Wednesday, March 5

Bohart Ranch, Mont.

All Day

Colorado

NCAA Championships

Skiers Take First Day Lead At NCAA Championships

March 05, 2008 | Skiing

Day 1 Results

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

BOZEMAN, Mont. - The University of Colorado ski team, behind a sweep of the top two spots in women's Nordic competition and an overall solid day from the men's unit, grabbed the lead after the first day of the 55th Annual NCAA Championships here Wednesday.

Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association and west regional champion, scored 186 points to zoom to the top of the standings through two of the eight events here. Northern Michigan, the central champ, was second with 153 points, but does not compete in alpine and won't factor in directly in the title hunt. Dartmouth, the defending NCAA champion and the eastern region titlist, was in third place tie with Middlebury and Denver, all with 141 points. Utah (140) and Alaska-Fairbanks (135) were the only other schools in the 21-team field over 100.

The Buffs did not qualify a full 12-skier team, coming up one men's alpine skier short, but the Nordic team built a solid cushion for their counterparts with Wednesday's efforts. Only Dartmouth, Middlebury and Utah have full teams competing, with Denver the only other with 11.

"We have a solid cushion right now, but there is nothing solid in concrete," head coach Richard Rokos said. "It definitely helps that we've overcome that handicap for one day, and it's all because of how great a job Bruce (Cranmer, Nordic coordinator) does coaching those teams and how they performed. The girls really killed it today, and taking the top two spots in the women's race collected a lot of points of us. But everyone performed well and it's both excited and challenged the alpine kids."

The Buffs last won the title in 2006, doing so one skier short and won by 98 points; the scoring format changed last year, but if applied to '06, CU still comfortably would have won by 75. This marks the first time since 1999 that CU has led after the first day.

Senior Maria Grevsgaard won her 10th race in 11 tries this winter, but it was the biggest of her career as she finally made it to the top of the podium in claiming the women's 5-kilometer freestyle race. As has been her trademark all year, she did it in dominant fashion, winning in a 17:09.8 time as she skated to a 24-plus second win.

Grevsgaard added to her school record individual win count, as the victory was the 18th of her career. She is a junior in eligibility and plans on returning next winter for a fourth season. Grevsgaard is the fifth Buffalo woman to be crowned the NCAA champion in the freestyle, joining Annette Skjolden (1992), Line Selnes (1998), Katka Hanusova (2000) and Jana Rehemaa (2006). Selnes owns the CU single season win record of 11, all in her only year in the program, and Grevsgaard has a chance to tie it in Friday's classical race.

Rehemaa was her teammate two years ago and is now CU's assistant Nordic coach. Grevsgaard is from Geilo, Norway, and she joined Skjolden (Honefoss) and Selnes (Trondheim) in becoming the third Norwegian to capture the title skiing for the Buffaloes.

"Getting my first NCAA win feels really good, I'm really excited," Grevsgaard said. "It's amazing that Lenka and I were able to finish one-two. It's the first race of NCAA's and we made up a lot of points, so it's just a good start.

"I felt really good on the course," she continued. "You always get a feel for how you are doing on the first K (kilometer) and I just started feeling better and better. I just focused on skiing and pushing hard the whole way. Having the alpiners and the other Nordics here cheering for us, spread out on the whole course, really helped me out and I was flying because they were pushing me. NCAA is one of the few times we actually perform with people cheering us on; alpine is usually skiing at the same time and often miles away.

"Right now I am just going to go (back to the hotel), relax, go out and ski tomorrow and then we'll be ready for Friday. I'll enjoy things for a couple of hours and then start thinking about Friday. I'm ready to ski fast again."

ALL-TIME INDIVIDUAL WINS BY CU SKIERS

18 Maria Grevsgaard, 2006-08 (11 CL, 7 FS)

14 Lucie Zikova, 2005-08 (11 SL, 3 GS)

13 Per Kare Jakobsen, 1988-90 (9 FS/XC, 4 CL)

12 John Skajem, 1985-87 (8 SL, 4 GS)

11 Anette Skjolden, 1991-93 (7 CL, 4 FS)

11 Line Selnes, 1998 (6 FS, 5 CL)

10 Bjorn Svensson, 1990-93 (6 FS, 4 CL)

Overall, she became CU's 75th NCAA champion in the sport, as CU extended its lead over second place Denver (69) in the category. It was also the 18th win in a meet by a Buffalo skier this season, the fourth most since the sport went coed in 1983 and trailing only the 2006 (21), 1998 (20) and 1991 (19) squads, all of which won national titles.

