Skiers Finish Second At NCAA Championships
March 13, 2010
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS GÇö The University of Colorado ski team received a stellar performance from its Nordic team here Saturday, but despite three top three finishes and a fourth in the top 10, the Buffaloes just couldnGÇÖt make up much ground on eventual champion Denver and finished second in the 57th NCAA Skiing Championships.
The Pioneers claimed their third straight title, leading the meet from start to finish in accumulating 785.5 team points. They were the last school to lead from wire-to-wire, doing so in 2002, and also were the last to string together three straight titles (2000-02).
The Buffs entered the day in third place, with faint hopes of catching Denver but realistic ones to pass New Mexico into second; CU trailed DU by 85.5 points but UNM by just 31. After the menGÇÖs freestyle race, the Buffs had shaved just seven points off the Pioneer lead and picked up a single point on New Mexico. But the womenGÇÖs freestyle event closed the weekGÇÖs events, and the Buffalo women with their three top 10 efforts vaulted the team into second with 714 points, while New Mexico settled for third at 677.
Utah (595) and Dartmouth (523) rounded out the top five, and western schools again dominated, taking six of the top eight spots.
It marked the third straight year that CU had to settle for second to their neighbors to the southeast, and the ninth time the Buffaloes finished as the nationGÇÖs runner-up; with 16 NCAA titles, CU has 25 top two finishes in 54 appearances in the national meet.
GÇ£The Nordic team proved again to be in a class by itself, and there is no doubt that we have the best on in college skiing,GÇ¥ CU head coach Richard Rokos said. GÇ£We had more than our fair share of bad luck on the Alpine side, which is pretty much why we ended up where we were. But we made the mistakes that created most of that bad luck, Denver did not, skied well and congratulations to them.
GÇ£As for us, second place is never our goal, itGÇÖs an honorable standing, but for us, like always the title is the goal and we invest all our resources toward achieving that goal.GÇ¥
Rokos was correct about CUGÇÖs cross country performers, as they accounted for 418 of CUGÇÖs point total, the top Nordic performance here; Denver scored 377 points with Montana State third (316). CU scored the most menGÇÖs cross country points and the second most womenGÇÖs. The Alpine team, however, was fifth, though the women were third but the men 10th.
In the womenGÇÖs 15-kilometer race, DenverGÇÖs Antje Maempel and CUGÇÖs Alexa Turzian broke from the pack with about a kilometer to go, with Turzian ahead just before the pair entered the HowelsenGÇÖs stadium arena. Maempel, however, has a reputation for being one of the strongest collegiate sprinters, and she showcased that in passing then pulling away for the win, her second here this week. She won in a 41:03.0 time, while Turzian took runner-up honors in 41:09.0.
GÇ£I was a little more nervous than usual, just because there were a ton of people out here supporting us,GÇ¥ Turzian said of what turned out to be her second straight runner-up finish in the freestyle at the NCAAGÇÖs. GÇ£But thatGÇÖs also more to your benefit I think, so I just got super pumped up, I knew I was going to have to stay at the top three the whole time and keep time with Antje.
GÇ£Basically, I just didnGÇÖt want to take the lead, I just wanted to draft because thereGÇÖs some wind out here and thereGÇÖs a lot of hills,GÇ¥ she continued. GÇ£But I know IGÇÖm not a sprinter so I knew I had to take a lead. I tried to get out to a bigger lead near the end, but she stuck with me, which was a d+¬j+á vu of last year at NCAAGÇÖs. ItGÇÖs a little annoying, but IGÇÖd like to take a second rather than any other spot besides winning of course.
GÇ£IGÇÖm super psyched for us as a team, thatGÇÖs a great finish for us,GÇ¥ Turzian concluded. GÇ£We couldGÇÖve swept it, but we couldGÇÖve done a whole lot worse, too. If anything, IGÇÖm really happy with our team performance.GÇ¥
MaempelGÇÖs sweep this week of the classical and freestyle races was the 14th in 22 years by a Nordic woman, the last 11 of which were by western competitors, and the last two by Maempel, joining VermontGÇÖs Laura Wilson (1990-91) as the only pair to do it in back-to-back seasons.
