BEND, Ore.—Babson College sophomore
Mads Fondevik Syversen (Oslo, Norway) made history on Thursday afternoon becoming the first individual in program history to win the slalom at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) National Championships as the Beavers placed second at Mount Bachelor.
The Green and White posted a time of 4:16.63 to finish just 2.33 seconds behind Rocky Mountain, which also finished first in the giant slalom on Wednesday on the way to claiming its second consecutive national title. Coupled with its runner-up finish in the GS, Babson earned its best result in program history at nationals placing second overall in the combined standings.
Syversen held a 0.48-second lead after his first run and completed his second trip down the mountain in 42.78 seconds to post a time of 1:23.76 that was over a half-second faster than Jules Clerice of Rocky Mountain. Junior
Elliot Perretta (Annecy, France) came in seventh with a time of 1:25.48, while first-year
James Rosenbloom (Stowe, Vt.) finished in 14th position with a time of 1:27.39.
Syversen, Perretta and Rosenbloom all earned All-America honors for the Beavers in the slalom. First-year
Moksh Patel (Edgewater, N.J.) rounded out the team's finishers by placing 40th with a time of 1:33.88.
Along with his victory in the slalom, Syversen also became the first Babson skier to take the top spot in the combined standings. Perretta and Rosenbloom placed sixth and 13th, respectively, in the combined standings and all three competitors finished the week with three All-America awards.
RACE NOTES
• The Beavers' second-place showing in the slalom is their best result since coming in first at Whiteface Mountain back in 2017.
• Prior to Thursday, Babson's top overall finish at the USCSA National Championships was a third-place result in both 2013 and 2022.
• The trio of Syversen, Perretta and Rosenbloom joined Victor Wiacek '22 (2022), Jack Blanchard '20 (2018, 2020), MacIntyre Henderson '20 (2017, 2018), Carter Dowd '16 (2014) and Carson Thurber '06 (2004) as the only skiers in program history to collect All-America honors in the GS, slalom and combined in the same season.
