Skiers Take Over Lead In CU Invitational

January 06, 2008 | Skiing

CU Ski Invitational Results (Day 2)Men's Slalom (Official FIS Results)Women's Slalom (Official FIS Results)

By: CUBuffs.com

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS - The University of Colorado ski team used a team win in the slalom races Sunday to move into the lead at the midway point of the 14th Annual Laura Sharpe Flood Memorial/CU Invitational.

Colorado took over the lead from rival Denver, as the Buffs scored 146 points in the men's and women's slalom for a four-event total of 278 points, good for a 19-point lead over the Pioneers (259). CU had trailed DU by 20 points after Saturday's giant slalom. New Mexico sits in third with 252 points, followed by Utah (242), Nevada (235) and Alaska-Anchorage (205).

The cross country portion of the meet will take place in two weeks (Jan. 19-20) at Snow Mountain Ranch outside of Winter Park. This is the first time since the sport went coed in 1983 and just the third time ever that Colorado is hosting the first meet of the season; mainly Utah, Montana State and Alaska-Anchorage have rotated their invitationals in the opening slot in the past.

The area continued to be bombarded with snow on Sunday, from light to heavy snow throughout the day and during the slalom. Winds gusted to 15 miles per hour at times to add to the challenges the slalom already offers.

To say that senior Lucie Zikova cruised to a win in the slalom would be an understatement, as she held nearly a full second lead (.99 to be exact) after the first run in posting a two-run time of 1:23.48 to win by 1.69 seconds over New Mexico's Malin Hemmingsson, considered a rout in slalom.

The win was the 11th of Zikova's career, tying her for third all-time in wins by a CU skier; she is already the record holder for the most victories by an alpine woman. Per Kare Jakobsen won 13 men's cross country titles to lead all Buff skiers, followed by John Skajem, the alpine leader with 12. Line Selnes and Anette Skjolden won 11 women's Nordic events, as Zikova pulled even with the pair for the most wins by a woman in program history.

She tied Skajem for the most slalom wins with eight, and trails Jakobsen by one for the most wins in any discipline; he captured nine freestyle cross country races in his career. It was also the second straight collegiate slalom at night she won at Steamboat, matching her memory from the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Zikova was modest on her move up CU's charts. "I definitely think that's really cool and it's good, but really it's just a statistic to me, which is not why I am skiing," she said. "I'm skiing because I am having fun skiing and to me that's what matters."

She also enjoyed her last collegiate races at Steamboat. "I always like to ski on this hill and come up to Steamboat," she said. "A lot of our team is from here and it's almost like being at home for me. I think that really helps us. We all usually do pretty well here because it's just a really great atmosphere. The course is short and fast, but it has a lot of terrain and it's just really fun to ski here."

"I think that we're doing well as a team because we just really get along great, which can be a very important thing," Zikova added. "We have a lot of fun together and we're doing well. We have more fun than anyone else and ski faster than anyone else."

CU freshman Katie Hartman finished fifth for the second straight day to bolster CU's effort, posting a 1:26.23 clocking, with junior Lisa Perricone finishing eighth in 1:26.40. That gave the Buffaloes 79 points for the race, which New Mexico matched to tie for top honors. The Buffs used a hefty 43-point margin over DU in the event to wrestle the meet lead away from the Pioneers.

Freshman Ashley Babcock finished 11th in 1:27.79, with sophomore Heidi Hillenbrand 22nd in 1:31.08. Senior Rachel Roosevelt was disqualified after falling and losing a ski and then didn't hike back to the proper spot to finish the run, according to race officials.

Denver junior John Buchar captured his second straight race out of the gate this winter by adding the slalom crown to the giant slalom title he won Saturday. Buchar was fifth after the first run but sizzled his second time down the Howelsen Hill run for a two-run time of 1:13.72, edging Utah's Thomas Zumbrunn by .16 of a second.

Colorado was led by sophomore Drew Roberts, who finished fifth in 1:14.32, the first of four Buffs in the top 13, as CU was the first school to have three scorers cross the finish line. Junior Josh Bryan took ninth in 1:15.51, followed by another junior, Tony Cesolini in 12th (1:16.44); sophomore Armen Serebrakian was 13th in 1:16.55.

Nevada won the men's event with 72 points, edging DU (71) and the Buffs (67).

"It's my home mountain and I grew up here, always skiing under the lights and that's definitely an advantage for me," Roberts said. "Things usually gets better, the more we race the faster we get since we don't get a lot of training before races. I think that we followed up better in the second runs."

"Overall as a team, we're pretty solid," he added. "We definitely have a lot of potential. Yesterday we saw some good skiing, but just didn't perform as well as we all hoped but it still gives us a lot of confidence when the girls are so strong. Now we just have to make sure that we back them up and we're definitely capable of that.

"The conditions were sweet," Roberts continued. "The snow was really good, but still some of our guys slipped up and I think that's just kind of the way it goes. Stefan is usually one of our top guys and today he showed what can happen when you have little bobble and it can really affect your entire race. It was great to see our other guys who usually start further back do so well and do their part and really help us out."

Buchar also liked the conditions. "The snow was great today; it might have been a little worse for the girls as they had more snow coming down, but I thought that it was absolutely great," he said. "You definitely don't get these conditions too often, at least not in Colorado.

"I definitely think that we gained some confidence this weekend, especially in the GS. Today our girls struggled a bit, I think only two of them made it down smooth without hiking back up, but that happens. Overall things went well."

"This was a good race for us," CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "It's great to do the things that we need to do right at the beginning of the season and having done it in Steamboat, that's always an accomplishment in its own right.

"The women were awesome,' he continued. "They really tried hard today and it showed. Our guys didn't stay behind and they did a good job of showing their ability to come back and they showed a lot of heart. I am proud of all of them."

Rokos is also excited for his star alpine skier, Zikova, as she is flirting with history. "She still has a full year in front of her (10 races remaining), so winning one the first weekend gives her momentum and a great opportunity to exceed the expectations of the all-time record. When you look at our history of who has skied for Colorado, it's no small achievement what she has already done and what she may be able to do."

Prior to CU's invitational resuming in two weeks, the alpine teams will unite with their respective nordic squads for the Utah Invitational this coming Saturday and Sunday in Park City and Soldier Hollow, Utah. The Buffs will stay in Steamboat Sunday night and drive the five hours over to the Salt Lake area Monday morning to train during the week.

"It will be tough, no question," Rokos said of the Utah meet. "The competition is strong and after leading this weekend they will be out to beat us. It looks like we have a strong women's side but if our guys continue to ski consistently that will compliment the women well."

CU Invitational Team Scores?1. Colorado 278; 2. Denver 259; 3. New Mexico 252; 4. Utah 242; 5. Nevada 235; 6. Alaska-Anchorage 205; 7. Montana State 166; 8. Western State 129; 9. Whitman 57.