BEND, Ore. – The St. Olaf College women's Nordic skiing team began the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships by winning the 7.5K Freestyle, while the men's team was the runner-up on Tuesday at Mt. Bachelor.
The St. Olaf women swept the top-four spots and had eight All-America performances (top 15) on its way to winning the team title with six points, 24 ahead of the second-place teams. First year
Paavo Rova was the runner-up for the St. Olaf men, who finished second with 25 points, seven behind the University of Wyoming.
Senior
Lily Hubanks won her sixth individual USCSA national title and earned All-America honors for the 10th time in as many events at the national meet with a winning time of 20:19.4. Sophomore
Amae Kam-Magruder was just over 10 seconds behind Hubanks in second (20:29.9) to collect the fourth consecutive All-America honor to start her collegiate career.
In their first USCSA National Championships, sophomore
Lily Ward and first year
Liesl Cope-Schaeffer completed the top-four sweep, with Ward in third (21:15.7) and Cope-Schaeffer in fourth (21:30.5). The team event title was the 10th for the Oles in 12 events dating back to the 2022 USCSA National Championships.
Senior
Mira Tomten and first years
Lizzy Weider,
Louisa Lamarre, and
Annika Fuhrmann were also all in the top 15 to collect All-America honors. The All-America accolade was the second of Tomten's career.
Rova's runner-up finish highlighted the opening day of the weeklong event for the St. Olaf men, as Rova finished just under 20 seconds behind individual champion Iver Skaarseth of Colorado Mesa University in 17:46.1. First year
Daniel Gladkov joined Rova in picking up All-America honors in his first event at the USCSA National Championships by placing ninth (18:04.6).
Junior
Tait Myers added St. Olaf's third top-20 finish in 18th (18:53.6), while first year
Lance Hastings and sophomore
Trey Bosworth were also in the top 30. Hastings crossed the line in 25th (19:05.8) and Bosworth took 29th (19:14.5).
The USCSA National Championships will continue on Wednesday, March 12 with the Classic Sprint qualifier starting at noon CT.
