The University of British Columbia Athletics

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The UBC Thunderbirds alpine ski teams travelled to Lake Placid, N.Y. to compete in the USCSA National Championships at historic Whiteface Mountain. The Ski 'Birds battled varying conditions and a very skillful international field of skiers.

RESULTS
 
The women's team took to the slopes first, competing in the giant slalom. The UBC skiers continued their strong season in this event finishing in fourth place behind Rocky Mountain College, Sierra Nevada College and Brown University. Samantha Bisnaire finished in 10th, Sandra Gerlich in 21st, Christina Donnelly in 23rd and Kayla Johnston in 56th.
 
Next, it was the men's turn to take on the giant slalom. Austin Taylor was the 'Birds' top finisher in 11th place, Michael Cadman finished in 23rd and Jake Wellian in 68th. Jackson Hamersley did not finish. Collectively, the team finished in 11th place.
 
After extremely cold and windy conditions, the women's slalom was postponed to the next day. Gerlich continued her impressive freshman season, being the fastest UBC competitor against a very experienced international field, finishing in 12th. Samantha Bisnaire continued to be consistent as ever finishing in 14th. Donnelly was 26th and Johnston placed 48th. The women's team ended the day in fifth place, only 0.2 seconds out of fourth place, held by Brown University.

On the men's side, Taylor and Cadman continued their impressive steadfast seasons finishing in 18th and 20th, respectively. Wellian and Hamersley were very close on the day, finishing in 64th and 65th. The men's team earned a second 11th-place finish.
 
The Ski 'Birds had very strong showings in the overall individual competition. Samantha Bisnaire and Gerlich earned All-American honours in 10th and 13th. Donnelly narrowly missed out finishing in 18th overall. Johnston finished in 34th overall. Rocky Mountain College skier Frida Svedberg won the women's overall title. Rocky Mountain also won the women's team title ahead of Sierra Nevada and Brown. The UBC women finished a familiar fourth in the overall team competition for the second year in a row, only two points behind Brown.

In the men's overall competition, Sierra Nevada claimed the team title, while UBC was 13th. Taylor earned All-American honours, highlighting and great final season as a Thunderbird, finishing in 11th place overall. Cadman captured 17th place overall followed by Wellian in 35th and Hamersley in 87th. Jaka Jazbec of Sierra Nevada College won the individual men's title.
 
Another notable performance came from UBC sophomore Johnston, who was third in qualifying in the women's skier-cross competition.