Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Skiers Open Season Tuesday In Utah
January 05, 2015 | Skiing
PARK CITY, Utah - The University of Colorado ski team and its counterparts in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association open the 2015 season with an RMISA Alpine Qualifier race here Tuesday at Park City Mountain Resort.
The women's alpine teams will kick off 2015 with a giant slalom race followed by a men's giant slalom race on Wednesday. After a day off, the 2015 Utah Invitational will begin Thursday and run through Sunday with alpine action at Park City and Nordic action at nearby Soldier Hollow.
The Buffs return a good majority of its alpine teams in 2015, including the nucleus on the women's side of Thea Grosvold, Jessica Honkonen and Brooke Wales Granstrom, who have represented the Buffs at each of the last two NCAA Championships. Add in senior Shane McLean, a two-time All-RMISA selection, and the Buffs boast one of the deeper women's alpine teams in the nation. Newcomer Dani Brownell-Patty as well as returnees Clare Wise and Katie Hostetler give the Buffs a deep team on the women's side.
The men's alpine team lost seniors Andreas Haug and Fletcher McDonald. Haug competed at four NCAA Championships for the Buffs helping the squad win two NCAA titles in his time. McDonald is back with the Buffs as the team's assistant alpine coach. The team does return a solid nucleus of Kasper Hietanen, Henrik Gunnarsson and Adam Zika, who have all earned All-America honors in their time at CU, as well as seasoned veterans Roger Carry and Cameron Smith.
On the Nordic side, the Buffs return two of the top men's skiers in the nation in senior Rune Oedegaard and sophomore Mads Stroem. Both won individual NCAA Championships last year for the Buffs and Oedegaard became the first skier in NCAA history to repeat as the individual men's classical champion. He has the opportunity to become the first skier to win the title three times in 2015. A CU skier has taken that race in four of the last five years.
The men's Nordic team also features junior Charlie Von Thaden, sophomores Jackson Hill and Max Scrimgeour and freshman Ian Boucher. Additionally, Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer announced that senior Emil Johansson has rejoined the Buffs ahead of the season.
On the women's side, the Buffs return the three sophomores that represented the team at the NCAA Championships in Camilla Brautaset, Lucy Newman and Maja Solbakken. Additionally, the Buffs get the services of Jesse Knori, who redshirted last season with an injury, and incoming freshmen Petra Hyncicova and Ane Johnsen. While still young with three freshmen and sophomores, the Buffs did add some much needed depth to the squad.
Buffs Ranked No. 4 In Two New Polls
The Buffs earned a preseason ranking of No. 4 by the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association in the organization's first ever coaches poll, sponsored by SYNC. The Buffs earned a ranking of No. 4 overall and on the alpine side and a ranking of No. 2 in Nordic.
There is also a computer poll for college skiing and the Buffs also came in at No. 4 overall and on the alpine side and at No. 2 on the Nordic side. In that poll, which also ranks individuals, Oedegaard is the top ranked men's Nordic skier in the nation and Stroem is No. 2. CU's two newcomers on the women's side earned top 20 rankings with Hyncicova coming in at No. 14 and Johnsen at No. 16.
Two women's alpine skiers are ranked in the top 10 and four in the top 16 with Honkonen coming in at No. 6, Wales Granstrom No. 8, McLean No. 13 and Grosvold No. 16. Three men's alpine skiers earned top 20 rankings with Hietanen leading the way at No. 16, Zika coming in at No. 17 and Gunnarsson No. 20.
Buffs Alpiners Impressive Since Jimmie Heuga Classic
The Buffs have stayed busy in the preseason, getting some more solid work in on the alpine side since the Buffs opened the season in late November with their own Jimmie Heuga Classic, a pair of slalom races at Echo Mountain.
The Buffs ventured to Copper Mountain and Steamboat Springs and also had a couple of races in Park City prior to the start of the college season. Grosvold continued her impressive skiing after winning a slalom race at Echo, she won another at Steamboat Springs and added another second place slalom outing and a pair of top 10 giant slalom races, including ninth Monday in Park City.
Wales Granstrom got in some Nor-Am Cup racing and also had two top six performances, one each in slalom and GS already this winter. Honkonen finished fourth in both races in Steamboat Springs and was eighth in the GS race Monday. Brownell-Patty already has three top 10 finishes this winter, McLean has five top 11 finishes while Hostetler and Wise each have a pair of top 10s, as well.
On the men's side, junior Kasper Hietanen saw his first action of the winter Monday and finished seventh in a slalom race in Snowbird, Utah. He is recovering from off season surgery, as is Gunnarsson, who has four top 10s this winter already. Zika, who should be back to 100 percent after missing the 2013 season and spending most of the 2014 season recovering from a knee injury, has one top 10 each in slalom and GS this winter. Smith looks to be in form on the GS side with two top 20s in Copper Mountain in early December and Carry finished eighth in one of those races and already has two top 20s in slalom action this winter.
Nordic Teams, Alumni Solid At US Championships
The Buffs Nordic squads have also been busy and those who didn't return home overseas for the semester break at CU are up in Houghton, Mich., for the 2015 US Cross Country Championships. Several current Buffs and alumni are competing.
Sunday in the Women's 10K Freestyle race, three former Buffs brought home top 10 performances as Mary Rose finished seventh in 31:27.5 while Eliska Hajkova took eighth in 31:29.0 and Joanne Reid ninth in 31:41.4.
Reid was the top finisher in the U23 classification which bodes well for her qualifying for the U23 World Championships later in January. Two current Buffs, Jesse Knori (54th) and Lucy Newman (88th) also competed.
In the men's 15K Freestyle the same day, the Buffs again had good representation as former Buff Matt Gelso finished fourth in a time of 42:54.4. Sophomore Jackson Hill finished 25th and was 10th in the U23 classification and 12th among current college racers nationwide. Scrimgeour finished 107th in a time of 48:15.0 and Boucher was 147th in 50:09.2.
Monday's Classic Sprint races were postponed until Tuesday due to weather. The 20K women's and 30K men's classic mass start races will take place Thursday and the freestyle sprints are slated for Saturday, although the Buffs will have to leave and head directly to Soldier Hollow for the Utah Invitational.