The race featured an interval start (skiers were spaced 30 second apart), and when all 39 performers finished, the runner-up was also a Buff. Senior Lenka Palanova recorded her best finish of the season, completing the course in 17:34.0. Palanova had finished third four times this winter, and posted her best finish since claiming the freestyle race in CU's own invitational in 2006.

"This was definitely a great way for me to start," Palanova said. "I really liked the course actually. Last year NCAA's was more flat, but I like it hilly, like up and down rolling. We're used to high elevation and I think that was an advantage for us over the other schools.

Palanova was actually the last of the 39 skiers to start, as she got the position in the random draw. "Starting last today wasn't that much of an advantage because you have to go as fast as possible anyways, but I definitely like the feeling that nobody can pass me," she explained.

"Being able to ski here 10 days ago for sure helped because it's really good to know the course," she added. "We came here on Saturday and we skied the course again and again so that definitely helps us when it comes race time. But when I first started, I wasn't sure exactly how I was doing. I kept thinking that my legs didn't feel good at all.

"Everywhere on the course all of the alpiners and the other Nordic skiers were out there cheering and pushing you and you just don't want to slow down," Palanova continued. "So you push and hammer. Someone called out and told me that I was in fourth and I thought that was pretty good, and then another person later told me I was in second and I knew I had to go faster and push. I was tired but I kept going. I finished sixth at NCAA's two years ago in Steamboat so this feels awesome." She was 30th in both disciplines last year in New Hampshire, the result of what coaches determined to be overtraining.

Grevsgaard and Palanova both earned first-team All-America honors for their efforts.

Denver's Annelise Bailly finished third to give the west all the medal positions, with western schools dominating the top 10 with five finishers; three came from the central region and two from the east. Sophomore Karoline Borgnes finished 20th to round of the Colorado athletes here, posting a 19:18.4 clocking.

Colorado scored 97 points for the event, as the 1-2 sweep netted 77 in the 39-38-37-etc. scoring base. NMU scored 95, Dartmouth 83 and Middlebury 81.

"This was very exciting for the women today," Cranmer said. "Things like this, when you know what they can do and what they're capable of and then they actually exceed that. I know that Maria had it in her, she's done so well all year, but you just never know exactly how she'll stack up against the east but I was confident that she was still going to be very strong. It's exciting for her to finally get an NCAA win after a lot of hard work.

"Maria and Lenka with the one-two finish, I'm really happy for them," he added. "It's Maria's first NCAA win and for Lenka this was her best finish of the year and to do it here was awesome. She was a big hit, too. I know that skating (freestyle) is usually a bit stronger for her but for her to get second was just awesome.

In the men's 10-kilometer race, Dartmouth's Glenn Randall was crowned champion in a time of 30:37.3, as he topped Alaska-Anchorage's Marius Korthauer by 11 seconds. Both were skiing 1-2 at the 5k mark, separated by six seconds at that split.

CU freshman Jesper Ostensen claimed the bronze with a third place finish in 31:03.2, as he moved up two spots from fifth at the halfway point. Senior Kit Richmond finished 11th in 31:43.1, slipping a bit from seventh at the 5k mark, with sophomore Matt Gelso placing 17th in 32:22.5, dropping one spot from his position at the split.

"A podium finish for my first NCAA race feels very good," Ostensen said. "I definitely did not expect it. I was hoping for a top 10 today so a podium is just awesome. It was a little intimidating after the girl's finished so well, but it pushed me at the same time. I was in the lead from the first split I heard, or tied with Matt (Gelso) and then I fell to second. On the last uphill I heard that I was ten seconds in the lead so I did a super-sprint the last 500 meters before the finish and then I gained a good amount of time."

Ostensen's third place effort was the second best by a Buffalo male Nordic performer in their first NCAA race, bested only by Per Kare Jakobsen, who won the 15-kilometer cross country race in the 1988 championships (the other event in those days was a relay).

