Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Climb Into Third At NCAA's
March 07, 2003 | Skiing
By David Plati
Assistant AD/Media Relations
[Associate SID Colleen Reilly Krueger on-site]
HANOVER, N.H. - The University of Colorado ski team had a solid day in cross country to climb back into third place Friday, where it stood after day one, as the Buffaloes have one chance left to make a run at claiming the title here in the 50th Annual NCAA Championships.
Utah owns what appears to be a commanding lead through six events, as the Utes have amassed 539 gross points, good for almost a 100-point lead over runner-up New Mexico (439.5), with the Buffaloes in third (424.5) followed by three-time defending NCAA champion Denver (381.5) and Vermont (374).
[Things are a little closer when the adjusted scoring formula is applied; only five schools participating qualified full 12-member teams. Since school can count only a maximum 21 results (out of 24) toward their team score, when the low three scores through six events are kicked out, Utah has 496 points, followed by New Mexico (423.5), Colorado (393.5), Vermont (374; the Catamounts are skiing with just 10), Denver (360.5) and Dartmouth (321.5). All other teams in the field will not have their scores adjusted as they qualified 10 or fewer skiers and will count 20 scores at best.]
But what lies ahead is the always treacherous slalom races, and when held on icy eastern snow, anything can happen. Colorado knows that first hand, suffering three falls in the 2001 meet at Middlebury, Vt., more or less costing the Buffs that year's title.
CU head coach Richard Rokos knows his team has its back against the wall, but said the Buffs will basically "go for it" on Saturday.
"Utah is in a similar situation that we were in two years ago, and it's a long shot for us to catch them," he said. "We have to put a lot of things on the line to challenge for it (the title), but I think we can because second or third really doesn't matter. I wouldn't say it's win or else, we have to ski smart, but we'll definitely take some chances and calculated risks in slalom to try to make up for some lost ground."
Colorado and Utah were the only schools to place five finishers in the top 15 of both the men's and women's classical races Friday. But the Utes were able to pickup 21 points on the Buffs thanks to placing all three of their women's skiers in the top 10. Utah scored the most cross country points in the meet (327), with New Mexico second (318) and Colorado third (299). The Buff men and women both also placed third in points by gender.
"We had a pretty decent day, but you always hope for better," CU nordic coordinator Bruce Cranmer said. "This is one of those years that if you consistently put people in the top 15, as opposed to top 10, you could win the whole thing. And coming in, everyone thinks, 'I can do that' and today, getting five of our six in the top 15 was pretty good. We had good skis on a hard course, and I don't think anyone that finished would say that they had perfect skis (referring to how tough it was to hit the wax)."
Cranmer was pleased with his team's effort. "Strategy-wise, everyone gave what they had and you can't ask for more than that," he noted. "Some weren't in the best shape of the season, but they're good. It's not that long a season and there aren't that many races, but it can catch up to you in volume, especially when you consider travel. It's hard to "step-up" all of the time."
In the women's 15-kilometer classical race, Utah's Katrin Smigun easily won in a time of 46:30.7, as Sigrid Aas of Alaska-Fairbanks was a distant second in 47:19.5. Smigun also won Wednesday's 5k freestyle to give her the sweep, the first since Nevada's Katerina Hanusova won both in 2001, but only the fifth individual double in NCAA women's skiing history, which dates back to 1983. Smigun made it a clean sweep for the entire ski season, winning all 10 races in the west prior to nationals to make it 12 in a row, the most wins by a western nordic skier in a year since Colorado's Line Selnes won 11 in 1998.
CU's three women finished in a pack, as sophomore Jana Rehemaa, Smigun's first cousin, finished 11th in a 48:25.3 clocking, with senior Claire Critchley 12th (48:39.6) and sophomore Muriele Huberli 14th (48:53.2). Critchley was 20th after the first lap and made up the most ground, as Rehemaa and Huberli hung around the 12th through 14 positions most of the day.
"The course was pretty hard, icy and fast, but I didn't have any problems with it," Rehemaa said. "The downhills were a little icy and everyone was being careful. During the first lap a girl fell in front of me and I almost crashed into her, but I managed to avoid her. I'm not very satisfied... I was hoping for top eight; I just wasn't that good today.
She spoke with her cousin after things were done. "I saw her for just a few seconds after the race and congratulated her. But I'm looking forward to next year, and hope to do better and try harder."
"I liked the uphills because I like to climb," Critchley said. "There was a lot of herringboning on the downhills which slowed things down. I lost time on those because it was scary going down the turns. I almost fell on the first lap and after that I was pretty cautious. I think I did what I could from where I started."
Huberli was one of several who almost suffered a costly fall, in her case at the halfway mark, but got a hand down in time to right herself. "All of the downhills were difficult, but not a concern. I got caught up on some of the uphills, but I just didn't have the energy. I gave it my best; I just couldn't go anymore. I think it was a great course. My race was a little better than my first (on Wednesday), but I can't say that I'm satisfied."
