Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional
Players Mentioned
Skiers Second In Regional, But Qualify Full NCAA Team
February 24, 2007 | Skiing
AUBURN, Calif. ? The defending national champion University of Colorado ski team's second place finish here Saturday in the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional was practically inconsequential, as when all was said and done, the Buffaloes were just one of three teams in the nation to qualify a full 12-skier squad for next month's NCAA Championships.
Denver won the competition with 426 points, followed by the Buffaloes with 409 and Utah (391). There was quite a drop off after that, as Alaska-Anchorage was fourth with 321. Snowfall wreaked havoc with the alpine events here, forcing cancellation of the giant slalom races; thus, the point totals were lower due to six events being scored instead of the usual eight as only the slalom was run in alpine competition.
But more importantly, only Colorado and Utah in the west qualified full teams for nationals, which commence in 11 days; only east region champion Dartmouth had tentatively qualified a full squad among the eastern schools (central region schools participate in just Nordic). CU did prove it's not impossible to win short a skier, as the Buffs won the 2006 title by some 98 points, the fourth largest margin of victory in any NCAA title meet.
"Our goal in slalom was to protect our guys and solidify our qualifying positions. So we traded a run at the regional title to qualify five guys in men's alpine, so I am happy with that," CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "DU had everyone qualified, so they put their best guys in the front and zoomed down, so we both accomplished what we set out to do. But our best guys started deep into the 30s, so it's not reflective of what we're capable of doing or what we did all season.
"Overall, I think we are better equipped to go to the NCAA's," he added. "But a full team is still not any ticket to the title, it just gives you more peace of mind. This year, with the slalom wrapping up the championships, it's going to be mental rollercoaster until the last minute."
In the women's 10-kilometer classical race, the Buffaloes recorded their first 1-2 finish of the season, as junior Maria Grevsgaard won her seventh race on the winter, with freshman Kristin Ronnestrand taking second, her best collegiate effort to date. Grevsgaard swept all five classical races this winter, winning in a time of 32:15.8 Saturday; ironically, it was the closest margin of the five, and it took a teammate to do it, as Ronnestrand had her third top five effort in finishing in 32:27.0.
Junior Mia Gaw finished 16th in 34:45.9, while sophomore Lenka Palanova finished 26th in 36:18.8; the coaches didn't want her overexerting in the regular season finale as she has battled back from overtraining and illness.
In the men's 15k classical, freshman Matt Gelso finished third in 42:31.9, trailing two DU skiers, Rene Reisshauer, who won in 41:18.6, and John Stene, the runnerup in 41:38.9. For Gelso, a native of Truckee, Calif., who had the opportunity to return home to ski on his home course, it was his sixth "bronze" finish this season, as he has one win, a second, the six thirds, a fourth and a seventh for what has been the top season by a newcomer in either discipline in the west.
CU next best finisher was junior Kit Richmond, who finished eighth for the second straight day, completing the track in 43:17.0; two sophomores followed in Karl Nygren (15th, 43:57.8) and Garrett Reid (19th, 44:37.9).
"After not having qualified a full team for some years, it's nice to be on the plus side of that, going with a full team," CU Nordic coordinator Bruce Cranmer said. "We've been one or two short, so having a full complement of skiers obviously doesn't hurt you."
While Colorado has now qualified a full team for nationals in 21 of the 25 seasons since the sport went coed in 1983, all four times it did not came this decade, including the last three years. The Buffs qualified 11, or one shy, in 2001, 2004 and 2006 and advanced just 10 in 2005. The last three times, the Buffs were short on the men's alpine side; in '01, it was minus a women's cross country performer.
"I think we're in good shape, it was a good showing today, and it always helps your psyche to know you've have had good races before a championship?it boosts your confidence," he said of Saturday's results. "Hopefully Maria can keep rolling, and it was fantastic to see Kristin really step it up after getting over her illness. And with Lenka on the mend and getting better, I feel like we're going to be in hunt. Matt has been pretty consistent, and a little rest will help him. Kit stuck it out, he still not at 100 percent and wasn't at his best, but he will be better with a little time off.
"It's going to be harder than the last few years , where who ever wins is going to win by five or 10 points and not like 100 points," Cranmer surmised. "I don't see that happening this year, I think it's going to very close. So we'll have a light go at it Sunday and then take a few days off this week, probably not do much until we get back east. I don't like to train hard right before we travel."
In Nordic, the Buffaloes qualified Grevsgaard, Ronnestrand and Palanova on the women's side for the NCAA's, with Gelso, Richmond and Nygren representing the Buff men. In alpine, both five CU women and men have qualifying rankings: junior Lucie Zikova, freshman Heidi Hillenbrand, sophomore Lisa Perricone, junior Rachel Roosevelt and senior Kristin Taylor. The men's alpine team qualified freshmen Stefan Hughes and Drew Roberts, sophomores Josh Bryan and Tony Cesolini and junior Miles Cooke.
Rokos has until Monday to inform which three men's and women's alpine skiers will make up his team; their seed orders right now in the west are Hughes (No. 3), Roberts (No. 6) and Bryan (No. 16) for the men, and Zikova (No. 1), Perricone (No. 9) and Hillenbrand (No. 11) for the women.
The 54th Annual NCAA Championships are up next, as they will get underway in less than two weeks in Jackson and Attitash, N.H. The University of New Hampshire is hosting the event, which begins Wednesday, March 7 with the cross country freestyle races, followed by the giant slalom races (Thursday, March 8), the Nordic classical races (Friday, March 9) and the slalom races (Saturday, March 10).
Dartmouth won the EISA Championships/NCAA East Regional at Middlebury, Vt., Saturday, as the Big Green scored 928.5 points to defeat Vermont (858), Middlebury (833) and New Hampshire (682). Dartmouth won all six eastern ski carnivals this winter, many in convincing fashion, and could pose a serious threat to the 12-year title reign by western schools, as the last champion from back east was Vermont in 1994.
The Buffaloes will depart this Saturday for New Hampshire.
RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional Team Scores?1. Denver 426; 2. Colorado 409; 3. Utah 391; 4. Alaska 321; 5. Montana State 300; 6. Nevada 248; 7. New Mexico 250; 8. Western State 197; 9. Whitman 191.
Women's 10K Classical?1. Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 32:16.8; 2. Kristin Ronnestrand, CU, 32:27.0; 3. Jamie Woelk, MSU, 33:10.5; 4. Sara Schweiger, Utah, 33:15.6; 5. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 33:20.0; 6. Sarah MacCarthy, Utah, 33:53.2; 7. Devon Spika, Whit., 33:54.1; 8. Melanie Zemp, UNM, 33:55.7; 9. Crystin Jaques, UNM, 34:02.3; 10. Kara LaPoint, DU, 34:19.9. Other CU Results: 16. Mia Gaw, 34:45.9; 26. Lenka Palanova, 36:18.8.
Men's 15K Classical ?1. Rene Reisshauer, DU, 41:18.6; 2. John Stene, DU, 41:38.9; 3. Matt Gelso, CU, 42:31.9; 4. Snorri Einarsson, Utah, 42:45.0; 5. Havard Selseng, DU, 42:55.6; 6. Harald Loevenskiold, DU, 43:01.0; 7. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 43:05.8; 8. Kit Richmond, CU, 43:17.0; 9. Andy Liebner, UAA, 43:22.3; 10. Mike Hinckley, DU, 43:28.0. Other CU Results: 15. Karl Nygren, 43:57.8; 19. Garrett Reid, 44:37.9; 21. Joaquin Goodpaster, 45:21.5; 31. Josh Smith, 46:42.5.