CU sophomore Eliska Hajkova, who led much of the race, finished third in 41:42.5, as she was wedged between two packs of skiers. Freshman sensation Joanne Reid was in a group of eight behind her who were separated by 45 seconds; she finished 10th in 43:05.0. Turzian earned first-team All-America honors, as did Hajkova, who was awarded second-team honors in the classic on Thursday; Reid earned first-team honors in that race and plucked second-team accolades with her finish Saturday.
GÇ£I felt a lot better than I did on Thursday,GÇ¥ Hajkova said. GÇ£The first race, the classic race, we were pretty nervous. Today, it was our last race, we just wanted to enjoy it. IGÇÖm really excited. When I compare it to the Czech Republic, I never knew something like this, the whole team, working together, the whole team spirit. Everybody cheers for each other. It makes you so much stronger, I love it. School is awesome too. If you want to study and race together, you canGÇÖt in my country.GÇ¥
This marked the second time the CU women had two of the top three finishers in the freestyle at the NCAAGÇÖs; in 1998, Line Selnes won and Unni Odegard finished third. When Reid skied across the finish in 10th, it marked just the sixth time CU had three racers in the top 10 in the 22 years of the event.
Hajkova was the leader at the first 5K split, just ahead of Maempel, with Turzian fourth and Reid 10th; 16 seconds separated the top 10 at this juncture; at the two-thirds mark (10k), Hajkova held a 1.8-second edge, again over Maempel, with Turzian was in third, just another second back, while Reid still held 10th, though the three leaders had separated from the pack at that point. Reid was 56 seconds out of the lead, but only 29 out of fourth.
GÇ£It (womenGÇÖs race) was awesome. I was hoping if it came to a sprint, it would be Eliska because sheGÇÖs a better sprinter than Alexa,GÇ¥ CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. GÇ£But itGÇÖs exciting that Alexa got second, and she fought hard the whole race. It was a great day. They did an awesome job. With Joanne, all three made the top 10, you canGÇÖt ask for more than that. Joanne fought her heart out. It was a great team effort, the girls did an awesome job."
GÇ£The girls were consistent throughout their events, and having all back next year, a fairly new and young crew, things are looking good for the future,GÇ¥ Rokos added.
The menGÇÖs 20-kilometer freestyle led off the day, but did not tighten the standings at the top as expected; Montana State was the surprise team winner of the race, capturing the fifth, sixth and seventh spots for 111 team points. Colorado was next with 89, followed by New Mexico (88) and Denver (82); thus CU pulled only seven points closer to its in-state rival through seven events.
Senior Matt Gelso led the way again for the Buffaloes, finishing third in 49:23.5; he was in the lead pack that sprinted toward a fantastic finish, and when the smoke cleared, VermontGÇÖs Franz Bernstein (49:19.7) edged New MexicoGÇÖs Martin Kaas (49:20.9) and Gelso for the title. It was UVMGÇÖs fifth freestyle title, but the first since 1998.
Gelso earned first-team All-America honors for his effort, duplicating his feat in ThursdayGÇÖs classic. Juniors Jesper Ostensen (16th, 49:57.9) and Vegard Kjoelhamar (19th, 50:15.0) completed the CU menGÇÖs effort. Their times were well within a minute of the leader, but their lower finishes here show how balanced the field was: after 20 kilometers, or 12.4 miles of skiing, less than two minutes was the different between first and 29th.
At the 5k split, Gelso and Kjoelhamar ran 1-2, with Ostensen in 17th; at the midway point, all three had dropped a bit, into seventh, 10th and 20th, though it was still basically a pack at that point, as just 30 seconds separated the top 33 skiers with New MexicoGÇÖs Martin Kaas out in front. After three laps, or 15k, Montana StateGÇÖs Ryan Scott was the leader, with Gelso fourth, Kjoelhamar 12th and Ostensen 14th; it was still tight up front, with first and 20th separated by only 23 seconds.
