Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Nevada Invitational
SKIERS GRAB SECOND AT NEVADA INVITE
January 16, 2004 | Skiing
DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. ? The University of Colorado ski team inched up a notch and finished second here Friday as the Nevada Invitational came to a close.
Denver used a strong alpine performance here in amassing 597 team points, outdistancing Colorado, which finished with 521; CU won its first nordic team competition in over two seasons is in edging New Mexico (516) for second place. Utah slipped from second to fourth in the final standings with 496 points, followed by Alaska-Anchorage (425) and host Nevada (358) in the 10-team meet.
Colorado placed three finishers in the top six of the men's 20-kilometer classical race, the second straight race the Buffaloes had three place in the top eight. Junior Tor Erik Schjellerud, who was third in Thursday's 10k freestyle event, grabbed second in a 52:41.1 time, as Utah's Henning Dybendal won in 52:18.6. Sophomores Henrik Hoye and Erling Christiansen backed up their teammate: Hoye nabbed fifth in 53:13.2 and Christiansen sixth in 53:21.0.
In the women's 15K event, Alaska-Anchorage's Mandy Kaempf earned the gold medal for the second straight day, as she won in a 46:12.2 time, good for nearly a 48-second win over New Mexico's Lena Jensen. Colorado placed three in the top nine, led by juniors Muriele Huberli who clocked the course in 48:00.7, and Jana Rehemaa, who despite feeling ill, skied to a seventh place effort in 48:09.9. Senior Claire Critchley took ninth in 48:24.8 to complete the CU effort.
Thus, Colorado won the nordic team point competition here with a two-day total of 288, topping Utah (276) and Denver (272). It was CU's first team win in cross country since the 2001 NCAA West Regional in Alaska, and only the third over the last three-plus seasons.
Denver's Pia Rivelsrud added Friday's slalom crown to her giant slalom win the previous day, as she captured the race in 1:23.47, just edging CU sophomore Erika Hogan, who finished in a two-run clocking of 1:23.55. Two seniors posted Colorado's next best finishes, with Erin McEachren taking eighth (1:25.48) and Mia Cullman 11th (1:25.94).
In the men's slalom, DU completed a sweep of the meet's alpine races as Dominik Schweiger won in a two-run time of 1:23.06. CU sophomore Tahir Bisic finished 10th, the first top 10 effort by the CU men this winter in four races, as he skied the course in 1:24.95.
CU head coach Richard Rokos was pleased with his team's runner-up finish. “I think we skied a bit above expectations here,” he said. “I know we have a good team, even though it's smaller (in numbers) than the others this year. So we have to ski smart and be precise, because we don't have five people like the other contenders to score for us in men's alpine or women's nordic right now, and that likely won't change. So we'll have to stay healthy, that'll be critical for us.
“The cross country teams did a tremendous job, and women's alpine came through,” Rokos added. “We were minus a top 10 finish in the first three men's alpine races this year, but Tahir had a good achievement in starting 32nd, getting to 16th after the first run and then finishing 10th. He had an outstanding day.”
The nordic teams resume action next Friday and Saturday to complete the Utah Invitational (the alpine portion was earlier this week); the full team will return to action in the New Mexico Invitational the first weekend in February.
Nevada Invitational Team Scores?1. Denver 597; 2. Colorado 521; 3. New Mexico 515; 4. Utah 496; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 425; 6. Nevada 358; 7. Montana State 244; 8. Western State 222; 9. Whitman 195; 10. Boise State 73.
Men's 20K Classical?1. Henning Dybendal, Utah, 52:18.6; 2. Tor Erik Schjellerud, CU, 52:41.1; 3. Erlend Hoff, DU, 52:43.2; 4. Geir-Endre Rogn, UNM, 52:46.1; 5. Henrik Hoye, CU, 53:13.2; 6. Erling Christiansen, CU, 53:21.0; 7. Zach Violett, UAA, 53:46.6; 8. Daniel Sonntag, Utah, 54:33.9; 9. Dirk Grimm, UNM, 54:34.0; 10. Martin Bartnes, DU, 54:52.9. Other CU Finishers: 14. Josh Smullin, 55:29.4; 19. Tim Damrow, 56:37.9; 20. Nick Sterling, 56:48.2.
Women's 15K Classical?1. Mandy Kaempf, UAA, 46:12.2; 2. Lena Jensen, UNM, 47:00.1; 3. Martina Stursova, UNM, 47:13.8; 4. Karin Camenisch, DU, 47:49.3; 5. Muriele Huberli, CU, 48:00.7; 6. Jenny Hansson, Utah, 48:07.4; 7. Jana Rehemaa, CU, 48:09.9; 8. Barbro Hatlevik, Utah, 48:13.5; 9. Claire Critchley, CU, 48:24.8; 10. Sarah Hansen, UAA, 48:26.5. Other CU Finisher: 29. Brooke Rygg, 53:53.6.
Men's Slalom?1. Dominik Schweiger, DU, 1:23.06; 2. Todd Ligare, DU, 1:23.74; 3. Lars Loeseth Sunde, UNM, 1:24.08; 4. Hannes Zirknitzer, WC, 1:24.13; 5. Alex Mach, UNM, 1:24.15; 6. Andreas Neuhauser, UAA, 1:24.47; 7. Benjamin Thornhill, Utah, 1:24.64; 8. Luke Patterson, WSC, 1:24.65; 9. David Duncan, UAA, 1:24.77; 10. Tahir Bisic, CU, 1:24.95. CU Results: 16. Fritz Ernemann, 1:31.69; 17. Cody Jenick, 1:32.21; Michael Read DNF (first run).
Women's Slalom?1. Pia Rivelsrud, DU, 1:23.47; 2. Erika Hogan, CU, 1:23.55; 3. Quincy Young, UN, 1:25.02; 4. Barbara Knor, DU, 1:25.19; 5. Spela Bertoncelj, BSU, 1:25.24; 6. Lauren Lattimer, Utah, 1:25.31; 7. Margit Walter, BSU, 1:25.41; 8. Erin McEachren, CU, 1:25.48; 9. Gladys Weidt, UNM, 1:25.71; 10. Christina Metzger, DU, 1:25.74. Other CU Results: 11. Mia Cullman, 1:25.94; 16. Kristin Taylor, 1:26.47; 23. Sarah Fischer, 1:29.95; Julie Czesnowski DNF (second run).
Players Mentioned