"A big factor for me today was all of the cheering," he added. "I had excellent coaches who made my skis super fast and a great team to support me. I felt awesome today, but normally I am stronger in classic. Friday will be very exciting."

TOP FINISHES IN FIRST CAREER NCAA EVENT BY CU SKIERS (since 1983)

1st Kristen Petty, 1985 (Nordic)

1st Per Kare Jakobsen, 1988 (Nordic)

1st Ian Witter, 1989 (Alpine, giant slalom)

1st Toni Standteiner, 1991 (Alpine, giant slalom)

1st Sean Ramsden, 1993 (Alpine, giant slalom)

1st Line Selnes, 1998 (Nordic, classical)

1st Katka Hanusova, 2000 (Nordic, freestyle)

2nd Chris Pedersen, 1990 (Alpine, giant slalom)

2nd Andreja Rojs, 1991 (Alpine, giant slalom)

2nd Caroline Gedde-Dahl, 1996 (Alpine, giant slalom)

2nd Mari Storeng, 2001 (Nordic, classical)

2nd Maria Grevsgaard, 2006 (Nordic, classical)

3rd Jessica Ochs, 1995 (Alpine, giant slalom)

3rd Linda Wikstrom, 1999 (Alpine, giant slalom)

3rd Jesper Ostensen, 2008 (Nordic, freestyle)

"For a lot of the race, Jesper was fighting around eighth and ninth and he wasn't in there until right near the end so he really came on strong," Cranmer noted. "With Matt still being sick, it was hard for him and I think that he just didn't have everything out there. I think he raced reasonably well, but he just didn't have his best day.

"Kit said that he just felt kind of flat today," Cranmer said of CU's top male performer this winter, who had won the last three races in the west, including being crowned the regional champ in both classical and freestyle. "After winning here less than 10 days ago here I would have thought he would have been in the hunt for a podium finish or even win, so sometimes you just don't know how your body is going to be on any given day. You hope that it's in great form but you just never know.

The CU men also won the race as a team with 89 points, topping Utah (80), Denver (74), Alaska-Fairbanks (73) and New Mexico (65).

"Friday will be better for all of our guys, for Karoline and even Maria because we're normally a better classic team," Cranmer concluded. "It'll be hard though once the sun comes out and it could be tricky and a little tougher but we'll go out there strong and hope for a strong finish."

Alpine takes center stage next in these championships. Thursday at the Bridger Bowl, the giant slaloms will be run through completion: the men start at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women at 1:00 p.m.

Rokos said the conditions are not optimum for alpine on Thursday, but the western schools will still have an advantage. "It's what some call champagne powder I guess. There's a hard layer of snow over about a foot of softer stuff, and then packed powder under that. We're used to it, but the eastern schools rarely see this and it could be tough on them."

The men up first with both runs should help the CU women, as they will know going in if they'll need to ski ultraconservative depending on their finishes. Sophomore Drew Roberts will ski 29th and junior Josh Bryan 31st; the women drew better seeds based on season performance, with senior Lucie Zikova to start seventh, junior Lisa Perricone 14th and senior Rachel Roosevelt 21st.

The western schools conducted their regional two weeks ago on the same courses, and it appeared to benefit the Nordic performers in their first go-round. It remains to be seen if it has any affect on alpine.

The classical cross country races will be on Friday, with the men's 20k at 9:00 a.m. followed by the women's 15k at 11:00. The slalom races will finish off the NCAA meet on Saturday, the first runs are at 9:30 a.m. (women) and 10:30 (men); second runs follow at 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively.

55th Annual NCAA Championship Team Scores?1. Colorado 185; 2. Northern Michigan 153; 3. (tie) Dartmouth, Denver, Middlebury 141; 6. Utah 140; 7. Alaska-Fairbanks 135; 8. New Mexico 98; 9. Colby 62; 10. Alaska-Anchorage 57; 11. Nevada 51; 12. Vermont 50; 13. Montana State 46; 14. Bates 36; 15. Williams 28; 16. St. Scholastica 25; 17. New Hampshire 20; 18. Michigan Tech 15; 19. Wisconsin-Green Bay 14; 20. Gustavus Adolphus 13; 21. Whitman 7.