University of Colorado Athletics
Colorado
RMISA Qualifier (GS)
Ghent Wins RMISA Qualifier
January 14, 2011 | Skiing
BIG SKY, Mont. - University of Colorado sophomore Erika Ghent won the giant slalom race at the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association giant slalom qualifier Friday here ahead of the Montana State Invitational. In all, the Buffs put 10 skiers in the top 13 of the men's and women's race, five on each side.
There is no team scoring associated with the qualifier races, but the results do count towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships and for post season RMISA awards.
"These aren't races in an invitational," CU head coach Richard Rokos said. "But in terms of qualification, we did outstanding today. I made a comment last week about being better slalom races, but I have to take that back, we are good in the GS, we just have to do it. Tomorrow, we just need to repeat this performance and we have the ability to get even better."
A native of Edwards, Colo., Ghent picked up her first collegiate victory in a time of 1:54.90 and it is her third podium appearance. Her previous best giant slalom finish was on this course in this race a season ago, when she took second in the RMISA Giant Slalom Qualifier race. Her other podium appearance was a third place finish in the slalom race at the Utah Invitational last season.
"Erika has been going in the direction of picking up a win," Rokos said. "She is improving all the time. We expect her to keep getting better and when Sara (Hjertman) and Katie (Hartman) both had small mistakes in their second runs, it was a good opportunity for her to step forward. She has adjusted a few things and really improve in the GS."
Freshman Kirsten Cooper earned her first podium appearance taking third in a time of 1:54.94 while seniors Carolina Nordh (1:55.73) and Katie Hartman (1:55.84) both took home top 10 finishes in eighth and ninth, respectively. Junior Jenny Allen took 13th in 1:56.44 and sophomore Khyla Burrows finished 27th in 2:00.70, followed by senior Ashley Babcock in 28th, clocked in a 2:00.94. Junior Sara Hjertman, who took second last week in Utah, did not finish the second run but did have the fastest time in the field in the first run in 56.84 seconds.
"Kirsten finishing third is a great accomplishment," Rokos said. "She's still recovering from injury and isn't too far removed from being cleared full go. She needs to work on slalom a little, but she skied well today. Sara made a mistake on the first part of the course and skied out, luckily into the fence and before the trees. It's just one of those things that happens every once in a while."
Hartman skied less than a week removed from injuring her shoulder last week in the giant slalom race at Utah. After being in a sling most of the week, she still managed a top 10 performance.
"She is in pain," Rokos said. "But she can't do more damage, she just has to ski through the pain. This course is not built for her condition, because it is very flat through the first four gates and it's hard for her to push off, she's relying much more on gravity and there's not much there. Her first run was great and she made a little mistake in her second run. She's getting better and just needs a little more time before she's going full blast again."
The Buffs were equally as impressive on the men's side, with senior Gabriel Rivas hitting the podium in third in a time of 1:53.63 followed closely by freshman Andreas Haug in fourth with a time of 1:53.89. Sophomore Max Lamb rebounded from a couple of hikes last weekend to take sixth in 1:54.00. Junior Eric Davis hit the top 10 with a ninth place finish in a time of 1:54.62 while sophomore Taggart Spenst brought home 12th in 1:54.91. Freshman Fletcher McDonald finished 27th in 1:58.10.
Rivas picks up his second podium appearance of the season, also winning the slalom race in Utah last weekend. It is his 14th career podium appearance, fourth in giant slalom action. Haug's fourth place is the best finish of his young career while Lamb took the second best finish of his career after having finished third in the giant slalom on this course last season in the Montana State Invitational as a member of Utah's ski team.
"It's great to see Rivas perform well run after run," Rokos said. "And with Andreas, he's still adapting to our western snow, which is a little softer than what he's used to in Norway. He's getting smarter and better as evidence by his fourth place finish, he's adapting quickly and that's good to see."
The Buffaloes continue action in Montana with the start of the Montana State Invitational Saturday. In alpine action, the skiers will compete on the same course and knock out the giant slalom races before moving on to slalom action on Sunday. Nordic action gets underway for the first time this season with freestyle races at Bohart Ranch. The women will race 5K and the men 10K with an interval start. Sunday's Nordic action will be classical races, 15K for the women and 20K for the men with a mass start.
Women's Giant Slalom (35 finishers)-1. Erika Ghent, CU, 1:54.90; 2. Jennie VanWagner, DU, 1:54.91; 3. Kirsten Cooper, CU, 1:54.94; 4. Sofia Smith, UU, 1:55.15; 5. Anne Cecilie Brusletto, UNM, 1:55.32; 6. Kate Williams, UNM, 1:55.34; 7. Lindsay Cone, DU, 1:55.71; 8. Carolina Nordh, CU, 1:55.73; 9. Katie Hartman, CU, 1:55.84, 10. Alex Parker, UAA, 1:55.88. Other CU Finishers: 13. Jenny Allen, 1:56.44; 27. Khyla Burrows, 2:00.70; 28. Ashley Babcock, 2:00.94. Did Not Finish (2nd run): Sara Hjertman.
Men's Giant Slalom (37 finishers)-1. Ryan Wilson, UU, 1:52.29; 2. Seppi Stiegler, DU, 1:52.72; 3. Gabriel Rivas, CU, 1:53.63; 4. Andreas Haug, CU, 1:53.89; 5. Eian Sandvik, UU, 1:53.97; 6. Max Lamb, CU, 1:54.00; 7. Andreas Kilde, DU, 1:54.05; 8. Nick Cohee, UU, 1:54.54; 9. Eric Davis, CU, 1;54.62; 10. Andreas Adde, UAA, 1:54.65. Other CU Finishers: 12. Taggart Spenst, 1:54.91; 27. Fletcher McDonald, 1:58.10.
