Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
RMISA Western Regionals
Skiers Take Over Second In RMISA Championships
February 20, 2009 | Skiing
RENO, Nev. ? The University of Colorado ski team utilized eight top 10 finishes, including one win, to vault from fourth into second place through six events here Friday in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships, an event that also doubles as the NCAA West Regional.
New Mexico extended its first day lead from 10 points to 32, as the Lobos head into the final two events with 428 team points; Colorado is second with 396, followed by Denver and Nevada (371 each), Utah (345) and Alaska-Anchorage (341). The Buffs entered the day 27 points behind, and scored in a virtual dead heat with UNM Friday: the Buffs outpointed the Lobos 134-133 in the Nordic classical races, while UNM edged CU in the giant slalom, 144-138.
Colorado is the defending champion, and is looking to take over the lead in titles since the sport went coed in 1983. Colorado and Utah are tied for the most RMISA titles with 10; Denver (four), New Mexico and Wyoming (one each) claimed the other six. The Lobos lone title came back in 1992. Nine of CU's titles are under current head coach Richard Rokos, including the 2008 crown. The Buffs have won the most overall with 23 (11 in men's competition between 1950 and 1982 and two in women's action (1978, 1979); Denver is next with 18.
In the women's giant slalom, sophomore Carolina Nordh picked up Colorado's first win by a women's alpine skier this winter. Starting in the 19th position, she zoomed into fourth after the first run and then overtook the remaining three with a stellar second run, completing the two runs in 2:00.94. Denver's Ida Dillingoeen was second in 2:01.17.
Nordh became CU's first giant slalom titlist in the RMISA Championships in a decade; the last Buff to win was Aimee-Noel Hartley in 1999.
“This morning I felt like it was going to be a great day,” Nordh said. “On the first run I started 19th, and though the snow was better today there were still ruts. I just tried to go as fast and straight as I could. I was going for the top spot but there are a lot of good skiers here so I'm very happy.”
Sophomore Katie Hartman posted her third top five finish this winter in claiming fifth in 2:01.41, as she was in the middle of seven skier pack spaced just .78 of a second apart. Senior Lisa Perricone was CU's third scorer, finishing 13th in 2:02.56. Other Buff results included freshman Jennifer Allen (18th, 2:03.56) and junior Heidi Hillenbrand (29th, 2:12.04); sophomore Ashley Babcock did not finish her first run.
In the men's giant slalom, UNM's Petter Brenna added to his regional hardware after winning Thursday's slalom, this time winning in a two-run time of 2:00.01, well over a second ahead of Utah's Thomas Zumbrunn (2:01.10). Colorado placed three in the top 13, matched only by Alaska-Anchorage, with senior Tony Cesolini leading the way with a seventh place finish in 2:02.07. Junior Arman Serebrakian claimed ninth in 2:02.56, with junior Gabriel Rivas 13th in 2:03.22, despite starting way back in the 37th position.
“Coming into it I knew I had to either win or get a top four finish to qualify for NCAA's,” Cesolini said. “I had a great first run, on the second run I skied okay but it just wasn't enough. The first course was a great course and I was really into it, it was more up my alley. The second course was pretty round, and I thought I'd do well but struggled a little bit.
“I'm hoping that we're in position to win regionals,” he added. “We did pretty well and I feel and have a great shot at nationals.”
“It definitely helped that I am close to home where I grew up training,” Serebrakian said. “My parents were here watching for the first time in a long time. The snow conditions are familiar to me, so everything made me feel more comfortable. I knew what I had to do to qualify but I tried not to put too much pressure on myself. I knew I had to go for it.”
Junior Drew Roberts and freshman Taggart Spenst tied for 18th place with 2:03.79 times, with junior Stefan Hughes (25th, 2:04.87) and Patrick Duran (33rd, 2:08.70) rounding out the CU men's performances.
