Hoffman, of Syndey, Australia, won the National Collegiate Athletic Association skiing women’s giant slalom event at Whiteface Mountain on Wednesday. The win was also her first giant slalom win of the collegiate season.

“I feel like I saved it for the right time,” Hoffman said. “It was super fun racing today and the snow was amazing. All around the vibes were pretty high.”

In her first run, the 22-year-old Hoffman cruised down the hill on Whiteface in a time of 1 minute, 4.78 seconds, which was 1.28 seconds faster than Montana State’s Justine Lamontagne, who had the second-fastest first run.

“I definitely was pretty relaxed and — I guess — free going into the first run,” Hoffman said. “The second run, with the lead I had, I was a little bit nervous to not lose it.”

Colorado’s Filip Forejtek skis in his second run of the NCAA Skiing National Championships men’s giant slalom event at Whiteface Mountain on Wednesday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

In her second run, she finished with the second-fastest time in 1:05.88 — for a combined run time of 2:10.66. Her time was good enough to win the national championship over Denver’s Sara Rask, who claimed second place in 2:11.90. Lamontagne was third in 2:12.49.

“I guess sometimes nerves are good,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman had previously competed in Lake Placid in January during the FISU Winter World University Games. While competing for Australia, she placed sixth in both the giant slalom and the slalom race.

“That was actually my first (two) races back from my ACL injury,” Hoffman said. “To come back and win NCAA’s a year after I tore my ACL is pretty cool.”

Much like Hoffman, the winner of the men’s contest, Filip Forejtek of the University of Colorado-Boulder, says he’s competed in Lake Placid before.

Montana State’s Justine Lamontagne speeds down the hill at Whiteface during the NCAA Skiing National Championships on Wednesday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“I’ve skied here at Nor-Am’s last year,” Forejtek said, “so I kind of know the hill. Today, the start was a little higher and the snow was even better.”

Forejtek, of the Czech Republic, finished the race in a combined time of 2:07.1, due in part to a great first run, where he finished one second faster than any competitor.

“My second run was kind of sketchy,” Forejtek said after finishing with the 24th fastest second run time out of 29 racers. “I had a big lead after the first run but I made some mistakes and fought through it.”

While Forejtek was able to earn the national championship, he was more excited about the fact that his Colorado teammate, Louis Gustav Fausa, took second place in 2:07.54.

“That’s more important than just the individual win. It just feels great,” Forejtek said. “Just missing one more to sweep the podium. It was a great day for the Buffs (Colorado Buffaloes).”

Montana State’s Riley Seger rounded out the top three with a combined time of 2:07.61.

The NCAA skiing national championships will continue today until Saturday. The women’s 5K Individual Freestyle, along with the men’s 10K Individual Freestyle will compete today at the Nordic Center at Mount Van Hoevenberg. The men’s and women’s slalom will take place on Friday at Whiteface and the men’s and women’s 20K mass start race will take place on Saturday at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

The results from each individual competition in both Nordic and Alpine disciplines will determine the overall combined team champion.

Currently, Colorado is in the lead with 139.5 points, Denver is second with 117.5 and Utah, the reigning back-to-back national champion is third with 115.

“This is definitely a good way to start the weekend,” Hoffman said. “I think we were all pretty nervous, so to just get those jitters out of the way is pretty nice.”