Colorado University Athletics
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Colorado Invitational (Alpine)
Buff Skiers Win CU Invitational
February 04, 2006 | Skiing
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS ? The University of Colorado ski team finally had reason to celebrate after a long drought as the Buffaloes won its own CU/Laura Sharpe Flood Memorial Ski Invitational in convincing fashion here Saturday.
The No. 2 ranked Buffaloes led from wire-to-wire over the four days of the meet, which was spread over two weekends. The Nordic teams built a 56-point lead after their four events, with the alpine team maintaining the advantage thanks to six top 10 finishes from the women and a pair from the men's squads.
Colorado amassed 592 points to outdistance New Mexico (544) and top ranked and defending NCAA champion Denver (531?). The Lobos pulled to within 34 points after the men's giant slalom Saturday morning, but CU pulled away in the women's slalom to seal the win. Alaska-Anchorage (458?) and Utah (452?) rounded out the top five in the 11-team meet.
It was Colorado's first victory since the middle of the 2003 season, when the Buffs won their own invitational. That covered a span of 17 meets over 36 months, the longest stretch without a victory in the 16 seasons Richard Rokos has been head coach of the program. It was CU's 37th win in 94 competitions under Rokos' direction, and the school's 41st since the sport went coed in 1983, trailing only Utah.
“This was very critical victory for us in many ways,” Rokos said. “It's the NCAA Championship site, where we will compete in five weeks for the highest trophy in the sport. And after 36 months we broke the (losing) streak. Winning our own meet has always been a priority to honor Laura Sharpe Flood's name, and we can keep her trophy at home. So we can celebrate this for many reasons, and it's a confidence builder.”
“All athletes put forth a genuine effort and thanks to the cushion our Nordic team built a week ago here, we were able to maintain the lead and come close to a record-breaking win for us,” Rokos continued.
The Buffs flirted with their record for margin of victory in a meet, but settled for the second most decisive win in school history with the 48-point win. The record under the current scoring format is 53 points, which came in its last win at the 2003 CU Invitational at Eldora. The record margin of the annual five western meets is a 76-point win posted by Denver (over CU) in the 2004 Nevada Invitational; this was the fourth largest winning margin overall.
The Buffaloes had 21 top 10 finishes in the eight races (Denver and New Mexico were next with 15 each, with Alaska and Utah netting 11 apiece.
CU needed a solid performance in the women's slalom in the evening to secure the victory. And the Buffaloes got just that. Freshman Lisa Perricone, a Steamboat Springs native, won her first collegiate after three previous top five finishes this winter in claiming the women's slalom in a 1:29.20 time. She posted the fastest times for both runs, 43.91 the first time down the course, which featured over a 420-foot descent, and a 45.29 in her second trip.
As with the men on Friday, it was the first time the western women skied at night in a collegiate competition in preparation for night slaloms in next month's NCAA Championships.
“It just so much more exciting being at home, I felt a little bit of extra energy in me,” Perricone, said of winning her first collegiate race on her home mountain. “I love racing at night, it's nice to have a change. Everything is usually so routine, I felt it raised the intensity a little bit. I was definitely in the zone, I had some extra confidence and went with it and it all worked out. I thought I was slow yesterday, so I wanted to redeem myself. I'd rather be in the top three than 11th (her finish in Friday's giant slalom).
“We feed off each other, for sure,” she added about CU's dominant women's alpine team. “It (winning) is within reach for everybody. Sometimes we have one girl so far ahead, but we all encourage each other and push each other. I've never been on a team that's done that before, and that has made this really enjoyable.”
Colorado sophomore Lucie Zikova finished second in 1:30.60, where she stood after the first run; her 44.51 effort was the only other clocking under 45 seconds in the field. Junior Kristin Taylor supported the pair with a ninth place time in 1:32.95, with her 45.55 time for her second run the second fastest, giving the Buffs the top four run times for the race. Sophomore Rachel Roosevelt skied off the course and had to hike early in her first run, eventually finishing 35th in 2:00.82.
Junior Sabrina Mocellin skied off the course in her first run, and took a provisionary rerun on the possibility she was obstructed by another skier about three-fourths of the way down. The rerun was disallowed and thus Mocellin was officially disqualified.
“Lisa put a flawless first run together,” Rokos said. “And she maintained her composure for the second run without displaying any signs of pressure. That's a quality of a good racer, and there aren't too many who exhibit that. Lucie put together a solid race, and she's very consistent in the top two (six times in six races, with three wins), so it's the perfect scenario for us. She's having runs without mistakes.
“Lisa, Joel Adams, Tony Cesolini and Josh Bryan, all of whom call Steamboat Springs their home, were able to benefit from the environment and knowledge from the hill,” Rokos added. “Especially in Lisa's case, she moved to a new level in her performance.”
Denver's Todd Ligare won the men's giant slalom in a two-run time of 2:07.56, edging Utah's Scott Veenis by .16 of a second. The Pioneers won the event as a team with 76 points, edging Utah (72?) and New Mexico (71). Colorado struggled in the GS, finishing fifth in the team standings, as the Buffaloes failed to have a finisher in the top 10 for the first time in any discipline this winter, or 23 total races.
