The UCSD Ski and Board Team took on Regionals at China Peak this past weekend, racing in sunny, spring-like conditions from start to finish. With schools from all over California coming out to compete, we knew this would be our toughest challenge yet.

We kicked things off Friday with slopestyle for snowboarders on a highly technical two-rail, two-jump course. Any slight speed misjudgment meant not clearing the second jump, no room for error. Lorenzo Machicao came in hot with a clean first run, locking down an impressive 3rd-place finish. Not far behind, Alex Brown rode strong, finishing in 7th. Unfortunately, Lorenzo’s second run ended in a nasty fall after attempting a 270-on, continuing 270-off, landing him an unexpected trip to the lovely Fresno hospital. He was sent off in an ambulance, but don’t worry, he’ll be back on the mountain in just a few weeks! Sadly, this means he won’t be representing us at Nationals this year.

Later that afternoon, the snowboarders took on Slalom, with Ollie Fleming securing a solid 7th place finish, just seconds behind the top racers. Meanwhile, the skiers hit the slopestyle course, dealing with slushy conditions and the most competitive field we’ve faced all season. Ben Scheerger threw down a strong run, landing 6th in Men’s Freeski, while Lancia Carson claimed 5th for the women. As the sun set, the action shifted to the skier rail jam, always a fan-favorite event full of flips, spins, and swaps on the mental features. The guys threw down with Sven Neuschul taking 4th and Seiji Minowada right behind in 5th. On the women’s side, Adelka Hancova crushed it, taking home 1st place! What a way to cap off the day.

Saturday was an early start for skiers in Giant Slalom. The Female Alpine squad showed up ready to race, with Jordan Flood throwing down a fast run to take 4th place. With strong performances from Lancia Carson and Chaney Szeto, UCSD secured 2nd place in GS—a huge team effort! The Men’s GS squad wasn’t as lucky, as Ivan Ijzerman took a fall on his first run. After a formal protest of the course, he wasn’t able to put down two times, cutting his alpine runs short. Over on the snowboard side, Ollie once again put on a solid performance, finishing 9th against some stiff competition. As the sun set, the energy ramped up for the snowboard rail jam, where the team threw down on the steel. We wrapped up the night with a banquet dinner and awards, celebrating all the highs of the weekend.

Sunday morning, the final day of competition, had skier slalom on deck. On the Men’s side, Ivan bounced back to secure 10th place in Slalom, wrapping up the weekend on a high note. The Female Alpine squad had one goal: qualify for Nationals. And they delivered. Jordan dominated the course, finishing 2nd overall. With Lancia and Chaney putting down strong runs, UCSD edged out UCLA by just 0.67 seconds to take the Far West Regional Championship title for Women’s Alpine! That's a huge accomplishment for the team!

Overall, we couldn’t be prouder of this team. The progress over the past year has been unreal, and even with injuries, we’ve managed to throw down top performances in every event. UC San Diego will be sending nine athletes to the Nationals at Mt. Bachelor during Week 10!