Montana State senior Justine Lamontagne won her second national championship in three days by capturing the slalom title at the 2026 NCAA Ski Championships in Park City, Utah, on March 13. Lamontagne, from Quebec, Canada, paired her slalom victory with a giant slalom win earlier in the week to become the first Montana State skier and only the seventh woman from any school to win two championships at a single NCAA meet. She also became Montana State’s all-time leader with six All-America honors.
The achievement highlights a significant milestone for both Lamontagne and the Montana State Bobcats ski program. Her performance sets a new standard for future athletes and brings attention to the team’s growing success at national competitions.
Montana State Alpine head coach Kris Shampeny said, “It’s pretty cool. It was a great day.” The women’s team had additional strong performances as Tea Kiesel finished fourth to earn First Team All-America honors and Lily Sewell tied for tenth place, earning Second Team honors. Shampeny praised Sewell’s ability to improve her standing despite starting in a less favorable position: “With the way the course was deteriorating she took advantage of her start position in the second run, coming 12th out of the gate, to get second on that run. To watch her move up (in the standings) as the race moved on, it was cool.” He also commended Kiesel’s consistency: “For Tea to put two solid runs together from run one to run two and move up to fourth, you can’t ask for anything more than that. I know she wanted to podium, but she got close and overall it worked out.”
The three women combined for 91.5 points—the most by any school’s group in a single event—while Montana State’s men and women totaled 126 points on Friday, just one point behind Colorado for top team honors that day.
On the men’s side, freshman Torius Hepsoe earned Second Team All-America recognition by finishing ninth after improving his time significantly between runs. Shampeny said of Hepsoe: “The way he adapted was impressive…he hung in there and was able to get into 12th place in that first run, and the way he adapted his skiing to the conditions…was cool to see.” Senior Gianluca Boehm placed 21st while freshman Will Steed finished 28th after overcoming difficulties during his first run.
Reflecting on Lamontagne’s impact on Montana State skiing history, Shampeny said: “In my opinion if she’s not the best she’s one of the best skiers we’ve ever had at MSU…Her heart that’s behind this makes her one of the best we’ve ever had, and her performances show that too.”
The NCAA Championships will conclude Saturday with men’s and women’s freestyle Nordic races.