Compounding the issue Saturday was that CU's top finisher, Jean-Francois Ferreira, was its non-designated scorer, as schools are allow to ski six to score three places; the Buffaloes have seven alpine men. Ferreira, a freshman, started in 31st position but finished 11th in 2:10.02, with two other CU frosh just behind him, as Patrick Duran placed 13th in 2:10.52 and Josh Bryan 15th in 2:10.62. Sophomores Joel Adams (18th, in 2:11:02) and Miles Cooke (tied for 26th, 2:22.69) also completed the challenging Concentration Run on Mount Werner, with along with Friday's women's GS, marked the first giant slalom races on the mountain since 1978.
Another CU freshman, Jonas Kryzl, was ninth after the first run but skied off the course twice on his second attempt and did not finish. Frosh Tony Cesolini, 15th after the initial run, also did not finish the second time down the hill.
“I feel great, everybody is a part of the team here; we really enjoy skiing all together and try to do what is best for the team, and that's exactly what I was looking for coming to the U.S. for the college races,” Ferreira said. “The NCAA championship races in Steamboat are going to be the best event of the winter, and we're trying to be the best team and to win. The second run was great. I came back from 23rd to 11th place.”
Ferreira posted the fifth fastest time the second run, and attributed the improvement to several factors. “The shape of the course, starting earlier (in the start order), and I knew a little more about the slope. We only trained on it twice and not all the way down, so I was a little more confident. I knew I was in the top three of CU's guys, and I knew that I could go fast.”
“It was a difficult race for us,” Rokos said of the men's giant slalom. “We need to go back on that hill and get more familiar with it. It was tough terrain with soft snow, and some of our guys don't have the right touch to handle it yet. Considering that we hope to peak in a couple of weeks, we'll dedicate time to practice a similar terrain or come back here and get in a few more training days.”
The schools will turn around and congregate quickly for the Western State Invitational, which is set in Crested Butte this weekend, February 10-11. The NCAA West Regional follows in two weeks, with the NCAA Championships set for Steamboat March 8-11.
COLORADO INVITATIONAL TEAM SCORES?1. Colorado 592; 2. New Mexico 544; 3. Denver 531?; 4. Alaska-Anchorage 458?; 5. Utah 452?; 6. Montana State 341?; 7. Nevada 301; 8. Western State 222; 9. Whitman 135; 10. Wyoming 58; 11. Boise State 37.
Men's Giant Slalom?1. Todd Ligare, DU, 2:07.56; 2. Scott Veenis, UU, 2:07.73; 3. Francesco Ghedina, DU, 2:08.22; 4. Lars Sunde Loeseth, UNM, 2:08.62; 5. Cory Harris, MSU, 2:08.93; 6. Timothee Theaux, UAA, 2:09.22; 7. Tor Fodnesbergene, UNM, 2:09.23; 8 (tie). Gaspar Perricone, UU, and Max Meier-Meitinger, UAA, 2:09.89; 10. Will McDonald, UU, 2:09.95. Other Area Finishers: 11. Jean-Francois Ferreira, CU, 2:10.02; 13. Pat Duran, CU, 2:10.52; 14. Ian Lochhead, DU, 2:10.55; 15. Josh Bryan, CU, 2:10.62; 16. Ian Dunlop, DU, 2:10.86; 18. Joel Adams, CU, 2:11.02; 24. Casey Riva, WSC, 2:19.86; 25. Andre Hokholt, WSC, 2:21.71; 26 (tie). Miles Cooke, CU, and Ben Reeder, WSC, 2:22.69; 30. Daniel Medved, WSC, 2:35.16. Did Not Finish (second run)?John Buchar, DU; Jonas Kryzl, CU; Tony Cesolini, CU; Ben Babbitt, CU-D; Erik Jorgensen, WSC. Did Not Finish (first run)?Sean Higgins, DU; Bo Maciejko, WSC; Brad Erickson, WSC
Women's Slalom?1. Lisa Perricone, CU, 1:29.20; 2. Lucie Zikova, CU, 1:30.60; 3. Karin Ohlin, UNM, 1:30.99; 4. Stefanie Klocker, UAA, 1:31.10; 5. Karine Falck Pedersen, DU, 1:31.45; 6. Claire Abbe, DU, 1:32.50; 7. Chelsea Laswell, UU, 1:32.68; 8. Erika Hogan, UU, 1:32.90; 9. Kristin Taylor, CU, 1:32.95; 10. Kathrin Spendier, UNM, 1:33.20. Other Area Finishers: 15. Florence Roujas, DU, 1:33.87; 21. Jazz Centauro, WSC, 1:36.97; 24. Jacqueline Marceau, DU, 1:40.37; 32. Vivian Renfro, WSC, 1:47.31; 34. Lindsay McClure, DU, 1:59.28; 35. Rachel Roosevelt, CU, 2:00.82; 37. Angela Kettinger, WSC, 2:20.33. Disqualified?Jennifer Tank, DU, Sabrina Mocellin, CU (first run); Elysse Kompaniez, WSC (second run), Did Not Finish?Emily Hamill, WSC.
