ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The University of Colorado ski team logged only two top 10 finishes here in Thursday's giant slalom races, not enough to rally the Buffaloes into a higher finish as CU finished second in the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolf Invitational.
Utah entered the last of three days of competition here with a 32-point lead over the Buffs, and would add 30 points to that in winning by 62 overall with 629.5 points. Colorado held off a Denver charge to claim second with 567.5, with the Pioneers third (546) and New Mexico fourth (533).
"It was a tough day on very difficult snow," CU head coach
Richard Rokos said. "Now, it was perfect snow, but (the kind) we didn't have a chance to ski or train on it all year. You don't get surfaces like this except at the World Cup and those who have skied on it at the World Cup are very comfortable with it; today, the two groups were distinguished GÇô the ones who had and the ones who hadn't. The first seven or eight guys that ski World Cup and train on it they were a second and a half ahead just based on experience."
In the women's giant slalom, junior
Brooke Wales Granstrom topped all CU finishers on the day with a third place effort in 2:31.21. She was second after the first run (a 1:14.71 time), but her second trip down the Alyeska Resort Girdwood course was the ninth best, causing her to fall behind Denver's Kristine Haugen, who took second in 2:30.43. It was Wales' third podium finish this winter in the GS, to go with a win in Utah's meet and runner-up finish in CU's invite.
Haugen was in the lead after the first run, but had the fourth fastest second time, allowing New Mexico's Mateja Robnik to claim the win in 2:30.09; Robnik was third after the first run but had the fastest second trip down the hill by nearly a second (1:15.19) to grab the top spot on the podium.
"Brooke had two good runs, her first was faster," Rokos said. "A third place finish in these conditions that we didn't have a chance to train on all year is a very respectable finish. The girls didn't have the competition from World Cup racers so they were more just a product of their own races."
Junior
Jessica Honkonen recorded CU's other top 10 finish, posting a two-run time of 2:32.82 to finish eighth; in 14th after the first run, she blistered the course with the third-fastest time (1:16.07) on her second ride down the course. It was her second-best overall finish this season, and her fifth top 10 effort.
Senior
Shane McLean placed 13th in 2:34.10, followed by three other participating Buffaloes, freshman
Dani Patty-Brownell (19th, 2:34.53), and juniors
Thea Grosvold (24th, 2:36.92) and
Clare Wise (30th, 2:40.75).
In the men's giant slalom, CU's highest finisher was sophomore
Roger Carry, who placed 11th in 2:26.65; it was just the second time in 10 races in 2015 that the Buffaloes failed to have at least one finisher in the top 10. Montana State's David Neuhauser won in a 2:23.56 time to give the Bobcats their first individual champion this winter in either alpine or Nordic competition.
Denver won the alpine competition here with 367 points, with CU third (248.5), while Utah claimed the Nordic point race with 351 (edging 319 by the Buffaloes). CU did claim the regular season Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association point championship with 2,481, topping Utah (2,379) and Denver (2,245.5). In addition, CU senior
Rune Oedegaard was named the men's Nordic MVP for the year.
The schools will remain right here for this weekend's RMISA Championships, which also double as the NCAA West Regional. Competition begins Friday with the giant slalom (alpine, again on Girdwood at the Alyeska Resort) and freestyle races (Nordic at Kincaid Park), with the slalom and classic races set for Saturday.
"The good thing was that we got a chance to get a sneak preview on what the snow will be tomorrow, and we can digest it, watch the video and adapt to it overnight," Rokos said.
UAA Seawolf Invitational Team Scores (Final, 8 events)'1. Utah 629.5; 2. Colorado 567.5; 3. Denver 546; 4. New Mexico 533; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 465; 6. Montana State 445; 7. Westminster 246; 8. Colorado Mountain College 51.
Women's Giant Slalom (39 finishers)' 1. Mateja Robnik, UNM, 2:30.09; 2. Kristine Haugen, DU, 2:30.43; 3. Brooke Wales Granstrom, CU, 2:31.21; 4. Kristina Rove, Utah, 2:31.60; 5. Chloe Fausa, Utah, 2:31.61; 6. Monica Huebner, DU, 2:31.63; 7. Teagen Palmer, Utah, 2:32.77; 8. Jessica Honkonen, CU, 2:32.82; 9. Ana Kobal, Utah, 2:33.03; 10. Marie Aufrere, WMC, 2:33.14. Other CU Finishers: 13. Shane McLean, 2:34.10; 19. Dani Brownell-Patty, 2:34.53; 24. Thea Grosvold, 2:36.92; 30. Clare Wise, 2:40.75.
Men's Giant Slalom (28 finishers)' 1. David Neuhauser, MSU, 2:23.56; 2. Giulio Bosca, WMC, 2:24.00; 3. Espen Lysdahl, DU, 2:24.15; 4. Trevor Philp, DU, 2:24:46; 5. Andy Trow, Utah, 2:24.62; 6. Joergen Brath, Utah, 2:24.97; 7. Garret Driller, MSU, 2:25.85; 8. Sebastian Brigovic, DU, 2:26.40; 9. Endre Bjertness, Utah, 2:26.58; 10. Hughston Norton, UAA, 2:26.60. CU Finishers: 11. Roger Carry, 2:26.65; 15. Adam Zika, 2:27.36; 18. Cameron Smith, 2:28.28; 19. Henrik Gunnarsson, 2:28.30; 21. Kasper Hietanen, 2:29.74.
