Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Nevada Invitational
SKIERS THIRD AT NEVADA INVITE
January 15, 2004 | Skiing
DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. ? The University of Colorado ski team found itself in third place here Thursday after the first four of eight events in the Nevada Invitational, as the Buffaloes received solid efforts from two units and disappointing ones from the other two.
As the midway point, Denver is in firm control of the lead, as the Pioneers amassed 303 team points, good for a 44-point edge over second place Utah (259). Colorado holds down third with 244, with New Mexico on CU's heels with 240; Alaska-Anchorage is fifth (212) and host Nevada sixth (210) in the 10-team meet.
Colorado placed three finishers in the top eight of the men's 10-kilometer freestyle race, led by junior Tor Erik Schjellerud who placed third in 24:01.5. Denver's Erlend Hoff won the skate in 23:55.5, posting a four-plus second win over Utah's Henning Dybendal. Sophomores Erling Christiansen and Henrik Hoye bolstered Schjellerud's effort with fifth and eighth place finishes in 24:22 and 24:48.1, respectively.
In the women's 5K event, Alaska-Anchorage's Mandy Kaempf grabbed the top spot on the podium in edging CU's Jana Rehemaa. Kaempf skied her two laps of the Auburn Ski Club layout in 13:02.6, besting the Buffalo sophomore by some six seconds (13:08.8). It was the fifth career top five finish for Rehemaa, but the first time she finished as high as second in a race. The next CU finisher was back in the pack a bit, as Claire Critchley was 15th.
The Nordic team point competition was close, as only 11 points separated four teams: Denver led the way with 142, followed by Utah (139), CU (136) and Alaska (131). It was different in the alpine events, as DU rolled up 161, with CU and New Mexico next with 120 each.
The Pioneers posted a 1-2 sweep in the women's giant slalom, as Pia Rivelsrud won in 2:03.45, with Sophie Ormond taking second in 2:04.07. Colorado swept the other end of the top 10, with sophomore Erika Hogan finishing eighth (2:05.59), senior Mia Cullman ninth (2:05.94) and freshman Kristin Taylor 10th (2:06.17).
In the men's GS, DU posted another 1-2 finish as Lars Ola Kjos won in a two-run time of 1:55.42, with teammate David Lamb next at 1:55.83. Sophomore Tahir Bisic finished 12th in 1:57.77, to lead all Colorado skiers, the only Buffalo in the top 20 in the third straight race for the Buff men this year without a top 10 finisher.
CU head coach Richard Rokos wasn't alarmed by the all-over-the-place results posted Thursday. “Overall, the cross country team fared well in relation to the other schools; that could be tight all season. The women have skied well so far in alpine, but the men are struggling to find themselves at the moment. But it's still early and we'll get better.”
The meet concludes Friday with the classical Nordic and slalom races. The men will start things off with the 20K classical race at 9 a.m., followed by the women's 15K at 11:00 a.m. Slalom runs are set at 9:30 and 10:45 in the morning with the men up first, with the afternoon runs sets for 12:30 and 1:45.
Nevada Invitational Team Scores?1. Denver 303; 2. Utah 259; 3. Colorado 244; 4. New Mexico 240; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 212; 6. Nevada 210; 7. Montana State 128; 8. Western State 112; 9. Whitman 88; 10. Boise State 20.
Women's 5K Freestyle?1. Mandy Kaempf, UAA, 13:02.6; 2. Jana Rehemaa, CU, 13:08.8; 3. Sari Tuovinen, UN, 13:32.8; 4. Karin Camenisch, DU, 13:34.1; 5. Sandra Gredig, Utah, 13:43.3; 6. Martina Stursova, UNM, 13:44.0; 7. Andrea Roberts, UNM, 13:51.0; 8. Sarah Hansen, UAA, 13:54.0; 9. Emily Robbins, MSU, 13:54.4; 10. Niina Karvonen, DU, 14:02.4. Other CU Finishers: 15. Claire Critchley, CU, 14:13.8; 19. Muriele Huberli, CU, 14:23.3; 37. Brooke Rygg, 15:43.5.
Men's 10K Freestyle?1. Erlend Hoff, DU, 23:55.3; 2. Henning Dybendal, Utah, 23:59.5; 3. Tor Erik Schjellerud, CU, 24:01.5; 4. Daniel Sonntag, Utah, 24:03; 5. Erling Christiansen, CU, 24:22.2; 6. Martin Barnes, DU, 24:37.7; 7. Eric Strabel, UAA, 24:45.7; 8. Henrik Hoye, CU, 24:48.1; 9. Geir-Endre Rogn, UNM, 24:50.4; 10. Benjamin Sonntag, Utah, 24:57.2. Other CU Finishers: 14. Josh Smullin, 25:22.0; 19. Nick Sterling, 25:50.1; 23. Tim Damrow, 26:03.3.
Women's Giant Slalom?1. Pia Rivelsrud, DU, 2:03.45; 2. Sophie Ormond, DU, 2:04.07; 3. Rowena Bright, Utah, 2:04.17; 4. Smaranda Munteanu, MSU, 2:04.68; 5. April Mancuso, Utah, 2:04.71; 6. Jennifer Delich, UNM, 2:04.94; 7. Alexandra Munteanu, MSU, 2:05.19; 8. Erika Hogan, CU, 2:05.59; 9. Mia Cullman, CU, 2:05.94; 10. Kristin Taylor, CU, 2:06.17. Other CU Results: 12. Erin McEachren, 2:06.23; 13. Julie Czesnowski, 2:06.27; 33. Sarah Fischer, 2:14.12.
Men's Giant Slalom?1. Lars Ola Kjos, DU, 1:55.42; 2. David Lamb, DU, 1:55.83; 3. Tommi Viirret, UN, 1:55.89; 4. Dominik Schweiger, DU, 1:55.92; 5. Benjamin Thornhill, Utah, 1:56.31; 6. Petter Roering, UNM, 1:56.63; 7. Christian Ringvold, UAA, 1:56.67; 8. Lars Loeseth Sunde, UNM, 1:56.78; 9. Einar-Marius Elvrum, UAA, 1:56.84; 10. Michal Rajcan, UN, 1:56.91. CU Results: 12. Tahir Bisic, 1:57.77; 24. Michael Read, 2:00.88; 25. Cody Jenick, 2:00.94; 27. Fritz Ernemann, 2:01.11.
