Colorado University Athletics
Skiing Finishes Fourth At WSC Invite
February 10, 2003 | Skiing
Crested Butte, Colo. - Newcomers Erling Christiansen and Jana Rehemaa finished third and fourth, respectively, in the freestyle, but the Buffs couldn't overcome their lack of depth (due to injury and sickness) in the discipline as Colorado fell from second to finish fourth as both the Western State Invitational and regular season schedule came to a close here Saturday.
With 531.5 points, the Buffs trailed winner New Mexico (568), Utah (552) and Denver (547). As has been the case all season, just 36.5 points separated the top four West Region teams as the rest of the standings included Alaska-Anchorage (396), host Western State (325.5), Whitman (264), Nevada (235) and Montana State (128).
The Buffs were trailing then-team leader Denver by just 4.5 points after six events, but New Mexico put its top three scorers in the top 10 in the men's race while Utah put its entire scoring contingent among the top-10 in the women's, enabling the Lobos to claim their second team title of the regular season.
The Lobos' Jimmy Vika (39:42.2) dominated the men's freestyle, with almost 26 seconds separating him and runner-up Tobias Schwoerer of Alaska-Anchorage (40:09.5), who finished almost a minute ahead of Christiansen (41:02.9). Josh Smullin (41:59.8) was CU's second scorer and finished eighth while Nick Sterling (46:04.2) finished 22nd. The Buffs' Henrik Hoye, who had finished third in Friday's classical race, did not start Saturday's contest due to injury while Norbert Pelc did not start due to illness.
The women's race was as dominant as the men's, as Utah's Katrin Smigun (35:53.7) had almost two minutes on runner-up Jenny Wissting (37:35.9) of New Mexico. Rehemaa was CU's top finisher as she crossed the finish in fourth in 37:41.9 and was joined by CU's only other finisher, Claire Critchley (38:20.8), who finished 10th. Brooke Rygg did not start the skate due to illness while 2002 All-American Muriele Huberli didn't even make the trip to the Western Slope races.
Both the Nordic and alpine teams have 12 days off before they christen the postseason, Feb. 21-22, at the NCAA West Region Championships in nearby Winter Park. The NCAA Championships will be decided March 5-8 in Hanover and Lyme, N.H.
With the regular season in the books, Utah has emerged as the dominant team in the West, as the Utes have 2,337.5 points after four meets and lead Colorado (2,186.5), New Mexico (2,133) and Denver (2,050).
WESTERN STATE INVITATIONAL TEAM SCORES (FINAL)-1. New Mexico, 568-points; 2. Utah, 552; 3. Denver, 547; 4. COLORADO, 531.5; 5. Alaska-Anchorage, 396; 6. Western State, 325.5; 7. Whitman, 264; 8. Nevada, 235; 9. Montana State, 128.
Men's Nordic Freestyle- 1. Jimmy Vika, UNM, 39:42.2; 2. Tobias Schwoerer, UAA, 40:09.5; 3. Erling Christiansen, CU, 41:02.9; 4. Ryan Quinn, Utah, 41:26.9; 5. Zack Simons, Utah, 41:45.4. CU Finishers-8. Josh Smullin, 41:59.8; 22. Nick Sterling, 46:04.2. Did Not Start-Norbert Pelc, Henrik Hoye.
Women's Nordic Freestyle- 1. Katrin Smigun, Utah, 35:53.7; 2. Jenny Wissting, UNM, 37:35.9; 3. Sara Svendsen, Utah, 37:36.6; 4. Jana Rehemaa, CU, 37:41.9; 5. Martina Stursova, UNM, 37:42.4. CU Finishers-10. Claire Critchley, 38:20.8. Did Not Start-Brooke Rygg.
