The St. Lawrence University Alpine ski team is set to open the 2022 EISA carnival season at the Colby College Carnival at Carrabassett Valley, Maine this weekend, January 14-15.
 
The Scarlet and Brown hit the slopes in Vail, Colorado over Thanksgiving break and have been working on preseason training at Whiteface Mountain, since they returned from Christmas Break at the beginning of January.

Last season saw many team's cancel their season, which meant that the Saints had the opportunity to send a full slate of skiers to the NCAA Championships. Qualifiers for the Saints' Alpine team last season included Victoria Cubina, Ava Mattsson, Tommy Kenosh, Brian Seltzer, and 2021 graduates Ella Pepin and Griffin Knorpp.
 
With the return of All-America skier Tommy Kenosh, and seniors Ethan Hejna, Henry Kearing, Brian Seltzer Ava Mattsson, Lila Schibli and Gabby Smith, the Saints will have a wealth of veteran knowledge to help guide them through the season.

"As we head into the carnival season, I'm very excited to see what's in store for this winter," said head coach Willi Steinrotter. With all the EISA teams back this season, there is sure to be some strong competition and I believe we'll be up to the task."

In 2021, Kenosh skied to a sixth-place finish and earned All-America honors in the men's slalom at the 2021 NCAA Skiing Championships at Cannon Mountain in Mittersill, New Hampshire. He posted a time of 45.18 seconds in the first run of the day to position him in sixth-place awaiting the second run. He posted an identical time in the second run to finish in 1:30.36 for sixth place and earned the first All-America honors for the Saints since Ashley-Kate Durham '13 in 2011.

Cubina and Mattsson placed 28th and 30th, respectively in the women's slalom for the Scarlet and Brown at NCAAs. Kenosh and Mattsson both earned top-20 finishes in the giant slalom, while Seltzer earned 28th.  
 
Also returning as a part of the Saints'  junior class is Rebecca Caron, Helen Hume, Kenosh, Nelson Oxley, and Chris Regan.
 
Making up the Saints' sophomore class, returning for their second season, are Bella Amico, Cubina and Kobe Villeneuve.

"COVID allowed us to send more skiers to post season competition and allowed many members of our team to gain valuable experience in 2021," Steinrotter added. "We have also got a solid first-year class that should be vying for carnival spots this season," The Saints Class of 2025 is made up of Kennedy Bier, Lauren Cahill, Benni Caloro, Paige Doyle, Hugh Dempsey, Aidan Marler, Jake Reynolds, Mitch Simpson and Carson Taylor.
 
"Last season we had more top-10, top-20 and top-30 results than the year before and that's definitely something to be proud of," Steinrotter concluded. "We're also looking look get back into the swing of the EISA season and improve upon the 2021 results even more."
 
This season will take the Scarlet and Brown to the Colby College Carnival and Saint Michael's Carnival at Smugglers Notch. The Saints will have the weekend off before opening February at the UVM Winter Carnival. St. Lawrence will then head to Dartmouth and will participate in the Middlebury College Carnival, which serves as the NCAA Eastern Regionals on February 18-19. This season, the NCAA Skiing Championships will be hosted by the University of New Hampshire at Cannon Mountain in Mittersill, New Hampshire.