Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Utah Invitational
Buff Skiers Win Utah Invitational
January 14, 2007 | Skiing
PARK CITY, Utah ? Thanks in part to a Nordic win by freshman Matt Gelso, the defending national champion University of Colorado ski team continued its year-long roll here Sunday as the Buffaloes won their fifth straight meet, claiming the Utah Invitational by 15 points over the host Utes.
Colorado won with 552 points, toppling Utah (537) and Denver (522). One of the biggest surprises of the meet was the highest-ever finish by Montana State, which took fourth with 441 points, while Alaska-Anchorage rounded out the top five (411).
The Buffaloes won the last four meets last winter, including the NCAA Championships at Steamboat, and are also leading the in-progress Montana State meet, which started last weekend and resumes this Friday in Bozeman. It's Colorado's longest winning streak since 1995, when the Buffs won all six meets that winter en route to the national crown.
“It's good to start the season with a win, especially without a full team, to build some confidence right at the start and also post some good finishes toward NCAA qualification,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said of Colorado's first season-opening win since 1999. “The Nordics did a great job and were very consistent, and did well dealing with a delay. It's good to see everyone healthy and everyone charging.”
Rokos referred to a delay of over 60 minutes for the cross country races, which were held in nearby Soldier Hollow where temperatures were at minus-24 just prior to the scheduled start of the day's events. CU was also minus its star women's alpine skier Sunday, as junior Lucie Zikova was ill and could not compete, though she tried.
Zikova started the women's giant slalom but pulled out quickly as she had some kind of flu bug. “It was tough on her in the first place to go, but she wanted to go out there for the team and try,” Rokos said. “Without her, it's tough, but on the other hand, it did show that we have some depth and that we could still do pretty well.”
Freshman Stefan Hughes again paced the CU alpine effort, as he finished second in the slalom to go with a third place in the GS on Saturday. Utah's Tague Thorson won for the second straight day, posting a two-run time of 1:32.13, with Hughes clocked in 1:32.35. Another Buff freshman, Drew Roberts, finished sixth in 1:33.81, with junior Josh Bryan finishing ninth in 1:34.33.
It marked the third consecutive race that the Colorado men had three top 10 finishers, the first times CU has had that many in a single race since the 2003 season, when the Buffs had seven. Colorado also has four top five finishes this winter, matching its total over the last three seasons combined.
“We have some rising stars in men's alpine, and they're finishing everything,” Rokos said. “Stefan is even surprised with how he is doing. We've kidded him that one he put on his ?Buffalo' (racing) suit it's changed his way of life. He hasn't finished below third in any race this winter (three college, four FIS).”
In the women's GS, sophomore Lisa Perricone paced the Buffaloes with a sixth place showing in 2:06.06, as Western State's Sarah Schaedler won in 2:02.92. Junior Rachel Roosevelt finished 15th in 2:07.86 and freshman Heidi Hillenbrand was 16th in 2:08.07.
In the men's 20K freestyle, Gelso dueled with Denver's Rene Reisshauer for the bulk of the race but got some separation in the final kilometer in winning his first collegiate race in a 42:22.3 time. Reisshauer was second in 42:27.3, with CU junior Kit Richmond taking fourth in 42:43.1. Sophomore Karl Nygren posted CU's next best effort, finishing 28th in 46:29.5.
Gelso's win was the second by a Buff in the last three Nordic races ? Richmond ended the 2006 season winning the same event at the NCAA championships. Otherwise, you have to go back to 1999 to find CU's previous win by a men's Nordic racer, and all the way back to 1990 for the last time a male CU freshman won a race, when Bjorn Svensson captured the classic race at the NCAA West Regional.
In fact, the Truckee, Calif., product is the first American to ever win a Nordic race for the Buffaloes since the sport went coed in 1983. With Montana State's Jamie Woelk, who hails from Gunnison, winning the women's 10K event, it marked the first time ever that American skiers won both the men's and women's Nordic races on the same day in NCAA West competition.
Woelk led a 1-2-3 sweep by Bobcat skiers, the first-ever by the school in any of the four disciplines in NCAA competition. She won in a 34:16.1 time, and just under 11 seconds separated the top six finishers. Her teammates, Mandy Bowden and Claire Rennie finished second and third, as the trio all finished within a second of each other. CU junior Maria Grevsgaard, who won Saturday's classic race, again produced the top Buff finish, as she nabbed sixth in 34:26.8. Sophomore Lena Palanova was ninth in 34:54.0, with junior Mia Gaw the third Buff scorer as she finished 17th in 36:36.8, her career best when all 10 western teams are participating.