She was the one CU skier that couldn't beat the usual sickness that most nordic skiers battle through considering their sport. "The season started out well, but after Eldora (when she got sick), I haven't been the same and only race raced regionals. I just couldn't get back into it."
In the men's 20-kilometer version, there was a classic photo finish for first, with Northern Michigan's Christopher Cook overtaking Vermont's Ethan Foster on the last lengths to win the nearly hour long race by two-hundredths of a second. Cook won in 58:43.4, Foster settled for runner-up in 58:43.6.
The Buffs had two finishers in the top eight, both freshmen, as Henrik Hoye nabbed sixth in 59:57.3 and Erling Christiansen placed eighth in 1:00:03.0, just one second out of seventh. Hoye hovered between fifth and eighth for most of the race, while Christiansen was 12th at one point and climbed to as high as seventh. CU's other performer, senior Norbert Pelc, finished 28th in 1:03:11.7.
"I felt much better today," Hoye said in reference to his 19th place finish in Wednesday's 10k freestyle. "There were so many people at the start, it was a little messy. I had hoped to stay with the lead group, but I'm happy. The competition was pretty hard and it was difficult to ski at sea level.
On his first season in the United States, for which he arrived just two months ago this week from his native Norway, he said he was "really happy and very satisfied. It was good considering the elevation change. I enjoyed my first season here for sure and hope to do better next year."
Hoye and Christiansen stayed close throughout the race, which was actually their plan of attack according to Christiansen. "We tried to ski together and then he kind of pulled away at the 2k mark, but we raced together and help each other like in a bike race." Both earned second-team All-America honors for their finishes.
As for his eighth place effort, he felt he placed all right but wasn't overly happy with how he got there. "My technique was not good enough today, but I'm pretty satisfied. If I had raced a little better in the beginning, I could have been in the front group, but I skied just good enough at the start, not great. Eighth place is okay."
Cranmer is excited about the 2004 season. "We'll have a strong group of core skiers back. We'll lose Norbert for sure, and Claire probably (she graduates in May and has one season of eligibility left), but we should have a strong team," he said. "Hopefully those we can replace those we lose with strong people, and those team members who weren't here this week get stronger to be here themselves or to help push everyone else. This meet will be in Tahoe next year, and while it's not home, it's close and high enough and it won't be as big of a deal as coming to sea level and having to crank it up a notch."
The slalom races close the competition Saturday, with the men's commencing at 7:30 a.m. mountain time (second run at 11), with the women's first run at 8:30 and the second at Noon. The awards ceremony will follow around 1:00 p.m.
NCAA Championship Team Scores--1. Utah 539; 2. New Mexico 439.5; 3. Colorado 424.5; 4. Denver 381.5; 5. Vermont 374; 6. Dartmouth 325; 7. Alaska-Anchorage 301.5; 8. Nevada 271.5; 9. Middlebury 268.5; 10. Northern Michigan 259; 11. Alaska-Fairbanks 254; 12. New Hampshire 250; 13. Williams 142.5; 14. Colby 129.5; 15. Bates 93; 16. Western State 74; 17. Harvard 34; 18. Montana State 20; 19. Whitman 19; 20. Michigan Tech 15; 21. Wisconsin-Green Bay 7; 22. St. Cloud State 5.
Adjusted Team Scores Of Five Schools Qualifying Full Teams--1. Utah 496; 2. New Mexico 423.5; 3. Colorado 393.5; 4. Denver 360.5; 5. Dartmouth 321. (The low three scores are eliminated for each team, as a maximum 21 skier results (out of 24) count toward team scoring; all other teams in the field qualified 10 or fewer skiers, thus their scores will have no need to be adjusted.)
Women's 15K Classical--1. Katrin Smigun, Utah, 46:30.7; 2. Sigrid Aas, UAF, 47:19.5; 3. Karin Camenisch, DU, 47:26.0; 4. Martina Stursova, UNM, 47:44.4; 5. Sara Svendsen, Utah, 47:45.3; 6. Maija Saarinen, UN, 47:51.8; 7. Hilary Patzer, NMU, 48:03.1; 8. Kristina Strandberg, UNM, 48:07.6; 9. Alison Crocker, Dart., 48:07.7; 10. Barbro Hatlevik, Utah, 48:16.4. CU Finishers: 11. Jana Rehemaa, 48:25.3; 12. Claire Critchley, 48:39.6; 14. Muriele Huberli, 48:54.2.
Men's 20K Classical--1. Christopher Cook, NMU, 58:43.4; 2. Ethan Foster, UVM, 58:43.6; 3. Tobias Schwoerer, UAA, 58:56.4; 4. Jimmy Vika, UNM, 59:02.3; 5. Justin Easter, Bates, 59:47.0; 6. Henrik Hoye, CU, 59:57.3; 7. Zach Violett, UAA, 1:00:02.0; 8. Erling Christiansen, CU, 1:00:03.0; 9. Tim Weston, Midd., 1:00:13.3; 10. Brayton Osgood, Dart., 1:00:38.4. Other CU Finisher: 28. Norbert Pelc, 1:03:11.7.
