LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Saint Michael's College sophomore Eirik Kveno (Asker, Norway/Dønski VGS) earned his second All-America finish in three days when the Alpine skiing segment of the NCAA National Collegiate Championship concluded on Friday at Whiteface Mountain.

Kveno was an All-American in slalom during the final day of Alpine events on Friday after earning the same accolade in giant slalom on Wednesday. He joins junior Simen Strand (Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS) as the only skiers in College history to land All-America in both disciplines at any point in their careers, let alone the same championship; Strand was All-America in both in 2022 before adding another GS All-America performance on Wednesday, when sophomore Helene Kristoffersen (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS) and first-year Gray Flanagan (West Burke, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School) were also All-Americans. The quartet finished the NCAA Championship with five All-America qualifications after the Purple Knights had only six All-America accolades in program history entering the week. Eight of those 11 have now occurred the past two seasons.

MEN'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Eirik Kveno (Asker, Norway/Dønski VGS), 9th in slalom, 1:50.98 two-run combined time
  • Second career All-America placement, both at the 2023 NCAA Championship, landing on second team in each giant slalom and slalom
  • Tied for third-best slalom performance at NCAAs in program history
  • Finished fifth among East skiers
  • Started in No. 15 bib
  • 12th after first run (54.32), within 0.13 seconds of top 10
  • Posted 11th-fastest second run (56.66)
  • 13th top-10 finish of season and 19th of career
  • Capped a season where he was a two-time All-American and an EISA All-East first team qualifier
• Junior Simen Strand (Høvik, Norway/Dønski VGS), 21st, 1:52.62
  • Finished ninth among East skiers
  • Started in No. 13 bib
  • 19th after first run (55.14)
  • Recorded 21st-fastest second run (57.48)
  • Concluded a season where he earned his third career All-American finish, tying Guillaume Grand's '19 school record, and was an EISA All-East second team honoree
• First-year Gray Flanagan (West Burke, Vt./Green Mountain Valley School), 28th, 1:54.69
  • Finished 14th among East skiers
  • Started in No. 27 bib
  • 27th after first run (55.76)
  • Notched 29th-fastest second run (58.93)
  • Finished a rookie season that saw him pick up an All-America honor during the GS

WOMEN'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Helene Kristoffersen (Rælingen, Norway/Dønski VGS), 16th in slalom, 1:53.40
  • Finished one spot shy of the best women's slalom placement by a Purple Knight at NCAAs, reached by Kristoffersen in 2022 (tie) and Meggane Grand '18 in 2018
  • Finished fifth among East skiers
  • Started in No. 13 bib
  • 12th after first run (58.04)
  • 25th-fastest second run (55.36)
  • Concluded a season that saw her land All-America in the GS, win the EISA GS points title, and claim a spot on the EISA All-East first team

CARNIVAL FACTS

• The Purple Knights totaled 145 points for the championship, shattering a school record set last year (108.5).
• By standing 11th among 22 schools with one day of Nordic races remaining, Saint Michael's, which sent the four Alpine competitors to NCAAs, is only one point short of Middlebury College and five shy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Middlebury has 10 skiers at the meet, and Alaska Fairbanks has six.
• Saint Michael's has never finished as high as 11th at an NCAA Championship, topping out at 12th in 2018 while claiming 13th place on three occasions. Final standings will be determined on Saturday.
• The Purple Knights' five All-America qualifications were one short of the lead among Alpine squads, as Montana State University's five competitors had six All-America accolades. Saint Michael's tied the University of Denver and the University of Utah, both of which sent six skiers. The Purple and Gold accounted for five of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association's (EISA) 14 All-America Alpine accolades.
• Saint Michael's still stands fifth among East schools, short of Middlebury, the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont. New Hampshire's 10 student-athletes have 174 points, Dartmouth's maximum 12 carry 204.5, and UVM's maximum 12 own 239.
• The Purple Knight men's trio totaled 35 points in slalom to take sixth place, within 14 points of the top three. Utah (48) was fifth, while Dartmouth (49) and Montana State (49) tied for third. The Purple and Gold was third in the East, besting New Hampshire's threesome, which claimed 24 points, and Middlebury's individual, which scored a point.
• Kristoffersen scored 15 points to place Saint Michael's 11th in the women's slalom, besting Colby College's pair of competitors (7) and Dartmouth's two starters (2). Kristoffersen herself narrowly trailed trios from both UVM (26) and New Hampshire (28), as well as a pair from Plymouth State University (29). She and the Purple Knights were fifth among East schools in the slalom.
• The Alpine squad scored seventh-place points (145) across both days of competition, trailing only UVM (185), which qualified six skiers, among East teams. Saint Michael's easily finished ahead of regional powers Dartmouth (112) and New Hampshire (101), both of which sent six Alpine skiers to NCAAs, and Middlebury (94), which also qualified four competitors.
• The Purple Knight men tied for third at the championship, netting 107 points to tie Montana State, while trailing only the University of Colorado Boulder (124.5) and UVM (146). Kristoffersen's women were 11th (38), including sixth in the East. She singlehandedly bested three-qualifier squad Dartmouth (34) while narrowly trailing UVM (39) and New Hampshire (50), which also sent three representatives.
• Saint Michael's was among nine schools with the maximum three male Alpine skiers at NCAAs, including four from the East. Only eight schools qualified more than the Purple Knights (4), who trailed national powers Dartmouth (6), New Hampshire (6) and UVM (6) in the East.
• 148 skiers are taking part in Alpine and Nordic races at the NCAA Championship, with 34 female and 34 male Alpine skiers competing, including 17 apiece from the East Region.
• At least three Saint Michael's Alpine skiers have qualified for the NCAA Championship six times since 2016; prior to that, neither the Alpine nor Nordic squads had ever sent more than one to an NCAA Championship.
• Fifteen of the 23 qualifiers in College history have come in Gus MacLeod's '02 13-year tenure as Alpine head coach, with those 15 accounting for 27 qualifications.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S EVENT

• The Purple Knight quartet has concluded its competition at the NCAA Championship. Final team standings will be determined on Saturday with the completion of the final Nordic events.