Colorado University Athletics
Buffaloes Set To Host Own Ski Invitational
January 13, 2009 | Skiing
ELDORA & ASPEN, Colo. - The University of Colorado ski team will host the 15th Annual University of Colorado / Laura Sharpe Flood Memorial Ski Invitational, set for Eldora and Aspen on Wednesday through Saturday. The alpine events will take place at the Eldora Ski Resort's LaBelle Trail Wednesday through Friday with the Nordic races set for Aspen Friday and Saturday.
The third day of alpine races on Friday will be slalom races on and are officially a qualifier race for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association and will not be scored as part of the CU Invitational.  Similar giant slalom races will take place prior to the Denver Invitational at Winter Park next month.
Wednesday's action will be comprised of men's and women's giant slalom races. The first run for the women will begin at 9 a.m. followed by the men at 10 a.m. Second runs will take place at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.
Thursday will begin with the men's slalom race, with the first run set to begin at 8:30 a.m. followed by the second run at 10 a.m. The women's slalom race will begin at 12:30 p.m. with a second run set for 2 p.m. Friday's RMISA Qualifier will follow the same schedule as Thursday's action.
On Friday, action in the CU Invite will turn to the Nordic competition, with the women's 5K classic and men's 10K classic at the Aspen High School course. Saturday the meet will conclude with the men's and women's 21K freestyle race at the Owl Creek Chase at the Snowmass Cross Country Center.Â
All eight western region teams will compete in the meet, including Alaska Anchorage, Denver, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Whitman along with the Buffs. Wyoming, an associate RMISA member fielding only Nordic teams, will also participate in Aspen.
The Buffs are off to a solid start to the 2009 season, capturing the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational last week, one of two meets run simultaneously by host Alaska Anchorage. UAA won the Seawolf Invitational while the Buffs finished third in the other meet. Colorado sits at second place in the RMISA standings through two of four regular season meets.Â
The men's Nordic squad has been particularly impressive for the Buffaloes, as the trio of Jesper Ostensen, Vegard Kjoelhamar and Matt Gelso combined for a 1-2-3 finish in the freestyle races of both Alaska meets. In all, the three Buffs have already combined for 11 top five finishes. Ostensen won both freestyle races while Kjoelhamar won the classical race in the Seawolf Invitational, as well.
Maria Grevsg?rd, who battled illness all week long, still managed three top 10 finishes and won the 20th race of her storied career, taking the title in the classical race in the Seawolf Invitational.  The Buffs raced with just two women's Nordic skiers in Alaska, and newcomer Alexa Turzian won her first race as a Buffalo, picking up the title in the women's freestyle race in the UAA Invitational.Â
In alpine action, the men were paced by newcomer Gabriel Rivas, who picked up a victory in the men's slalom race at the UAA Invitational. The women didn't pick up an individual win, but racked up more points than any other school over the two Alaska meets. Katie Hartman, Lisa Perricone and Carolina Nordh all made the podium for CU.
The invitational serves to honor the late Laura Flood and is named in her memory. A sophomore on the CU ski team at the time of her death, she died instantly at Eldora when she fell and hit a tree while training on April 13, 1990.
