Colorado
Alaska Anchorage Invitational (FS 5/10K-I)
Oedegaard Wins, Buffs Second At Seawolf Invitational
February 23, 2015 | Skiing
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The men's Nordic duo of Rune Oedegaard and Mads Stroem went 1-2 for the sixth time in seven races this season and the top-ranked University of Colorado ski team is in second place, just eight points back of Utah after the first day here at the Seawolf Invitational.
Freshman Petra Hyncicova took fourth in the women's race to lead the Buffaloes while sophomore Jackson Hill gave the CU men three in the top seven along with Oedegaard and Stroem.
Monday's races included the men's 10K and women's 5K freestyle races at Kincaid Park. No. 3 Utah leads the meet through two of eight races with 172 points, just eight ahead of the Buffs total of 164. No. 5 New Mexico is third with 151 points while No. 9 Alaska Anchorage is fourth with 130 points. No. 10 Montana State is fifth with 119 points and second-ranked Denver is currently in sixth place with 93 points.
“It was at best a marginal day of racing,” CU Nordic Coach Bruce Cranmer said. “I really believe we were on the borderline of not racing. Some places we were skiing on about one inch of ice and you could see the dirt underneath. It was warm enough that you could get an edge on it. But in the end, we pulled off a decent race for these conditions, nobody got hurt and no equipment got damaged.”
Oedegaard and Stroem have now finished 1-2 in six of seven races this season and in nine of 15 career races together. In one of the closer races of the season, Oedegaard's time of 25:18.6 was just 7.8 seconds ahead of Storem's time of 25:26.4, who edged out Utah's Niklas Persson by just two-tenths of a second for runner-up honors.
“It was a tight race,” Cranmer said. “Seven seconds is not a big margin by any means. And Mads didn't have a lot of breathing room. About 1K from the finish, Mads was 5-6 seconds behind Persson. He skied well at the end. Rune skied well in his second lap, too, he said he thought his skis got better as the race went on.”
Oedegaard now has five wins this season, giving him 19 career victories, the most by a men's skier in CU history and second most all-time behind Maria Grevsgaard's total of 24. He has won five races in three different seasons, a feat only he and Grevsgaard have accomplished in program annals, and his five wins this season are tied for 11th most in a season.
Hill turned in his best career finish, taking seventh in a time of 26:12.5 to give the Buffs 102 points in the race, 23 more than any other team in the field. Racers were seeded so that the higher ranked skiers started last. Hill started 19th out of 40 skiers and he was the only bib below 30 to finish in the top 10.
“It was a really good race for Jackson,” Cranmer said. “He was early enough that he didn't have a lot of good information in terms of where he was in the race. But he had a good second lap and moved up significantly from where he was initially.”
Senior Emil Johansson finished 22nd in a time of 27:11.6, sophomore Max Scrimgeour 29th in 29:19.1 and freshman Ian Boucher 31st in 29:45.3.
In the women's race, the Buffs were led by Hyncicova's fourth place finish in a time of 15:21.5, her fourth top five finish of the season and sixth top 10 in seven races. Hyncicova was leading for at least part of the race.
“Petra had a good race,” Cranmer said. “When she came by me she was leading, I knew she was fighting for about third place.”
Freshman Jesse Knori finished 21st for the Buffaloes in a time of 16:43.3 while freshman Ane Johnsen was immediately behind her in 22nd in a time of 16:54.4. Sophomore Camilla Brautaset finished 27th in 18:00.8.
“Ane has been battling being sick for a couple weeks now,” Cranmer continued. “She felt like she wanted to give it a go, with a shorter race, but she is still on antibiotics and is in that limbo place where she's not getting better but not getting worse. In a longer race like tomorrow, there is a good chance we will keep her out of it. Camilla has really been battling her injuries and illnesses, as well.”
Sophomore Maja Solbakken, who has been in the top 10 in all six races this season, including a pair of podium appearances last time out at New Mexico, did not start the race.
“Maja is a little sick, and we agreed that it would be better for her to get healthy and race three healthy races and not four semi-healthy races,” Cranmer said. “As we move along the races get more important, but we agreed it would be better for her to take another day to get healthy.”
This is the first of six straight days of racing in Alaska covering two meets hosted by Alaska Anchorage that will culminate with the RMISA Championships and NCAA West Regional this weekend.
On the slate for Tuesday are the 10K classic races at Kincaid Park. However, if temperatures don't get low enough tonight in Anchorage, there is a chance the races will be postponed. The classic races also require parallel tracks be machined into the course, which could make things even more difficult for Tuesday given there are parts of the course that likely only have an inch or two of snow and ice to begin with.
“I know they're looking at options for tomorrow whether to postpone the race to Wednesday,” Cranmer said. “But looking forward a day or two and into the weekend for Regionals, it looks like the rain will stop and the temperatures will get colder.”
Team Scores—1. Utah 172; 2. Colorado 164; 3. New Mexico 151; 4. Alaska Anchorage 130; 5. Montana State 119; 6. Denver 93.
Men's 10K Freestyle (32 Collegiate Finishers)—1. Rune Oedegaard, CU, 25:81.6; 2. Mads Stroem, CU, 25:26.4; 3. Niklas Persson, UU, 25:26.6; 4. Clement Moillet, UAA, 25:57.7; 5. Moritz Madlender, DU, 25:59.3; 6. Kevin Bolger, UU, 26:04.5; 7. Jackson Hill, CU, 26:12.5; 8. Forrest Mahlen, MSU, 26:13.6; 9. Mats Resaland, UNM, 26:16.2; 10. Sawyer Kisselheim, MSU, 26:16.3. Other CU Finishers: 22. Emil Johansson, 27:11.6; 29. Max Scrimgeour, 29:19.1; 31. Ian Boucher, 29:45.3.
Women's 5K Freestyle (28 Collegiate Finishers)—1. Emilie Cecerfarn, UNM, 14:46.9; 2. Veronika Mayerhoffer, UU, 14:58.9; 3. Eva Sever Rus, UNM, 15:11.5; 4. Petra Hyncicova, CU, 15:21.5; 5. Sloan Storey, UU, 15:36.1; 6. Anna-Lena Heynen, UU, 15:42.2; 7. Mackenzie Kanady, UAA, 15:47.4; 8. Cambria McDermott, MSU, 15:49.0; 9. Natalia Mueller, UU, 15:49.2; 10. Josefin Nilsson, UU, 15:57.0. Other CU Finishers: 21. Jesse Knori, 16:43.3; 22. Ane Johnsen, 16:54.4; 27. Camilla Brautaset, 18:00.8. Did Not Start: Maja Solbakken.
Players Mentioned
