BOZEMAN, Mont. - Saint Michael's College men's Alpine skiing freshman Fredrik Sandell (Oslo, Norway/Donski Alpine) tied the program's record for a first-year by taking 21st during the slalom on Saturday as the NCAA Championship came to an end at the Bridger Bowl. Sandell single-handedly delivered the Purple Knights 33 points for a 19th-place showing among 21 teams, their best performance since 2000. The University of Vermont won with 832 points.

Sandell clocked in at 1:53.47 between two runs, trimming 1.67 seconds off his opening-run showing during his second trek down the mountain during a competition that involved 35 racers. He matched Keith Farnand's '00 freshman-record showing, a performance achieved in 1997, after meeting Farnand's freshman-record finish in the giant slalom on Thursday, when he was 26th.

Just the fifth member of the Alpine program to ever qualify for nationals, which involves student-athletes from Divisions I, II and III, Sandell was ninth among the 18 skiers from Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) schools. Sandell's outstanding freshman year included placing among the top 30 in 12 of 13 events, including cracking the top 10 on six occasions.