McLean Wins, Buffs In Second At UAA Invitational

Wednesday, February 8

Anchorage, Alaska (Aleyska Resort)

All Day

Colorado

Alaska Anchorage Invitational (GS)

February 08, 2012 | Skiing

By: Curtis Snyder, Associate SID

GIRDWOOD, Alaska – Freshman Shane McLean won her first collegiate race and the University of Colorado ski team remained in second place as alpine action got under way in the Alaska Anchorage Invitational here at the Alyeska Ski Resort Wednesday.

Utah stretched its lead to 97 points over the Buffaloes with a win in the women's race, racking up 130 points, and coming in second to Denver in the men's race, scoring 118 points. The Utes have 718 points to CU's total of 621 as the Buffs managed 100 points in the women's race but just 78 in the men's. The Buffs do, however, hold a 70 point lead over both Alaska Anchorage and Denver, who are tied for third with 551 points. Montana State sits in fifth place with 543 points and New Mexico has 516 points in sixth place.

“I have mixed feelings,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “Shane skied the race of her life, but nearly everybody else had some mistake or another.”

McLean, who burst on the western scene with her second place performance in the giant slalom race at Winter Park in the Denver Invitational last month, improved upon that performance with her first collegiate win Wednesday. In the DU meet, she won the first run and was edged out by Utah's Tii-Maria Romar in the second run to finish .69 of a second back. Wednesday, she left no doubt as she won both runs and having a combined time of 1:55.38, exactly one second ahead of second place Julie Bordeau of Utah.

“She moved from 30 points to 13 points,” Rokos said of McLean's FIS point total. “That's a huge leap in skiing, it doesn't happen very often on any level. I've never seen anything like it. After Winter Park, a star was born, and she confirmed today that she can ski with the best. And her margin of victory was amazing over some really good talent.”

McLean now has finished in the top 10 in all four GS races this season with her last two performances constituting her two podium appearances. She is the third CU skier to win a GS race in the four races this season, joining senior Katie Hartman, who won the RSMIA Alpine Qualifier in Eldora to kick the season off, and senior Erika Ghent, who won the following day in Eldora as part of the CU/Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational.

McLean was the bright spot of an otherwise tough day for the Buffs. Hartman finished 12th in a time of 1:59.83 while senior Carolina Nordh finished 20th in 2:00.96 and junior Khyla Burrows 24th in 2:02.93. Senior Jenny Allen had to hike on her first run and finished 29th in 2:08.69 while Ghent, who was in fourth place after the first run, hiked in her second run to finish 31st in 2:12.78.

Behind Bordeau (1:56.38) in the women's race was Romar, who closed out the podium in a time of 1:57.27. Alaska Anchorage's Anais Urbain took fourth in 1:57.72, just ahead of fifth place Jamie DuPratt from Utah (1:57.75). Utah won the race with 130 points with the Buffaloes and New Mexico tied for second with 100 points and the Seawolves where right in the mix with 96 points.

“It was raining and conditions were tough,” Rokos said. “But that's not an excuse, it was raining for everybody. It was soft snow and it was breaking and making holes, but the best skier will win and we had one in Shane, but nobody else.”

On the men's side, sophomore Andreas Haug was the Buffaloes top finisher, brining home 13th place in a time of 1:57.05 as the Buffs failed to have a top 10 performance on the men's alpine side for the first time since the 2010 NCAA Championships. Sophomore Fletcher McDonald finished 20th in 1:57.91 and senior Taggart Spenst 22nd in 1:58.45. Junior Max Lamb finished 27th in 2:03.38. Freshman Adam Zika did not finish his first run after finishing in the top four in the first three GS races of the year, including two runner-up performances.

“There were mistakes on both sides,” Rokos said. “It's not a lack of focus, but one thing led to another and we didn't ski to our expectations. Erika had a good first run and made a mistake on her second run. Adam had mistakes on his first run. It's tough for me and for them as well. They have high expectations of themselves and are disappointed.”

Utah's Nick Cohee continued his dominance in giant slalom races this year, winning his third straight out of four races on the season. The one time he didn't win he finished second. He won by just under a half second in a two-run time of 1:54.21, behind Denver's Espen Lysdahl (1:54.70) with Westminster's Petter Brenna taking third in a time of 1:55.24. Denver's Trevor Philip took fourth in 1:55.41 and the Utes Ryan Wilson rounded out the top five with a time of 1:55.41. Denver won the race narrowly over Utah, 123-118.

“We will analyze and talk about it and make adjustments for tomorrow so we don't repeat our mistakes,” Rokos said. “It's still raining and it may snow up to a foot overnight. We may change things up and run a slalom race tomorrow, we won't know until 9 a.m., so we have to prepare for both and be flexible.”

There is a snow and rain mixture in the area now. There is such an elevation change on the mountain, that the top of the hill may receive up to a foot of new snow while the bottom of the hill may only experience rain. As the giant slalom course takes up more of the mountain, if there is too much snow at the top of the hill, they will run a slalom race, which is set up closer to the bottom of the mountain.

Should the slalom races take part Thursday, the UAA Invitational will conclude. If not, the giant slalom races would be part of the Seawolf Invitational. Either way Thursday's Nordic freestyle races will take place as part of the Seawolf Invitational.

UAA Invitational (6 events)—1. Utah 718; 2. Colorado 621; 3. Denver 551 & Alaska Anchorage 551; 5. Montana State 543; 6. New Mexico 516; 7. Westminster College 166; 8. Colorado Mountain College 51.

Men's Giant Slalom (35 collegiate finishers)—1. Nick Cohee, UU, 1:54.21; 2. Espen Lysdahl, DU, 1:54.70; 3. Petter Brenna, WMC, 1:55.24; 4. Trevor Philip, DU, 1:55.41; 5. Ryan Wilson, UU, 1:55.80; 6. Andreas Adde, UAA, 1:55.85; 7. Luke Laidlaw, DU, 1:55.96; 8. Armin Triendl, UNM, 1:55.98; 9. Max Marno, DU, 1:56.16; 10. Chris Acosta, UNM, 1:56.87. CU Finishers: 13. Andreas Haug, 1:57.05; 20. Fletcher McDonald, 1:57.91; 22. Taggart Spenst, 1:58.45; 27. Max Lamb, 2:03.38. Did Not Finish (first run): Adam Zika.

Women's Giant Slalom (31 collegiate finishers)—1. Shane McLean, CU, 1:55.38; 2. Julie Bordeau, UU, 1:56.38; 3. Tii-Maria Romar, UU, 1:57.27; 4. Anais Urbain, UAA, 1:57.72; 5. Jaime DuPratt, UU, 1:57.75; 6. Stefanie Demetz, UNM, 1:58.60; 7. Devin Delaney, DU, 1:58.97; 8. Mary Hostetter, UNM, 1:59.25; 10. Kate Williams, UNM, 1:59.77. Other CU Finishers: 12. Katie Hartman, 1:59.83; 20. Carolina Nordh, 2:00.96; 24. Khyla Burrows, 2:02.93; 29. Jenny Allen, 2:08.69; 31. Erika Ghent, 2:12.78.