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St. Olaf College Alpine men finish 2nd and women 9th at Nationals

Le Ann Finger
March 21, 2002

Alpine Ski teams competed at the National Championships on March 13-16 in Waterville Valley, NH. The mountain's crew had to work very hard, as did the skiiers, to deal with the little snow the course had seen this year. Fielding the best competition in the nation, both the men's and women's teams both put together some great performances.

In spite of some mishaps (including a fall in Friday's slalom by St. Olaf's number one skier, Sarah Nelson) the women's team finished 10th in the giant slalom with performances from seniors Auda Hatchner and Sarah Nelson placing 31st and 35th, respectively. As well as first year Megan Harrod placing 38th. The women came in 9th place in the slalom with Harrod placing 21st, Hatchner, 25th, and senior Lexy Zarling at 42nd. The women placed 9th overall which is a respectable result as they competed against nineteen of the country's best teams.

The men skied a great giant slalom finishing second, with performance from senior Joachim Rasmussen placing 2nd, and senior Josh Kinzer and junior Ben Belyea placing 20th and 32nd, respectively. The slalom put a strain on many nerves as two men experienced falls early on in their runs, putting extra pressure on the remaining three for a good performance. Rasmussen pulled in a 3rd place finish, as Kinzer placed 16th and sophomore Casey Charlson made a jump into 21st place, after starting from 96th position, which gave the men a 4th place finish. This was all good enough for them to finish 2nd overall for the championship, falling short to Sierra Nevada College who is yet to be dethrowned from a twelve year reign in 1st place.

Joachim Rasmussen finished second in the combined standings, earning him his fourth year in a row, and All-American in the slalon, giant slalom, and combined events. Josh Kinzer also earned All-American honors by finishing 15th in the combined standings. St. Olaf Alpine skiers, Sarah Nelson, Jen Perry, Casey Charlson and Nate Gruys also earned Academic All-American honors.

St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college located in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with more than two-thirds of its students participating in international studies. For more information, see www.stolaf.edu.

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-786-3315 or finger@stolaf.edu.