Skiers Finish Third In Utah Invitational

January 12, 2008 | Skiing

Team Scoring Men's Slalom Results Women's Slalom Results Men's Giant Slalom Results Women's Giant Slalom Results

By: David Plati, Assistant AD/Sports Information

PARK CITY, Utah - The University of Colorado ski team enjoyed another fine day in Nordic competition Saturday, but could not jostle out of its first day standing and finished in third in the Utah Invitational.

Host Utah, focused on winning its first meet in nearly five seasons, did just that in winning with 585.5 points, good for a solid win over Denver (550) and the Buffaloes (543). Utah's last win came in March 2003, when it last won the NCAA Championship. Alaska-Anchorage finished fourth (442), with Montana State grabbing fifth (413.5). Colorado was in third after Friday's action, 33 points out of the lead and 18 out of second.

The cross country teams were again dominant Saturday and won the competition here, as the Buffs scored 315 Nordic points in the meet, easily outdistancing runner-up Utah, which had 276, and Denver (258). The CU women won the freestyle, 81-72 over Utah, after taking second in the classic on Friday (losing by a single point to the Utes), while the Buff men were second in the freestyle after winning the classic the previous day; DU outpointed CU, 74-70.

"The Nordics repeated their outstanding result from (Friday), and that's very encouraging, CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "And I think they'll have the talent and depth to maintain that through the season if they can avoid major illness. In alpine, the slalom was a much better performance for the men and it was great to see the smiles on their faces after the disastrous day we had in the GS. The girls once again did well with three in the top nine in the giant slalom and are skiing consistently despite it being early in the season."

Maria Grevsgaard won for the second straight day, this time capturing the women's 10-kilometer freestyle race and making some history in the progress. While all eyes have been on teammate and senior alpiner Lucie Zikova's chase to become CU's all-time leader in wins, Grevsgaard's victory Saturday was the 10th of her career, just the seventh skier in school history to reach double figures in wins. She became the fifth Nordic skier to accomplish the feat, the fourth woman overall and the third cross country female to attain 10 or more.

She won in a 15:39.3 time, posting a 30-second win over Montana State's Claire Rennie, her second straight demolition of the field on the Soldier Hollow course layout. She won the two races by a combined four minutes here this weekend, virtually unheard of.

"Maria is skiing as well as ever and is in a groove," Rokos said. "She has set the bar high, and it's permeating throughout the team."

Grevsgaard paced three Buff women in the top six for the second straight race, as sophomore Karoline Borgnes finished fifth in 16:14.9 while junior Lenka Palanova grabbed sixth for a second straight day, completing the course in 16:15.5. Sophomore Kristin Ronnestrand was 14th (16:46.8) and senior Mia Gaw 17th (16:51.9). Another CU senior, Jenny Hamilton, finished 24th in 17:24.6, but she skied as an independent for the second straight day as she will be eligible to represent Colorado on the first day of classes, which is Monday.

In the men's 15km race, Utah's Snorri Einarsson edged Denver's Rene Reisshauer by just over a second, winning in a 27:31.2 time. CU was led by sophomore Matt Gelso, who turned in a 27:47.8 time, while senior Kit Richmond finished eighth in 28:17.6. Freshman Jesper Ostensen was CU's third scorer, placing 11th in 28:36.3. Three other Buffs placed down the line a bit, as junior Karl Nygren was 25th (29:50.0), with sophomores Josh Smith 26th (29:59.2) and Joaquin Goodpaster 30th (30:20.1).

Zikova, who won her 12th career race Friday when he captured the slalom, finished third in Saturday's women's giant slalom in a two-run time of 2:04.11. Utah's Eva Huckova won in 2:01.25, posting a two-and-a-half second win over Denver's Jenny Lathrop (2:03.78). Zikova had the second fastest run the first time down the hill, but had the ninth best clocking her second time down and thus remains one win short of tying Per Kare Jakobsen for the all-time CU lead. He won 13 men's cross country titles in the late 1980s to lead all Buff skiers, with Zikova and John Skajem next on the list with 12 (Skajem skied in the mid-1980s). Zikova and Jakobsen share the record for the most wins in any discipline with nine, but Grevsgaard is sneaking up as she now has seven classical wins.

Rokos loves the fact that he has two skiers competing for such a distinction, the first time in CU's illustrious history two members of the same squad have attained double figures in wins.

"The competition is lovely because it's right at home, and we now have two competing to make history," he said. "It's good because it shows the strength of the team and it's important not to have to peaks and valleys, and we have two real solid peaks there. It helps everyone, the others can relax a little knowing we're almost certain to always have a podium finish by Lucie and Maria, yet it is still intense. It really helps in training because you have everyone measuring themselves against the best."

Utah placed three in the top six for the second straight day to win the event with 81 points, with CU second with 73 as the Buffs had three in the top nine. Freshman Katie Hartman took eighth in 2:05.57 (fourth after the morning run), with senior Rachel Roosevelt ninth in 2:05.70, as she had the fourth fastest run in the afternoon.

Junior Lisa Perricone was 14th in 2:06.72, rebounding from 34th in Friday's slalom, with freshman Ashley Babcock 21st (2:08.49) and sophomore Heidi Hillenbrand 31st (2:13.96).

New Mexico's Tor Fodnesbergene won the men's slalom with a two-run time of 1:41.92, riding the fastest first run time to the victory over Nevada's Gregory Berger (1:42.50). Denver used fourth, fifth and ninth place finishes to score 75 points to win the event as a team, edging Utah (73.5), UNM (64.5) and CU (63).

Colorado was led by sophomore Drew Roberts, as he posted a seventh place finish in 1:43.58. Sophomore Stefan Hughes had placed in that spot with a 1:43.35 time, but was disqualified well after the race for straddling a gate. Another sophomore, Armen Serebrakian, was CU's third scorer, coming in 15th in 1:45.49. Junior Josh Bryan also picked up a top 20 finish, placing 18th in 1:48.63.

CU would have finished second by two points over DU had Hughes not been DQ'd. "That's going to happen, and usually it's a close call," Rokos said. "I didn't personally see it, and Stefan wasn't sure. But we can't dwell on it, and we'll be fine."

Juniors Patrick Duran (36th, 2:08.61) and Tony Cesolini (38th, 2:14.96) both had troubles in their second runs (falling and skiing off the course) and had to hike.

Next up is the Nordic competition in Colorado's Invitational, as the alpine events took place in Steamboat Springs last weekend. Host CU takes the lead into the resumption of the meet, as the Buffs scored 278 points for a 19-point edge over Denver. Just 43 points separate the top five heading into the four cross country races, as New Mexico (252), Utah (242) and Nevada (235) are still in the hunt.

Utah Invitational Team Scores-1. Utah 585.5; 2. Denver 550; 3. Colorado 543; 4. Alaska-Anchorage 442; 5. Montana State 413.5; 6. New Mexico 391.5; 7. Nevada 378.5; 8. Whitman 171; 9. Western State 158; 10. Wyoming 42.