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Colorado Invitational (SL)
Skiers In Second In Own Spencer Nelson-CU Invitational
January 22, 2016 | Skiing
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The defending national champion University of Colorado ski team had three top 10 efforts here Friday and as a result is in second place through two of eight events in its own Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational.
Denver holds the day one lead with 165 points, with the host Buffaloes 15 back with 150; the third through seventh spots are separated by only six points: Westminster (121), Montana State (120), Utah (119), New Mexico (117) and Alaska-Anchorage (115), the closest five teams have ever been separated since the sport went coed in 1983.
Steamboat will host the NCAA Championships in seven weeks, and the site has become a favorite among the alpine skiers because of nighttime slalom that was run there in 2006 and 2010. So the western skiers got a taste of that Friday, with the first runs taking place in the mid-afternoon with the second run under the stars.
Senior Henrik Gunnarsson finally reached the top of the podium in his 46th collegiate race. He had six previous top five efforts – four in the slalom – with is best a third place showing as a freshman in the slalom at New Mexico's Invitational. He was coming off a fourth-place finish in the slalom just a week ago in Montana.
The Swede won in a two-run time of 1:25.43, as he posted the sixth-best run (42.17) the first time down the legendary Howelsen Hill course and then came back with the third-fastest under the lights (43.26). That was good enough to edge Westminster's Giulio Bosca by just a shade over a tenth of a second (1:25.56).
“For Henrik, this was a golden achievement,” head coach Richard Rokos said. “He has been hanging in there for a a while, and now he's skiing very well technically. He had two very clean runs, almost effortless for him. He showed what he can do when he finally put two solid runs together. This will give him a lot of confidence and it was very important for him and the team.”
“The first run was pretty rough, I had bib 15, an unlucky draw I guess,” Gunnarsson said. “I skied as hard and fast as I could. In the second run, I went as hard as I could, it was very similar to my first run. I know this hill really well by now, you have to go hard or it just won't work.
“It helps to have even more great skiers, Ola and Max have raised the level of our whole team. I'm excited to figure out what we can accomplish this year.”
DU's Taylor Shiffrin nabbed third in 1:26.11, with CU freshman Ola Johansen just missing his fifth podium in six races, as he was fourth in 1:26.17. Freshman Max Luukko was CU's third scorer as he finished 17th in 1:27.70.
Johansen made a little bit of history Friday; earlier this season posted the fastest time in the second run of the giant slalom at the Montana State Invitational. By recording the fastest first run Friday (41.51), he became the first male Buffalo to record at least one fastest run in both the GS and slalom in the same season since Gabriel Rivas accomplished the feat in 2011.
“He is definitely an excellent skier in both disciplines,” Rokos noted. “He had a little bit of bad luck on his second run, but it speaks to his ability. He's very well technically developed, so he is strong in both events and has shown that he can compete in both equally.”
Seniors Kasper Hietanen and Adam Zika tying for 19th in 1:27.93. Junior Roger Carry was 22nd (1:28.33) and senior Cameron Smith 25th (1:29.61).
In the women's slalom, freshman Tonje Trulsrud finished seventh in a 1:29.91 clocking; Utah's Julie Mohagen won in 1:28.55. She had the eighth-best run to open up her day and the sixth-best to finish.
“I tried to relax between the runs, there was a little more time than we usually have, but it didn't affect me,” Trulsrud said. “The second run was an easier course, even though I started 21st after the flip, I felt like it was easier to ski in the second run and the conditions were okay. I was worried yesterday, the conditions weren't that good, it was soft, they had a lot of snow fall. But they did a great job getting the course in the conditions that it is. I wasn't happy with my first run, so I pushed a little more in my second run, but I didn't let go, so I let my skis get ahead of me, I haven't seen the mistake yet, but I just got really late, I don't know what happened.
“I'm excited for GS, the hill looked really good and I think it's going to be fun,” she added. “Somehow I'm skiing better in GS now so it will be exciting. I've skied better slalom now for many years, but it's changed, I don't know why, but I'll roll with it, it's fun.”
Senior Thea Grosvold finished 11th in 1:30.64 and freshman Nora Christensen placed 12th in 1:30.72; they actually bested Trulsrud in the second run by posting the fourth- and fifth-best runs under Howelsen's lights. Senior Clare Wise (31st, 1:39.51) and junior Katie Hostetler (34th, 1:51.92) rounded out the CU contingent.
Senior Jessica Honkonen, one of the top skiers in the west, is not with the team here as she returned to her native Finland for family reasons.
“We are skiing without Jessica and she's been performing well in the slalom lately, so there's a little more pressure on the other girls,” Rokos said. “We really couldn't take many chances, they paid attention to ski for the team and put together two solid runs and displayed a great deal of discipline.”
Saturday will be a busy day with the completion of the alpine portion of the meet, with giant slalom runs set for the morning and afternoon with the first day of Nordic competition featuring the freestyle races beginning at 9 a.m. The meet concludes Sunday with the cross country classic races as well as the second RMISA qualifier, a second giant slalom.
Spencer James Nelson Memorial/CU Invitational Results (2 of 8 events)— 1. Denver 165; 2. Colorado 150; 3. Westminster 121; 4. Montana State 120; 5. Utah 119; 6. New Mexico 117; 7. Alaska-Anchorage 115; 8. Colorado Mountain College 27; 9. Wyoming 0.
Men's Slalom (38 collegiate finishers)— 1. Henrik Gunnarsson, CU, 1:25.43; 2. Giulio Bosca, WMC, 1:25.56; 3. Taylor Shiffrin, DU, 1:26.11; 4. Ola Johansen, CU, 1:26.17; 5. Tim Lindgren, WMC, 1:26.25; 6. David Neuhauser, MSU, 1:26.40; 7. Hughston Norton, UAA, 1:26.84; 8. Sean Alexander, UAA, 1:26.86; 9. Morton Bakke, MSU, 1:26.98; 10. Joergen Brath, Utah, 1:27.04. Other CU Finishers: 17. Max Luukko, 1:27.70; 19. Kasper Hietanen, 1:27.93; 19. Adam Zika, 1:27.93; 22. Roger Carry, 1:28.33; 25. Cameron Smith, 1:29.61.
Women's Slalom (34 collegiate finishers)— 1. Julie Mohagen, Utah, 1:28.55; 2. Tuva Norbye, DU, 1:29.51; 3. Kristine Haugen, DU, 1:29.71; 4. Maria Gudmundsdottir, UAA, 1:29.76; 5. Jocelyn McCarthy, MSU, 1:29.83; 6. Sara Ottosson, UNM, 1:29.87; 7. Tonje Trulsrud, CU, 1:29.91; 8. Monica Huebner, DU, 1:30.26; 9. Karoline Myklebust, UNM, 1:30.55; 10. Sydney Staples, UNM, 1:30.58. Other CU Finishers: 11. Thea Grosvold, 1:30.64; 12. Nora Christensen, 1:30.72; 31. Clare Wise, 1:39.51; 34. Katie Hostetler, 1:51.92.
(Associate SID Curtis Snyder contributed to this report.)
