Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Alaska Invitational (Nordic)
Men's Nordic Sweep Keeps CU In Second In Alaska
January 09, 2009 | Skiing
ANCHORAGE & GIRDWOOD, Alaska ? The University of Colorado ski team made some school history here Friday with the first known 1-2-3 sweep in a men's Nordic race in school history as the Buffaloes hold second place at the three-fourths point of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Invitational.
Due to some quirky scheduling and weather issues, there are two meets being conducted simultaneously; Friday's events were all part of the Alaska Invitational, which now through six events has host Alaska-Anchorage in the lead with 420 points. Colorado is in second (410), followed by New Mexico (378), Denver (358) and Utah (354). This meet won't conclude until Sunday's alpine races.
The Seawolf Invitational, which will resume Saturday with four events, has Utah ahead with 147 points, followed by host Alaska-Anchorage (135), Denver (132), Colorado (131) and Nevada (124). It will conclude on Sunday with Nordic competition.
In the men's 10-kilometer classic, sophomore Jesper Ostensen won the interval start competition in a 28:07.1 time, scoring his first collegiate win in the process. The first-team All-American had two third place finishes last winter, including one in the freestyle at the NCAA Championships. Freshman Vegard Kjoelhamar nabbed second in 28:12.3, and junior Matt Gelso third in 28:52.1 to complete the Buffalo sweep.
It was CU's first-ever 1-2-3 sweep in men's Nordic action since the sport went coed in 1983, and what records are available prior to that time indicate it had never happened in school history. It was the first all-podium finish by any Buffalo unit since the women's alpine team swept the giant slalom at the 2006 Western State Invitational; Lucie Zikova (first), Lisa Perricone (second) and Sabrina Mocellin (third) hogged the podium that day.
“That was obviously a great effort at the front end of the season,” CU Nordic Coordinator Bruce Cranmer said. “The men seem to be really strong. It was borderline as far as the temperature was concerned but we were cleared to race, and it was a tight one at that. You can't complain with that kind of an effort and it was really awesome to see such a solid finish. It's been so cold here that training hasn't been great.”
In the women's 5k classic, senior Maria Grevsgaard took fifth in 17:03.3; Denver's Antje Maempel won in 16:35.7. The CU all-time record holder in wins with 19 is still nowhere near 100 percent after battling a stomach flu-like disorder earlier in the week. Sophomore Alexa Turzian was seventh in 17:18.4. CU only has two Nordic women on the trip, and just three others on the roster at present.
“The girls did okay,” he added. “Alexa had hip surgery this fall and is still not finished rehabbing, so she'll likely sit out tomorrow per doctor's orders, and Maria's not back to 100 percent yet from illness. She'll get better and no one is worried about her and where the team is at.”
In the women's slalom, New Mexico placed three skiers in the top four, with Estelle Pecherand-Charmet claiming the win in a two-run time of 1:37.65, good almost an eighth of a second win over Perricone. The CU senior posted a 1:38.44 time after recording the fifth fastest runs for both the morning and afternoon runs to pace three Buffs in the top 10. Sophomore newcomer Carolina Nordh was sixth in 1:38.98, though had posted the fastest morning run of 50.27, and sophomore Katie Hartman claimed 10th in 1:40.34; she was third the first time down the hill in 50.44.
Sophomore Ashley Babcock (24th, 1:44.64), freshman Jennifer Allen (29th, 1:46.36) and junior Heidi Hillenbrand (disqualified on her first run) completed the CU's contingent performances Friday.
In the men's giant slalom, New Mexico's Nikolai Finne won in a two-run time of 1:53.24, edging Alaska's Halfdan Falkum-Hansen by three one-hundredths of a second. The Buffs placed five skiers in the top 14, including two in the top 10, one of its best performances in a men's alpine race in quite some time.
Junior Arman Serebrakian posted his career collegiate best with a sixth place finish in 1:54.93, with senior Tony Cesolini matching his with an eighth place effort in 1:55.13. Juniors Patrick Duran (12th, 1:56.37) and Drew Roberts (13th, 1:56.64) and freshman Taggart Spenst (14, 1:56.69) bolstered the top 10 performers, with Roberts posting the third fastest afternoon run (52.04) to zoom from 20th to 13th in the final standings.
“We had one of our better days in a long time in men's alpine,” head coach Richard Rokos said. “It was encouraging to see, but I believe it is only the tip of the iceberg. We need to keep working hard and make this a regular thing. We have several guys capable of cracking the top five as well as reaching the top of the podium, so we are headed in the right direction. Lisa skied very well, the UNM girl had an amazing second run and completely smoked the entire field, leaving the battle for runner-up honors.”
The remaining schedule is as follows for the two competitions:
Saturday, January 10 ? Seawolf Invitational: Nordic classical races (10/15 km)
Seawolf Invitational: women's giant slalom, men's slalom
Sunday, January 11 ? Seawolf Invitational: Nordic freestyle races (10/15 km)
UAA Invitational: men's giant slalom, women's slalom
The action will then shift to Colorado next week for the CU Invitational, which will run Wednesday through Saturday in both Eldora and Aspen.
UAA Invitational Team Scores (6 events)?1. Alaska-Anchorage 420; 2. Colorado 410; 3. New Mexico 378; 4. Denver
358; 5. Utah 354; 6. Montana State 303; 7. Nevada 257; 8. Whitman 138; 8. Wyoming 47.