“It was a very good day for us, much better than what we endured Thursday in slalom,” Rokos said. “The guys skied well in the giant slalom even though we didn't take the top places. It was a great effort on the men's side. Tony was second after the first run, which is probably his best collegiate finish after a single run and Arman right behind him was outstanding for us.
“On the ladies side, Carolina winning the race and Katie getting fifth overall was also just a great day. Again, the conditions were tough but we coped with it a lot better especially in the GS, which is not typically our strongest event.”
Friday marked the first day of Nordic competition in these championships, and the Buffs won the men's 10-kilometer race as a team, while taking fourth in the women's 5K.
Freshman Reid Pletcher continued his second-half success this season with a third place effort in 27:23.9; Utah's Even Sletten captured the interval start race in 27:00.4. It was Pletcher's third straight top four finish after beginning the year with three finishes down the line in the teens.
“Today was another classic 10K race which is my favorite discipline,” Pletcher said. “The conditions were great and the snow was really fast. It was nice and warm which is a change from the cold slow snow. It's hard to wax for these conditions because balance between gliding and kicking but we nailed it and the key to success was pacing it right, starting strong and finishing strong and keeping it real the whole time.”
Pletcher had plenty of support, with four Buffs in the top 11. Junior Matt Gelso grabbed fifth in 27:42.9, sophomore Jesper Ostensen was seventh in 27:50.7 and senior Josh Smith 11th in 28:11.3. Ostensen had been sick and is starting to return to form.
Other CU finishers included freshman Vegard Kjoelhamar (16th, 28:22.5), junior Karl Nygren (17th, 28:27.9) and sophomore Patrick Neel (21st, 28:36.2).
In the women's race, senior Maria Grevsgaard took third in 15:08.4, behind New Mexico's Polina Ermoshina, who won in a 14:59.8 time, and Denver's Antje Maempel (15:02.8). It snapped a four-race winning streak for Grevsgaard, who was featured in this week's Faces in the Crowd in Sports Illustrated, but was still her 34th podium finish (top three) in 45 career races, tying the all-time school record set by Lucie Zikova just last year.
ALL-TIME PODIUM (TOP THREE) FINISHES BY CU SKIERS
34 Maria Grevsgaard, Nordic, 2006-09 (24 wins; 7 seconds; 3 thirds)
34 Lucie Zikova, Alpine, 2005-08 (16-11-7)
25 Per Kare Jakobsen, Nordic, 1988-90 (13-6-6)
22 Unni Odegard, Nordic, 1998-2000 (1-8-13)
22 Andreja Rojs, Alpine, 1991-94 (5-9-8)
22 Anette Skjolden, Nordic, 1991-93 (11-7-5)
22 Bjorn Svensson, Nordic, 1990-93 (10-10-2)
19 John Skajem, Alpine, 1986-87 (12-5-2)
“It was really close with three girls within nine seconds of each other,” Grevsgaard said. “I felt good today and it was nice and warm and I am excited to go out and race tomorrow. It's should be fun.”
Sophomore Alexa Turzian finished 12th in 16:10.4, while freshman Katie Stege was 33rd in 18:08.8. The women's Nordic squad will be the only CU unit not to qualify a full three-skier team for NCAA's, but between Grevsgaard and Turzian might very well be able to overcome it.
“The guys skied well and I'm pretty happy with today,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “We're always looking at who's scoring points for the team and the three guys that scored were in the top seven so that's a solid finish. Jesper is still battling and not feeling 100 percent but hopefully he will come around. Fifth is obviously not bad but we've set the bar high this season and other guys are stepping it up which is great.
“We skied well and the girls had a good day,” he continued. “Alexa is a little off the pace, today was tricky. It was one of those days where it was hard to have perfect skis and the changing snow made it hard to make the wax work in all course locations. Maria had a solid day and skied well also. She's not going to win every race all the time so I felt really good about today. We're saving our best for last and plan to step it up tomorrow.”