Gelso was bidding to set an all-time consecutive wins record by a CU male, but instead will share the honor of ive straight with Ove Erik Tronvoll, who accomplished the feat the first five meets of the 1999 season. He did move into a fourth-place tie for the most podium finishes (top three) in school history with 22.
ALL-TIME PODIUM (TOP THREE) FINISHES BY CU SKIERS (Since 1983)
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)
22 Matt Gelso, Nordic, 2007-10 (7-4-11)
GÇ£Right out of the start, I felt pretty tired,GÇ¥ Gelso said. GÇ£In the warm up, I felt pretty tired, but thatGÇÖs happened before and IGÇÖve had some great races. On the first lap, I could feel my muscles were tired, my body was tired. I knew I was struggling a little bit, so I tactically just thought I would lead as much as I could and then see what happened.
GÇ£I wouldGÇÖve liked to have avoided a sprint at the end, because the guy who won (Franz Bernstein), heGÇÖs used to sprint, heGÇÖs from the east, he trains at low elevation, heGÇÖs got the speed, so I especially didnGÇÖt want to sprint with him,GÇ¥ Gelso continued. GÇ£But I struggled, I didnGÇÖt feel very good, I was happy the race broke apart at the end, and I was able to climb my way onto the podium so IGÇÖm happy about that.
Gelso was pleased with how he finished his collegiate career. GÇ£It feels great. I won five in a row, I won a national championship and a third place, so IGÇÖm about as happy as I could be. I would obviously have liked to have won it, but third place, last race, I had fun. I struggled, but I still hung in there.GÇ¥
GÇ£Matt said he struggled, he knew he was having a tough day from the get-go,GÇ¥ Cranmer said. GÇ£He said GÇÿI need to lead, because I know if somebody goes for it I wonGÇÖt be able to hang with them.GÇÖ He tried to be smart. He skied a smart race for not feeling 100 percent. That was great to see. A first and third for him here, thatGÇÖs a pretty good end to a four year career.GÇ¥
GÇ£Matt Gelso is definitely a happy guy today, and having his final career races in this order, first and third, is something he and we have been hoping for a long, long time,GÇ¥ Rokos said. GÇ£Even today, he was so close to winning, he was strong throughout the race. He has such drive and commitment, his next stop should be the national team, I have no doubt about it that we will see him in the Olympics representing the U.S. I am pretty sure the national team coaches are aware of his potential.GÇ¥
GÇ£Jesper fought back, and Vegard, well they just didnGÇÖt have the energy at the end,GÇ¥ Cranmer said. GÇ£ItGÇÖs hard to say why, they just felt a bit off. ItGÇÖs hard to be up for all the races, especially one weekend out of the whole season, saying GÇÿthis is when we want to be 100 percent,GÇÖ itGÇÖs tough to always put that together. They put in a good, hard effort.
GÇ£This was one of the greatest championships in terms of organization, site and weather,GÇ¥ Rokos summed up. GÇ£Everyone worked together very well and cooperated. Leaving with second place creates just that much more motivation for hard work and improvement in the future.GÇ¥
NOTES: Barring a last minute change of heart, Saturday marked the final day of competition for the Nevada ski program; the administration is planning to eliminate the sport due to budget constraints ... The races were moved up an hour because of warmer temperatures that in fact materialized, climbing into the 40s by 1 p.m.; the precaution was taken so the women wouldn't have had to run their race in less than optimum conditions.
NCAA Championship Team Scores (Final; 8 events)GÇö1. Denver 785.5; 2. Colorado 714; 3. New Mexico 677; 4. Utah 595; 5. Dartmouth 523; 6. Vermont 516.5; 7. Alaska-Anchorage 506; 8. Montana State 402; 9. New Hampshire 303; 10. Middlebury 270.5; 11. Nevada 258; 12. Williams 176; 13. Colby 172.5; 14. Northern Michigan 166; 15. Alaska-Fairbanks 118; 16. Bates 98; 17. Wisconsin-Green Bay 88; 18. St. Lawrence 75, 19. Michigan Tech 30, 20. Wellesley 25; 21. St. MichaelGÇÖs 19; 22. Gustavus Adolphus 7.