“It was good overall,” said Bruce Cranmer, CU's Nordic coordinator of his team's first weekend of competition this winter. “Obviously, we're looking for some people to come up a little bit more. Normally, we haven't been super-fast starters and we want to have our best races down the road, so we're establishing a base right now.
“It was really good to see Matt win a skate race, as he's usually a little bit better in classic,” Cranmer added. “He was strong within himself and he got a little break with about half a k or so to go and was able to hold on to the lead without having to sprint. He raced a tactical and smart race, and it was nice to see him win and get on the podium. We had some bright spots and we have a couple of spots we'll improve on as not everyone is at the top of their game. But you don't want to peak now, because it's hard to stay up there the entire season. Lenka had a better race today and she's been struggling a bit, so a top 10 finish for her was good to see and should build some confidence for her.”
Most alpine members of the team will return to Colorado to begin classes Tuesday, but Rokos and five Buffaloes will head to Italy to participate in the 2007 University Games. Rokos is the head coach and team leader for the United States, with Hughes, Perricone, Roberts and Roosevelt to represent the country, while Zikova is also going but will ski for the Czech Republic team. Ski races will be held Thursday through Sunday, and also January 24-25.
The Nordic squad heads to Bozeman for the cross country portion of the Montana State Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The Buffs are leading that meet, as the alpine competition began last week, although it was shortened to just one race; it will be completed February 4 it Eldora.
Utah Invitational Team Scores?1. Colorado 552; 2. Utah 537; 3. Denver 522; 4. Montana State 441; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 411; 6. New Mexico 390; 7. Nevada 370; 8. Western State 295; 9. Whitman 123; 10. Wyoming 29. Men's Slalom?1. Tague Thorson, Utah, 1:32.13; 2. Stefan Hughes, CU, 1:32.35; 3. Alex Mach, UNM, 1:33.21; 4. Lars Loeseth, UNM, 1:33.25; 5. Francesco Ghedina, DU, 1:33.61; 6. Drew Roberts, CU, 1:33.81; 7. Gaspar Perricone, Utah, 1:34.18; 8. Ian Dunlop, DU, 1:34.29; 9. Josh Bryan, CU, 1:34.33; 10. Luke Patterson, UN, 1:34.42. Other CU Skiers: 16. Miles Cooke, 1:35.46. Did Not Finish: Arman Serebrakian (first run). Did Not Start: Tony Cesolini (second run). Women's Giant Slalom?1. Sarah Schaedler, WSC, 2:02.92; 2. Carmel McElroy, MSU, 2:05.04; 3. Chirine Njeim, Utah, 2:05.21; 4. Katie Lyons, UN, 2:05.66; 65. Jenny Tank, DU, 2:06.05; 6. Lisa Perricone, CU, 2:06.06; 7. Karine Falck-Pedersen, DU, 2:06.17; 8. Mikaela Grassl, Utah, 2:06.20; 9. Amy Lattimer, MSU, 2:06.77; 10. Lindsay McClure, DU, 2:06.95. Other CU Skiers: 15. Rachel Roosevelt, 2:07.86; 16. Heidi Hillenbrand, 2:08.07; 20. Kristin Taylor, 2:08.55; 30. Leslie Fox, 2:15.43. Did Not Finish: Lucie Zikova (first run). Women's 10K Freestyle?1. Jamie Woelk, MSU, 34:16.1; 2. Mandy Bowden, MSU, 34:16.6; 3. Claire Rennie, MSU, 34:16.9; 4. Annelise Bailly, DU, 34:21.3; 5. Kasandra Rice, UAA, 34:25.0; 6. Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 34:26.8; 7. Sara Schweiger, Utah, 34:38.7; 8. Chelsea Holmes, UN, 34:46.5; 9. Lenka Palanova, CU, 34:54.0; 10. Krista Rader, UAA, 35:00.0. Other CU Results: 17. Mia Gaw, 36:36.8; 26. Kristin Ronnestrand, 38:30.1; 45. Megan Wilder, 49:07.2. Did Not Finish: Maisha Goodpaster. Men's 20K Freestyle?1. Matt Gelso, CU, 42:22.3; 2. Rene Reisshauer, DU, 42:27.3; 3. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 42:34.0; 4. Kit Richmond, CU, 42:43.1; 5. Snorri Einarsson, Utah, 42:49.2; 6. Andy Liebner, UAA, 43:17.9; 7. Mike Hinckley, DU, 43:31.6; 8. Ben Fick, Utah, 43:42.6; 9. Taylor Sheldon, DU, 43:43.7; 10. Nathan Park, MSU, 43:45.5. Other CU Results: 28. Karl Nygren, 46:29.5; 33. Josh Smith, 47:12.7; 38. Joaquin Goodpaster, 47:47.2. Did Not Finish: Garrett Reid.
Players Mentioned
