LYME CENTER, N.H. – University of Denver skiing senior
Sara Rask completed the season sweep in women's alpine slalom and claimed her first individual national championship on Wednesday as the 2025 NCAA Championships got underway at Dartmouth Skiway.
Rask won all seven slalom events this year and has now finished on the podium in 10-of-13 races. She will go for the championship double on Friday as the alpine portion of this year's nationals concludes with giant slalom at Dartmouth Skiway.
"It felt a little bit surreal,"
Rask said after her national title victory. "I was just surrounded by friends and was celebrating with everyone. It was just amazing. I have been dreaming about this since I started at DU, and it was so cool to finally make it happen."
The Stockholm, Sweden, native becomes the 97th DU skier to win an individual national championship in program history and the first since
Katie Hensien also did it in slalom in 2022 in Park City, Utah. Each of the Pioneers' previous three individual skiing national champions have come in slalom, as
Amelia Smart won in 2021 in Jackson, New Hampshire.
Overall, Rask is the 129th individual national champion in DU athletics history and the first since Maira Carreau in women's triathlon in 2023.
Wearing bib No. 1, Rask was the first athlete down the hill in the morning but was in second place heading into the afternoon session (48.66) by just five-hundredths of a second behind Carissa Cassidy of Colby College. The Pioneer ended up putting down the 12th-fastest second run at 48.66 to move into first place and then had to wait for Cassidy, who finished a minute later but didn't overtake Rask's two-run total of 1:33.25.
"Run 2 was full-send," Rask said. "Which was kind of scary but a lot fun."
DU's women's alpine team captain finished six-hundredths of a second ahead of second-place Justine Clement of Vermont (1:33.31) and was seven-hundredths ahead of Colorado's Magdalena Luczak in third (1:33.32). Both Clement and Luczak climbed after being seventh and 10th, respectively, after run 1.
Junior
Mia Hunt joined her teammate Rask in earning All-American honors by tying for seventh at 1:33.86. In the 13th position after the opening run, Hunt posted the fourth-fastest time in run 2 to briefly hold the top spot and finish in the top 10 for the first time in her collegiate championship career.
Denver's duo of Rask and Hunt combined for 64 points and the Pioneers team is in second place overall with 107 points after Day 1. DU trails leader Colorado by only 41 points and is 20 points up on Utah and Vermont (87) in a tie for third heading into the start of the Nordic races on Thursday.
DU's men squad totaled 43 points in their slalom, which featured a bit trickier weather conditions in the morning and a steeper pitch to the finish line. All western Rockey Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association schools struggled in the first men's run as only three athletes from the conference were in the top 10 at the break; only four finished in the top 10 at the end.
Denver graduate student
Loic Chable and freshman
Pietro Motterlini both climbed after their first runs. Chable had the fourth-fastest run 2 time (45.15) to finish 11th after previously being 24th, and Motterlini used the ninth-fastest second descent to go from 28th to 19th.
Junior
Thomas Hoffman was in position to earn a top-10 heading into his second run, but he slipped in the middle of the final pitch and had to fight his way through the remaining gates to place 20th.
New Hampshire's Jayden Buckrell held onto his lead after the first run to win the men's slalom national championship, and he was joined on the podium by Filip Wahlqvist of Colorado in second and Bode Flanigan of Boston College in third.
Due to the weather, organizers switched the schedule for the alpine disciplines, moving slalom to the start of the championships on Wednesday while pushing giant slalom to Friday. Rain fell throughout the first runs but lightened up in run 2, though fog became more apparent on the top of the course as each skier began their second descents.
UP NEXT: The Nordic portion of the NCAA Championships begin on Thursday with the 7.5-kilometer classic interval start at Oak Hill Outdoor Center in Hanover. This year's national championships conclude with alpine slalom on Friday and the Nordic 20K freestyle mass start on Saturday morning.
DENVER WOMEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.
Sara Rask, 1:33.25 (44.59/48.66)
T7.
Mia Hunt, 1:33.86 (45.65/48.24)
DENVER MEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
11.
Loic Chable, 1:28.75 (43.60/45:15)
19.
Pietro Motterlini, 1:29.11 (43.78/45.38)
20.
Thomas Hoffman, 1:29.21 (42.78/46.23)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 148;
2. Denver 107; T3. Utah 87; T3. Vermont 87; 5. Dartmouth 86.5; 6. Alaska Anchorage 83; 7. New Hampshire 82; 8. Colby 70; 9. Middlebury 52; 10. Montana State 51; 11. Boston College 34; 12. Westminster 29; 13. Nevada 27.5; 14. St. Michael's 24; 15. Plymouth State 14; 16. St. Lawrence 10; 17. Williams 6; DNR: Alaska Fairbanks, Bowdoin, Harvard, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, St. Scholastica.
WOMEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (31 finishers): 1. Sara Rask, DU, 1:33.25; 2. Justine Clement, UVM, 1:33.31; 3. Magdalena Luczak, CU, 1:33.32; 4. Justine Lamontagne, MSU, 1:33.37; 5. Zoe Zimmermann, DAR, 1:33.45; 6. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:33.85;
T7. Mia Hunt, 1:33.86; T7. Louison Accambray, CU, 1:33.86; 9. Carissa Cassidy, CBC, 1:33.90; 10. Carmen Nielssen, UAA, 1:33.92.
MEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (30 finishers): 1. Jayden Buckrell, UNH, 1:27.17; 2. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:27.20; 3. Bode Flanigan, BC, 1:28.12; 4. Oscar Zimmer, DAR, 1:28.36; 5. Harrison Digangi, CBC, 1:28.42; 6. Bradshaw Underhill, MID, 1:28.43; 7. Johs Herland, UU, 1:28.51; 8. Simen Strand, UU, 1:28.62; 9. Jan Ronner, UAA, 1:28.66; 10. Etienne Mazellier, CU, 1:28.74.
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