MenGÇÖs 20-Kilometer FreestyleGÇö1. Franz Bernstein, UVM, 49:19.7; 2. Martin Kaas, UNM, 49:20.9; 3. Matt Gelso, CU, 49:23.5; 4. Harald Loevenskiold, DU, 49:26.0; 5. Bernhard Roenning, MSU, 49:27.7; 6. Tyler Reinking, MSU, 49:31.1; 7. Ryan Scott, MSU, 49:32.6; 8. Patrick Johnson, MID, 49:33.6; 9. Lex Treinen, UAA, 49:41.6; 10. Santiago Ocariz, UWG, 49:44.3; 11. Michael Schallinger, UAA, 49:47.4; 12. Didrik Smith, UU, 49:48.7; 13. Benjamin Knowles, SLU, 49:49.5; 14. Dimitri Luthi, WIL, 49:50.1; 15. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 49:50.8; 16. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 49:57.9; 17. Martin Liljemark, UU, 49:59.4; 18. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 50:02.0; 19. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 50:15.5; 20. Charlie Smith, UN, 50:31.8; 21. Kristian Soerlund, DU, 50:34.4; 22. Miles Havlick, UU, 50:35.4; 23. Elias Bucher, UN, 50:36.3; 24. Pierre Niess, UNM, 50:38.3; 25. Nils Koons, DAR, 50:40.1; 26. Eric Packer, DAR, 50:41.1; 27. Patrick OGÇÖBrien, DAR, 50:41.4; 28. Eric Wolcott, SLU, 50:44.0; 29. Dylan McGuffin, UNH, 51:13.8; 30. George Cartwright, NMU, 51:43.4; 31. Tyler Kornfield, UAF, 52:00.0; 32. Tor Christopherson, UAA, 52:02.5; 33. Oskar Lund, MTU, 52:11.4; 34. Chris Bowler, NMU, 52:18.1; 35. John Parry, UAF, 52:34.1; 36. Zachary Wetherell, SLU, 53:02.8; 37. Wyatt Fereday, CBC, 53:25.2; 38. Kevin Cutts, NMU, 54:19.5; 39. Jens Brabbit, GAC, 55:09.5.
WomenGÇÖs 15-Kilometer FreestyleGÇö1. Antje Maempel, DU, 41:03.0; 2. Alexa Turzian, CU, 41:09.0; 3. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 41:42.5; 4. Maria Graefnings, UN, 42:23.7; 5. Rosie Brennan, DAR, 42:25.9; 6. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 42:34.7; 7. Mari Elden, DU, 42:36.2; 8. Jaime Bronga, UAA, 42:46.5; 9. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 42:47.9; 10. Joanne Reid, CU, 43:05.0; 11. Kate Dolan, DU, 43:08.9; 12. Laura DeWitt, NMU, 43:26.2; 13. Zoe Roy, UU, 43:34.5; 14. Monica Marksvarden, NMU, 43:36.5; 15. Stephanie Hiemer, UAA, 43:43.9; 16. Caitlin Patterson, UVM, 43:51.6; 17. Carolyn Freeman, UWG, 43:59.1; 18. Casey Kutz, MSU, 44:02.7; 19. Lucy Garrec, CBC, 44:06.4; 20. Mellie Park, MSU, 44:09.5; 21. Laura Rombach, UAA, 44:30.3; 22. Rose Kemp, UU, 45:04.6; 23. Linn Klaesson, UNM, 45:08.5; 24. Ida Sargent, DAR, 45:09.4; 25. Claire Egan, WC, 45:12.9; 26. Aurelia Korthauer, UAF, 45:16.6; 27. Katie Bono, DAR, 45:21.2; 28. Caitlin Curran, UVM, 45:23.6; 29. Anya Bean, UNH, 45:34.8; 30. Alice Nelson, WIL, 45:39.5; 31. Sarah MacCarthy, UU, 45:51.2; 32. Natalie Ruppertsberger, BAT, 46:07.1; 33. Jennie Bender, UVM, 46:21.4; 34. Christina Gillis, NMU, 47:02.2; 35. Natasha Kullas, UNH, 47:11.7; 36. Lauren Fritz, MID, 47:13.2; 37. Theresia Schnurr, UAF, 47:50.2 38. Kristin Ronnestrand, UN, 48:18.1; Did Not Finish: Henna Riikonen-Purtsi, MTU.
