Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 14, 2026 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
The University of Utah Athletics
Friday, March 13
Park City, Utah / Utah Olympic Park
8:30 a.m.
University of Utah
vs
Slalom
Johs Braathen Herland (right) and Pierick Charest (left) were key for Utah in Friday's men's slalom, finishing third and fourth respectively.
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Herland and Charest Finish 3-4 in Men’s Slalom
3/13/2026 3:40 PM | Skiing
Utah within 6.5 points of Colorado heading into final day of NCAAs
PARK CITY, Utah – Johs Braathen Herland and Pierick Charest finished third and fourth, respectively, in men's slalom to highlight the Utah Ski Team on the penultimate day of the NCAA Skiing Championships Friday.
Today's slalom races concluded the alpine portion of the meet from the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park. Utah heads into Saturday's 20K freestyle mass start events in second place, trailing Colorado by just 6.5 points. The Utes have tallied 408.5 points in the meet while Colorado has 415 points.
Head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "All these days are like this, and then to have a slalom day too. Obviously Mel, our top one, goes out and that adds some pressure. Then we get into the guys' race and not only did they have to finish, they had to race. So many times this event brings out some cautiousness and stuff, but those boys went so hard and skied so well, and it was just a lot of fun to see. They gave us a shot."
First-team All-American awards in slalom went to Herland and Charest for their performances today. Overall for the meet, Utah now has 11 All-American honors.
Johnson added, "As the second run finished for the men, I just thought of the last three weeks, and then the slalom day and all the emotions just sort of came out a little bit. Just a huge appreciation to the (Utah Olympic Park) staff, the communication, the meetings. They really went above and beyond. And the same goes for our administration. The people at the school really stepped up, and I'm just really proud to be a part of it right now."
Women's Race
Making her second NCAA Championships start, Christina Jacobsen placed 14th with a total time of 1:37.68 to lead Utah and Kaila Lafreniere (1:39.42) was 24th. Melanie Dahlberg started for Utah as well, but was unable to finish the first run.
The duo of Jacobsen and Lafreniere still combined for 24 crucial points for the Utes. The freshman Jacobsen was in 15th place after first run.
"(This is) one of the hardest hills on the circuit, and I think all of us managed to do a great job, especially on the second run," Jacobsen said. "The guys did a great job. First run was a bit harder than I expected. I wanted to really release and go for it, but I was a little bit too conservative, so I tried my best for the second run and I managed to be stable. It was a fun, good run."
Justine Lamontagne of Montana State won the individual title, sweeping the women's GS and slalom championships. It is the fourth straight year that there was an individual sweep in the women's alpine events (which included a sweep for Utah's Madison Hoffman in 2023).
Men's Race
Johs Braathen Herland (1:34.07) and Pierick Charest (1:34.09) were key in giving Utah some breathing room in the men's slalom with a 3-4 finish. Sindre Myklebust added a top-11 result as the Utes won the men's race with 85 points in the team standings.
"It was quite warm, even this morning a bit warm," said Charest. "It definitely played in the second run, quite a lot of ruts, so you just had to go a bit deeper and respected the plan pretty well and I think it ended up being a great result, so I'm super proud."
All of Utah's three men's athletes were in the top-10 at the flip, putting the Utes in a good spot going into second run. Charest was sixth, Herland was ninth and Myklebust had a 10th-place trip down the hill to begin the day.
Next Up
It'll be 20K freestyle mass start events on Saturday to conclude the 2026 NCAA Skiing Championships and the collegiate season.
Races will go down from Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The women's race begins at 8:30 a.m. MT and the men will follow at approximately 10:15 a.m. MT. Parking and admission are free.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam. Download the Utah 360 app here.
Today's slalom races concluded the alpine portion of the meet from the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park. Utah heads into Saturday's 20K freestyle mass start events in second place, trailing Colorado by just 6.5 points. The Utes have tallied 408.5 points in the meet while Colorado has 415 points.
Head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "All these days are like this, and then to have a slalom day too. Obviously Mel, our top one, goes out and that adds some pressure. Then we get into the guys' race and not only did they have to finish, they had to race. So many times this event brings out some cautiousness and stuff, but those boys went so hard and skied so well, and it was just a lot of fun to see. They gave us a shot."
First-team All-American awards in slalom went to Herland and Charest for their performances today. Overall for the meet, Utah now has 11 All-American honors.
Johnson added, "As the second run finished for the men, I just thought of the last three weeks, and then the slalom day and all the emotions just sort of came out a little bit. Just a huge appreciation to the (Utah Olympic Park) staff, the communication, the meetings. They really went above and beyond. And the same goes for our administration. The people at the school really stepped up, and I'm just really proud to be a part of it right now."
Women's Race
Making her second NCAA Championships start, Christina Jacobsen placed 14th with a total time of 1:37.68 to lead Utah and Kaila Lafreniere (1:39.42) was 24th. Melanie Dahlberg started for Utah as well, but was unable to finish the first run.
The duo of Jacobsen and Lafreniere still combined for 24 crucial points for the Utes. The freshman Jacobsen was in 15th place after first run.
"(This is) one of the hardest hills on the circuit, and I think all of us managed to do a great job, especially on the second run," Jacobsen said. "The guys did a great job. First run was a bit harder than I expected. I wanted to really release and go for it, but I was a little bit too conservative, so I tried my best for the second run and I managed to be stable. It was a fun, good run."
Justine Lamontagne of Montana State won the individual title, sweeping the women's GS and slalom championships. It is the fourth straight year that there was an individual sweep in the women's alpine events (which included a sweep for Utah's Madison Hoffman in 2023).
Men's Race
Johs Braathen Herland (1:34.07) and Pierick Charest (1:34.09) were key in giving Utah some breathing room in the men's slalom with a 3-4 finish. Sindre Myklebust added a top-11 result as the Utes won the men's race with 85 points in the team standings.
"It was quite warm, even this morning a bit warm," said Charest. "It definitely played in the second run, quite a lot of ruts, so you just had to go a bit deeper and respected the plan pretty well and I think it ended up being a great result, so I'm super proud."
All of Utah's three men's athletes were in the top-10 at the flip, putting the Utes in a good spot going into second run. Charest was sixth, Herland was ninth and Myklebust had a 10th-place trip down the hill to begin the day.
Next Up
It'll be 20K freestyle mass start events on Saturday to conclude the 2026 NCAA Skiing Championships and the collegiate season.
Races will go down from Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah. The women's race begins at 8:30 a.m. MT and the men will follow at approximately 10:15 a.m. MT. Parking and admission are free.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam. Download the Utah 360 app here.
Players Mentioned
Alpine
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Alpine
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Alpine
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Alpine
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Alpine
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Alpine
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