“This weekend was positive for us in the fact that, contrary to previous year, we qualified five men for NCAA Championships and have time to decide who to take instead of how to take it,” Rokos said of the men's alpine team. “With the ladies it was a similar situation so that's good for us going into NCAA's. Now it's just time for us to focus on the smaller group and keep training and make sure that we're ready. We have a little bit longer layoff between regionals and nationals this year, so we have to approach things a little bit different to be sure we'll peak in Maine.”
The meet concludes Saturday with the Nordic freestyle races, the men's 15-kilometer at 10 a.m. mountain time and the women's 10K at 11:30 a.m. Both will be held at the Auburn Ski Club in Truckee, Calif.
RMISA Championship Team Scores?1. New Mexico 428; 2. Colorado 396; 3 (tie). Denver and Nevada 371;
5. Utah 345; 6. Alaska-Anchorage 341; 7. Montana State 251; 8. Whitman 161.
Men's Giant Slalom (38 finishers)?1. Petter Brenna, UNM, 2:00.01; 2. Thomas Zumbrunn, Utah, 2:01.10; 3. Gregory Berger, UN, 2:01.37; 4. Halfdan Falkum-Hansen, UAA, 2:01.58; 5. John Buchar, DU, 2:01.59; 6. Scott Veenis, Utah, 2:01.64; 7. Tony Cesolini, CU, 2:02.07; 8. Jonathan Hverven, UAA, 2:02.54; 9. Arman Serebrakian, CU, 2:02.56; 10. Shane Collins, UN, 2:02.57. Other CU Results?13. Gabriel Rivas, 2:03.22; 18. Taggart Spenst and Drew Roberts, 2:03.79; 25. Stefan Hughes, 2:04.87; 33. Patrick Duran, 2:08.70.
Women's Giant Slalom (33 finishers)?1. Carolina Nordh, CU, 2:00.94; 2. Ida Dillingoeen, DU, 2:01.17; 3. Malin Hemmingsson, UNM, 2:01.23; 4. Stefanie Demetz, UNM, 2:01.29; 5. Katie Hartman, CU, 2:01.41; 6. Eva Huckova, Utah, 2:01.65; 7. Alexandra Parker, UAA, 2:01.91; 8. Estelle Pecherand-Charmet, UNM, 2:01.95; 9. Katie Lyons, UN, 2:02.13; 10. Chelsea Laswell, Utah, 2:02.19. Other CU Results?13. Lisa Perricone, 2:02.56; 18. Jennifer Allen, 2:03.56; 29. Heidi Hillenbrand, 2:12.04. Did Not Finish?Ashley Babcock (1st run).
Women's 5K Classical (37 finishers)?1. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 14:59.8; 2. , Antje Maempel, DU, 15:02.8; 3. Maria Grevsgaard, CU, 15:08.4; 4. Sadie Bjornsen, UAA, 15:37.7; 5. Annelise Bailly, DU, 15:39.9; 6. Laura Rombach, UAA, 15:55.0; 7. Kristin Ronnestrand, UN, 16:02.1; 8. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 16:07.9; 9. Kate Dolan, DU, 16:09.3; 10. Melanie Zemp, UNM, 16:09.6. Other CU Results: 12. Alexa Turzian, 16:10.4; 33. Katie Stege, 18:08.8.
Men's 10K Classical (36 finishers)?1. Even Sletten, UU, 27:00.4; 2. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 27:17.1; 3. Reid Pletcher, CU, 27:23.9; 4. Martin Kaas, UNM, 27:33.8; 5. Matt Gelso, CU, 27:42.9; 6. Jonathan Pluvinet, UN, 27:49.6; 7. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 27:50.7; 8. Ryan Scott, MSU, 27:51.6; 9. Raphael Wunderle, UAA, 27:55.1; 10. Mike Hinckley, DU, 27:59.9. Other CU Results: 11. Josh Smith, 28:11.3; 16. Vegard Kjoelhamar, 28:22.5; 17, Karl Nygren, 28:27.9; 21, Patrick Neel, 28:36.2.
(Assistant SID Allie Musso contributed to this report.)
