BEND Ore. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's alpine skiing team concluded the 2025 season on Thursday, taking on another day of snowy weather with soft snow, and difficult conditions, taking fourth in the USCSA National Championships slalom event, and sixth overall.
 
The Spartans earned four top-30 finishes despite the conditions and three racers earn USCSA Slalom All-American Honors. Rookie Sondre Andersen led the way, posting a combined time of 1:25.88, posting the sixth-fastest time to clinch 10th place in his first Nationals appearance in slalom, earning him USCSA Slalom All-American Honors. Aksel Stroem-Hansen posted a time of 1:26.92 to clinch 12th and earn All-American Honors as well. Valero Echegoyen notched the 16th-fastest second run to claim All-American Honors in his first Nationals appearance in slalom with a combined time of 1:27.73, good enough for 15th. Nate Hazen was Castleton's final finisher and did not let his high bib number get in the way. He earned a spot in the top 45 after run one to secure a better start position in run two, posting the 23rd-fastest time to clinch 30th out of 142 racers.
 
Castleton narrowly missed the podium, posting a 4:20.53 team time, just 1.03 off the third-place team Northern Michigan with a 4:19.50. Babson clinched second with a 4:16.63, and Rocky Mountain College took first with a time of 4:14.30.
 
Andersen and Stroem-Hansen sit in the top half of the overall individual leaders, with 143 racers in total. Andersen finished 10th overall with 50.20 race points, earning him his third USCSA All-American honor of the week. Stroem-Hansen finished 12th overall with 62.53 race points, also earning his third USCSA All-American honor of the week, making it his seventh in his impressive three year career as a Spartan.
 
The Spartans finished sixth as a team in the combined standings, ninth in giant slalom, and fourth in slalom. Rocky Mountain College occupies the top spot, taking first in both events, with Babson College second in the combined standings, taking second in both events and Northern Michigan University taking third in both events and the combined standings.
 
Due to forecasted conditions for Friday and Saturday, the dual slalom event scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.