(Associate SID Curtis Snyder contributed to this report.)
CU SKIING / 2010 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
CRACKING THE TOP: NCAA West schools have now won 15 of the last 16 championships, as the skiing elite fraternity remains hard to crack; only seven different schools have claimed the title since the sport went coed in 1983: Utah (9 titles), Denver (7), Colorado (5), Vermont (4), Dartmouth (1), New Mexico (1) and Wyoming (1). But since the GÇÖ67 title meet, Colorado (20 first or second place finishes, including 14 wins), Utah (19; 10, 9), Vermont (19; 5, 14) and Denver (16; 11, 5) have dominated college skiing over these 44 seasons. Only three other schools, Wyoming (two wins and four seconds), Dartmouth (two wins, two seconds) and New Mexico (one title and two seconds) have been able to crack the top two in this span (note: adds to 45 titles since CU and Dartmouth shared GÇÖ76 crown).
CU ALL-TIME: The Buffaloes have won 17 national championships in skiing: 11 men's (1959-60-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-82), five coed (1991-95-98-99-2006) and one women's (1982, AIAW). The 16 NCAA titles by Colorado trail Denver by five, as the Pioneers caught and passed CU by winning three straight to open the 21st century and have extended their lead with three straight wins. After DU and CU (37 combined), Utah has won 10, Vermont 5, Dartmouth 3, Wyoming 2 and New Mexico 1 (CU and Dartmouth tied for the GÇÖ76 crown).
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS: The Buffs had one individual NCAA champion this winter, and posted eight top five efforts overall, including one runner-up finish. Colorado leads all-time with 81 individual titles, topping Denver (76), Utah (64), Vermont (55), Dartmouth (34), Wyoming (19), New Mexico (12) and Middlebury (10); other individual winners in 2010 came from Denver (three), with one each also from Alaska-Anchorage, New Mexico Utah and Vermont. The Buffs have had two or more individual champions 26 times (three or more 13 times), including four occasions when CU skiers topped the podium four times: 1960, John Dendahl (skimeister, nordic, cross country) and Dave Butts (downhill); in 1963, Buddy Werner (alpine combined, downhill), Bill Marolt (downhill) and Jimmie Heuga (slalom); in 2006, Jana Rehemaa (classical, freestyle), Kit Richmond (freestyle) and Lucie Zikova (downhill); and in 2008, Maria Grevsgaard (freestyle, classical) and Lucie Zikova (giant slalom, slalom). CU has had at least one individual winner 22 of the last 29 years, and the 11 titles CU has won in the last five championships (2006-10) tied for the second most over any five-year NCAA stretch (CU won 12 from 1959-63).
NACDA DIRECTORSGÇÖ CUP: ColoradoGÇÖs second place effort earned the Buffaloes 90 points in the NACDA DirectorsGÇÖ Cup Standings, as skiing is the first of nine NCAA winter titles decided for 2009-10. CU was 43rd in the final fall standings with 106 points (Stanford led with 370, Virginia was second with 337). The 90 points moved CU into the No. 21 position with 196. Denver had 25 points prior to finishing first (121st), and earned 100 in zooming to 39th on the list. The Buffs have been perennial top 10 standing members in the final fall standings, but rare non-postseason appearances by football, volleyball and womenGÇÖs cross country hurt CUGÇÖs fall point total.
