HANCOCK, Mass./WOODFORD, Vt. - Sophomore Helene Kristoffersen (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS) won the giant slalom on Saturday, highlighting three Saint Michael's College Alpine skiers reaching the podium, and junior Grace Castonguay (Jackson, N.H./Kennett) placed 10th to lead the Nordic charge during a historic day for the College as the Williams College Carnival concluded. The Alpine men won their second straight GS.

Alpine races took place at Jiminy Peak, while Nordic events were contested at Prospect Mountain.

CARNIVAL FACTS

• Kristoffersen's victory was the first by a Purple Knight Alpine woman since the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) consolidated its Division I and II conferences for the 1993-94 season, leaving the last win by Jennifer Coan '94 on Jan. 21, 1993, at the Bowdoin College Carnival.
• Junior Simen Strand (Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS) placed second in the giant slalom, while first-year Gray Flanagan (West Burke, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School) was third. A pair of Purple Knights - Alpine or Nordic - reached the podium in the same race for the first time in the modern history of the EISA.
• Castonguay placed 10th in the 5K freestyle, the best performance by a Saint Michael's Nordic woman since Athletic Hall of Famer Amy Vile '98 took ninth in the Middlebury College Carnival 15K freestyle on Feb. 28, 1998.
• Sophomore Declan Hutchinson (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) nabbed 20th in the men's 10K freestyle, as Nordic placed at least one man and woman in the top 20 on the same day for the first time since Feb. 6, 1999, when Jens Johansson '00 was ninth in the 20K classic and Kiersten Lippmann '02 placed 18th in the 15K classic at the University of Vermont Carnival.
• Between Alpine and Nordic, Saint Michael's placed seventh out of 14 schools with 489 points.
• UVM won the carnival with 887 points.

ALPINE
CARNIVAL FACTS

• The men won their second consecutive GS while placing among the top three in that discipline for the fourth time in as many carnivals. It was their seventh top-three finish in eight events this year. With 122 points, the Purple Knights trimmed UVM (118), their closest competitor. For the weekend, the men finished second with 201 points, behind only UVM (256).
• The women were fifth in the GS (78), narrowly edged by Dartmouth College (84) and Middlebury (88). They scored sixth-place points (144) across both days of the carnival.
• Both squads combined to take second in the GS on Saturday, netting 200 points to trail only UVM (218). They also claimed second place for the carnival (345), clipping Dartmouth (326) and Middlebury (322) while placing behind UVM (470).
• Through just nine races this winter, Purple and Gold men's and women's Alpine skiers have reached the podium - necessitating a top-three finish - nine times. Saint Michael's Alpine skiers have nearly matched their podium total between the 2018 and 2022 seasons (11).

WOMEN'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Helene Kristoffersen (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS), 1st in giant slalom, 1:39.29 two-run time
  • Won by 1.52 seconds; the next 12 finishers were separated by 1.60 seconds
  • Won both runs, taking the opener (50.75) by 0.52 seconds and the capper (48.54) by 0.11 ticks
  • 5th career podium
  • Started in No. 7 bib
• Sophomore Sofie Gjetsund (Oslo, Norway/Persbråten VGS), 35th, 1:45.39
  • Improved from 47th following opening run
  • Started in No. 56 bib
• Senior Berty Olsen (Oslo, Norway/Persbråten VGS), 37th, 1:45.93
• Sophomore Margrethe Frøland (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS), 42nd, 1:46.53
• Sophomore Jenna Braun (Stockholm, N.J./Green Mountain Valley School), 50th, 1:48.47

MEN'S LEADERS

• Junior Simen Strand (Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS), 2nd in giant slalom, 1:36.66 two-run combined time
  • 0.32 seconds short of winner
  • Started in No. 15 bib
  • Placed third in both runs
  • 4th career podium
• First-year Gray Flanagan (West Burke, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School), 3rd, 1:36.77
  • 0.11 seconds shy of Strand for second place
  • Started in No. 17 bib
  • Career-high finish
• Sophomore Eirik Kveno (Asker, Norway/Dønski VGS), tied for 9th, 1:37.69
  • 15th career top-10 finish
• First-year Lawton Jones (Williston, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School), 39th, 1:41.09
• Senior Elliot Ryan (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Waterville Valley Academy), 48th, 1:43.00

NORDIC
CARNIVAL FACTS

• The women captured seventh place in the 5K freestyle on Saturday, scoring 56 points while narrowly finishing short of sixth-place Bowdoin College (60).
• The men took ninth in the 10K freestyle (41).
• The men and women have combined for five top-20 individual performances this season.

WOMEN'S LEADERS

• Junior Grace Castonguay (Jackson, N.H./Kennett), 10th in 5K freestyle, 12:34.8
  • 1st career top-10 finish
• First-year Astrid Bakke (Nedre Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS), 54th, 13:39.6
• First-year Clara Wyatt (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman), 55th, 13:40.6
• Sophomore Izzy Quam (Stillwater, Minn./Mounds Park Academy), 62nd, 13:46.9
• Junior Katie Culliton (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls), 73rd, 14:28.7
• Senior Grace Erholtz (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd), 75th, 14:31.3
• Junior Lily Sabol (Hopkinton, N.H./Hopkinton), 78th, 15:07.1
• First-year Jocelyn Sommers (Dalton, Mass./Wahconah Regional), 79th, 15:14.9
• Junior Cambelle Nutting (Vassalboro, Maine/Maranacook Community), 80th, 16:11.3

MEN'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Declan Hutchinson (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School), 20th in 10K freestyle, 22:54.1
  • 5th career top-20 finish
• Senior Gaelan Boyle-Wight (Newry, Maine/Telstar Regional), 42nd, 23:30.3
• Junior Charles Martell (Essex, Vt./Essex), 51st, 23:54.1
• First-year Theo Castonguay (Jackson, N.H./Kennett), 70th, 24:46.2
• First-year Mitchell Townsend (Gilford, N.H./Gilford), 72nd, 24:52.8
• Senior Joey Del Toro (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge), 74th, 25:04.9
• First-year Ian Morse (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East), 79th, 25:37.0

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S EVENT

• Alpine makes up a giant slalom race on Thursday at Whiteface Mountain, 9 a.m.
• Alpine and Nordic begin the Saint Lawrence University Carnival/EISA Championship/NCAA East Regional Championship on Friday, 9 a.m.