WILMINGTON, N.Y. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's alpine ski team placed third out of 27 teams in the slalom on Friday at the USCSA National Championships at Whiteface Mountain.

Sondre Andersen led the way for the Spartans, posting a two-run time of 1:31.49 to finish fifth overall and earn First Team USCSA All-American honors. Andersen followed a sixth-place performance in the first run with the fifth-fastest second run to secure his second fifth-place finish of the national championships. Combined with his fifth-place result in the giant slalom earlier this week, Andersen finished third in the combined standings to earn his third First Team USCSA All-American honor of the championships and the sixth All-American recognition of his career.

Senior Nate Hazen followed with a strong performance, earning USCSA All-American honors for the first time in his career. Hazen sat 16^th after the first run before delivering the 13^th-fastest second run to move up to 13^th overall with a total time of 1:34.31. Paired with his 27^th-place finish in the giant slalom, Hazen placed 14^th in the combined standings to secure another All-American honor.

Lucas Pons Morillo finished 23^rd overall with a time of 1:35.89 after placing 22^nd in both runs. Sven Cornelisse delivered an impressive result from bib No. 137, finishing 29^th overall. Alex Jorge Lopez also made a significant move up the standings, jumping from bib No. 110 to finish 27^th after the first run before placing 34^th overall following his second run. Combined with his 22^nd place finish in the giant slalom earlier in the week, Lopez placed 18^th overall in the combined standings at his first USCSA National Championships.

Castleton's combined team time of 4:41.69 secured a spot on the podium in third place. Rocky Mountain College claimed the team title with a time of 4:36.54, while Babson College finished just 0.01 seconds behind in second. Clarkson University placed fourth in 4:45.82, followed by Northern Michigan University in fifth with a time of 4:47.57.
The Spartans will return to competition on Saturday, March 14^th, for the dual slalom event to conclude the national championships.