HEAD COACH RICHARD ROKOS: Richard Rokos wrapped up his 20th season as head coach of the Buffaloes, the ninth person to coach 20 seasons in any sport at Colorado. He has guided the Buffaloes to national championships in 1991 (his first season), 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2006, to second place finishes in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010, third place efforts in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007, fourth place showings in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2004, fifth place in 1992 and sixth in 2005. Under Rokos, the Buffaloes have won 50 of 123 meets they have skied in, including 45 of 103 in the west (with 10 RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals titles). In his tenure, CU has had 100 first-team All-Americans and 159 first- or second-team selections (Alpine and Nordic), all adding to 232 top 10 finishes in NCAA championship competition.
IN-THE-END: Listed below is how the 2010 championship broke down; Colorado was the overall Nordic champion for the fourth time in the last seven years; CUGÇÖs Alpine team was fifth, tying for its third best finish in the last nine years. The Colorado women scored 416 points, second most, the fourth time in the last five years CU was first or seconds; and the men scored 298 points (fourth; CU was first in 2009):
MENGÇÖS TEAM SCORING: New Mexico 355, Denver 334, Utah 332-+, Colorado 298, Vermont 275, Montana State 239, Alaska-Anchorage 237-+
WOMENGÇÖS TEAM SCORING: Denver 451, Colorado 416, New Mexico 322, Dartmouth 303, Utah 263, Alaska-Anchorage 268-+, Vermont 241-+
ALPINE POINT LEADERS: Denver 408, New Mexico 389, Utah 368-+, Vermont 314-+, Colorado 296, Dartmouth 286, Alaska-Anchorage 239
MenGÇÖs Leader: Denver 192 (2ndGÇöUtah 183-+). WomenGÇÖs Leader: New Mexico 224 (2ndGÇöDenver 216).
NORDIC POINT LEADERS: Colorado 418, Denver 377, Montana State 316, New Mexico 288, Alaska-Anch. 267, Dartmouth 237, Vermont 194
MenGÇÖs Leader: Colorado 200 (2ndGÇöNew Mexico 190). WomenGÇÖs Leader: Denver 235 (2ndGÇöColorado 218).
SCORING FORMAT: Had the scoring format from 1997-2007 been utilized, before the top eight spots were weighted, DU still won handily with 711-+ points (which would translate to the fifth most since 1985). CU (652), New Mexico (623) and Utah (565) held their spots; those 652 points by Colorado equate to the most points by a runner-up since 1995.
ALL-AMERICANS: Nine Buffaloes earned All-America honors in the meet, seven gaining first-team status: Matt Gelso (classical and freestyle), Eliska Hajkova (freestyle), Katie Hartman (giant slalom), Vegard Kjoelhamar (classical), Carolina Nordh (slalom), Joanne Reid (classical) and Alexa Turzian (classical). In addition, Hajkova and Reid earned second-team All-America honors in their other disciplines, and were joined by Katie Hartman (slalom) and Erika Ghent (giant slalom). Top five finishes earn skiers the first-team honor, while finishing sixth through 10th nets a second-team honor.
NCAA SKIING ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: CU placed a seven team members on the NCAA Skiing All-Academic Team (its version of Academic All-America), as the qualifications included owning a 3.50 or better grade point average and participation in the NCAA regionals. Eric Davis, Matt Gelso, Erika Ghent, Ian Mallams, Carolina Nordh, Arman Serebrakian and Katie Stege all made the prestigious team; Gelso and Serebrakian made the squad for the fourth consecutive year, while Nordh and Stege are now two-time members.
LOOKING AHEAD: Ten of the 12 student-athletes who competed for Colorado in Steamboat Springs are scheduled to return for the 2010-11 school year, as CU graduates just seven seniors, two who competed here, Matt Gelso (Nordic) and Drew Roberts (Alpine). Also graduating are Alpine skiers Ashley Babcock, Heidi Hillenbrand, Stefan Hughes and Arman Serebrakian, and Nordic performer Maisha Goodpaster.
FUTURE SITES: The University of Vermont will host the 2011 NCAA Championships in Stowe, the fifth time the resort town will host the event (all since 1983 when the sport went coed). The NCAA committee is reviewing bids from Alaska-Anchorage and Montana State for the 2012 championships and will announce that site later this spring.