Skiers In Fourth At DU Invitational

Friday, January 28

Winter Park, Colo.

All Day

Colorado

Denver Invitational (GS/CL)

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

January 28, 2005 | Skiing

WINTER PARK - The University of Colorado ski team, minus a few of its performers due to overseas competition and illness, stood in fourth place at the midway point of the Denver Invitational, the first four events in which were completed here Friday.

Utah owns a slim lead over host Denver, as the Utes amassed 279 points to top the Pioneers' 270; New Mexico is not far behind in third at 256, while the Buffs at this point are a distant fourth with 230.

Buff junior Erling Christiansen, devoid of a victory in a solid collegiate career until two weeks ago in the freestyle at the Alaska Invitational, made it two straight wins as he edged Utah's Daniel Sonntag by two seconds in the 10-kilometer event which featured a staggered (interval) start. Christiansen won in a 24:51.2 time, as the top eight were separated by under 30 seconds but saw the ninth racer a minute off the lead.

"I'm not a real technical skier, and it was a real technical course," Christiansen said of the track, which was flat with more turns than the skiers had seen this winter. "I felt I had a good race, and I thought there was a good chance that I put up the best time and that's the way it turned out."

Another CU junior, Henrik Hoy, finished seventh in 25:15.7 after leading after the first lap, but had some trouble with a fall just after the midway point the second time around. "I was a little stiff for the next kilometer or two after that; the fall itself only cost me a couple of seconds."

Senior Tor Erik Schjellerud, one of CU's top competitors, missed the race as he is participated in his native Norway's national championships this weekend. However, sophomore Tim Damrow (12th in 26:21.0) and junior Nick Sterling (26:28.1) responded as each turned in their best finishes this winter.

In the women's 5K event, the Buffs were paced by senior Muriele Huberli, who finished eighth in 14:41.5; Alaska-Anchorage's Mandy Kaempf won her fifth straight race this winter, claiming this one in 13:38.5, which was good for almost a 14-second win.

"I had a good race, I definitely feel a lot better than the last time out," Huberli said in referring to a respiratory illness she battled two weeks ago in the Alaska meet at Jackson Hole. "I ski better on up-and-down courses and lose a lot of time on flat courses like this because it's hard to rest with all the turns."

Senior Jessica Gray sat this one out for the Buffs due to illness, but junior Brooke Rygg posted her career best finish by placing 11th in 14:59.6.

In the women's giant slalom, the Buff women posted a pair of top 10 finishes, as freshman Lucie Zikova was sixth in a two-run time of 2:01.92 and junior Erika Hogan 10th in 2:03.57. Denver's Florence Roujas easily won by over a second in a 1:59.82 clocking. Zikova was 11th after the first run and improved to her sixth place standing, despite being "a bit tired after the first run. I guess the travel over the last week (to and from the World University Games in Innsbruck, Austria) and the sickness I was fighting was the reason for it."

CU freshman Rachel Roosevelt was sixth after the first run, but had to hike just five gates into the second run. She then missed a gate near the end and skied off the course.

For the men, freshman Joel Adams was the top finisher in the GS, grabbing 13th in 1:53.93; New Mexico's Lars Loeseth Sunde won in 1:50.24. "The second run set-up was really straight and rough, it was a rodeo out there," Adams said.

The meet concludes Saturday with the slalom races for the alpine teams and the classical event for the nordic squads.

Denver Invitational Team Scores1. Utah 279; 2. Denver 270; 3. New Mexico 256; 4. Colorado 230; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 196; 6. Montana State 189; 7. Nevada 182; 8. Western State 92; 9. Whitman 87; 10. Boise State 51.

Women's 5K Freestyle1. Mandy Kaempf, UAA, 13:36.5; 2. Martina Stursova, UNM, 13:50.2; 3. Sandra Gredig, Utah, 14:16.9; 4. Trine Lundamo, UNM, 14.24.4; 5. Nicole Naef, Utah, 14:25.5; 6. Emily Robbins, MSU, 14:28.0; 7. Ashley McQueen, Utah, 14:32.1; 8. Muriele Huberli, CU, 14:41.4; 9. Pirkko Pulkkanen, UNM 14:42.1; 10. Amanda Bowden, MSU, 14:42.7. Other CU Finishers: 11. Brooke Rygg, 14:59.6; 34. Maria Malmin, 16:19.7.

Men's 10K Freestyle 1. Erling Christiansen, CU, 24:51.2; 2. Daniel Sonntag, Utah, 24:53.1. 3. Rene Reisshauer, DU, 24:58.7; 4. Andre Haugsboe, DU, 25:02.8; 5. John Stene, DU, 25:04.2; 6. Haavard Selsenge, DU, 25:11.8; 7. Henrik Hoye, CU, 25:15.7; 8. Magnus Carlsson, Utah, 25:19.7; 9. Mark Iverson, MSU, 25:51.9; 10. Simon Wass, UNR, 25:53.9. Other CU Finishers: 12.Tim Damrow, 26:21.0; 14. Nick Sterling, 26:26.1.

Women's Giant Slalom1. Florence Roujas, DU, 1:59.82; 2. Kimberly Stephens, Utah, 2:01.06; 3. Jaana-maarit Vaelinaeki, UNR, 2:01.60; 4. Smaranda Munteanu, MSU, 2:01.64; 5. April Mancuso, Utah, 2:01.87; 6. Lucie Zikova, CU, 2:01.92; 7. Gladys Weidt, UNM, 2:03.04; 8. Spela Bertoncelj, BSU, 2:03.24; 9. Lindsay McClure, DU, 2:03.51; 10. Erika Hogan, CU, 2:03.57. Other CU Finishers: 20. Janicke Brusletto, 2:06.82; 26. Kristin Taylor, 2:09.06; 29. Ashley Woodworth, 2:12.43. DNF Catherine Brown (1st run), Rachel Roosevelt (2nd run).

Men's Giant Slalom1. Lars Loeseth Sunde, UNM, 1:50.24; 2. Dominik Schweiger, DU, 1:51.59; 3. David Lamb, DU, 1:51.67; 4. Cameron Barnes, UNR, 1:52.25; 5. Andreas Neuhauser, UAA, 1:52.93; 6. Alex Mach, UNM, 1:53.02; 7. Lars Ola Kjos, DU, 1:53.03; 8. Gregory Besse, WSC, 1:53.30; 9. Will McDonald, Utah, 1:53.57; 10. Petter Roering, UNM, 1:53.67. CU Finishers: 13. Joel Adams, 1:53.93; 19. Brad Hogan, 1:54.91; 20. Fritz Ernemann, 1:55.05. DNF?Tahir Bisic (1st run), Miles Cooke (2nd run).