by four one-hundredths of a second (59.63). Sophomore Graham Barwick added another podium finish for the Oles by placing second (1:19.81) in the FIS slalom on Sunday morning and was in the top 10 in all four races for the weekend.

First year Winter Johnson posted the top finish of the weekend for the St. Olaf women by finishing fifth (1:05.53) in the USSS giant slalom on Saturday afternoon and added an eighth-place showing (1:04.66) in the same competition the following day. Sophomore Kate Young finished 12 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Johnson in the Sunday afternoon USSS giant slalom to take seventh (1:04.54).

Over the course of the weekend, St. Olaf had a combined 21 top-20 finishes, as the men's team recorded 12 and the women compiled nine.

The Oles are next in action at the FIS/USSA races at Wild Mountain in Taylors Falls on Saturday, Dec. 17 (women) and Sunday, Dec. 18 (men).