Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Utah Invitational (MGS)
Gunnarsson Fourth; Buffs Second At Utah Invitational
January 10, 2015 | Skiing
PARK CITY, Utah-Junior Henrik Gunnarsson used an incredible second run and just missed the podium, finishing fourth in the men's giant slalom as the University of Colorado ski team sits in second place at the 2015 Utah Invitational here at Park City Mountain Resort through two of eight events in the meet.
The Buffs are just four points behind the Denver Pioneers, 170-166, while host Utah is just another six points back of the Buffs with 160 points. New Mexico is in fourth place with 124 points while Westminster rounds out the top five with 118 points. Montana State (93), Alaska Anchorage (77) and Colorado Mountain College (26) round out the team scoring.
"Given the fact that three guys are essentially still coming back from injury and we haven't trained much GS at all, this is a very respectable result," CU coach Richard Rokos said. "We aren't in first anymore, but the standings are close and I expect them to change again."
The Buffs did have a little bit of bad luck before even hitting the hill. The seeding works such that the top seven seeded skiers are randomly placed into those spots and then the next eight are randomly placed between spots 8-15. The Buffs were randomly given three of the worst four spots in the second draw with Gunnarsson starting 12th, Roger Carry 14th and Adam Zika 15th.
"We looked good on the board (before the seed), and unfortunately with the snow conditions that meant a lot today," Rokos said. "If we had started a couple spots earlier, it could've meant a lot of difference in the final results."
Gunnarsson started 12th in the race and didn't have a great first run, standing in 18th place, but he blazed his way to the second-fastest second run to move from 18th all the way up to fourth and he missed the podium by just two-hundredths of a second with his two-run time of 2:28.62.
"Henrik put together a great second run," Rokos said. "It helped him that he's a little lighter than some other skiers. I was expecting the snow to be good today but it wasn't. It looked like it was OK, but once you put two Gs of force, it gave and big ruts formed. Every guy made the course a little worse as the run went on."
Gunnarsson picked up where he left off in GS action in 2014, earning his career best GS finish, bettering a fifth place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championships when he earned first-team All-America honors on this same mountain, albeit a different run, to close out last season. He now has three career top five finishes, two in GS, and 12 top 10s with three coming in giant slalom action.
Junior Adam Zika had the opposite happen to him. Starting 15th, he had a great first run, the fourth-fastest in the field, and then had the 18th-fastest second run to finish seventh in a time of 2:28.78. He was less than two-tenths of a second off the podium.
"Adam had the worst luck with the draw, starting 15th," Rokos said. "But he had a good, solid first run. However, that meant he started even worse in the second run after the flip, nine spots further back, and that made the difference."
Zika, the 2012 NCAA Champion in the GS, missed all of 2013 with a knee injury and used most of 2014 continuing to recover. After five top five finishes and two race wins in GS his freshman year, he had two top 10s a year ago.
Sophomore Roger Carry finished ninth in 2:29.00, giving the Buffs three in the top 10. Coming off his career best finish of fourth Tuesday in the RMISA Qualifier race here, he now has two top 10 finishes this season, one more than the earned his entire freshman season.
"With Roger, we are working with him not to go 110 percent when if he goes 109 percent, he will finish," Rokos said. "It's very typical in college skiing, it takes a while to get used to that. He's probably the most athletic guy we have, but he's still learning the delicate balance of skiing fast but not to take too many chances and not finish."
Junior Cameron Smith finished 22nd in a time of 2:30.68 while junior Kasper Hietanen, also coming off surgery in the off season, finished 23rd in 2:31.53.
Things now pick up in the 2015 Utah Invitational. After two races the past two days, half the meet will take place Sunday GÇô four races GÇô as the alpine action concludes with men's and women's slalom action and Nordic action begins with the freestyle races, a 5K for the women and 10K for the men, both interval starts. The meet will conclude Monday with the 10K women's and 15K men's classical races.
"We have had a lot more training in slalom this year and the girls are well seeded for tomorrow's race," Rokos said. "The men are not well seeded, so we will have to work our way through the field.
"I also just learned that the entire Nordic team is here in Utah and everybody is healthy and ready to roll," Rokos continued. "This year our strength will be down to the fact that we have full balance for all four teams and we can combine for a formidable result."
The Buffs will then host the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational in Steamboat Springs (Nordic) and Eldora (alpine) January 23-27.
Team Scores-1. Denver 170, 2. Colorado 166, 3. Utah 160; 4. New Mexico 124; 5. Westminster 118; 6. Montana State 93; 7. Alaska Anchorage 77; 8. Colorado Mountain College 26.
Men's Giant Slalom (30 Collegiate Finishers)-1. Sebastian Brigovic, DU, 2:27.37; 2. Dominic Demschar, UU, 2:27.66; 3. Taylor Shiffrin, DU, 2:28.60; 4. Henrik Gunnarsson, CU, 2:28.62; 5. Michael Bansmer, WMC, 2:28.67; 6. David Neuhauser, MSU, 2:28.69; 7. Adam Zika, CU, 2:28.78; 8. Tim Lindgren, WMC, 2:28.94; 9. Roger Carry, CU, 2:29.00; 10. David Herzog, WMC, 2:29.07. Other CU Finishers: 22. Cameron Smith, 2:30.68; 23. Kasper Hietanen, 2:31.53.
