Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Colorado Invitational(CL-15/20K-M)
Buffs Finish Third At Own Spencer Nelson Memorial
January 24, 2016 | Skiing
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The University of Colorado ski team finished third in its own Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational, with men's and women's Nordic classic races concluding the invitational here Sunday at Howelsen Hill. The alpine teams were also in action Sunday in an RMISA Alpine Qualifier across town at Mt. Werner.
The Buffs opened the day eight points behind Denver and 36 points behind Utah. The Utes ended up pulling away from the field, finishing with 649 points. Denver held off the Buffs and finished four points ahead, 587-583. Montana State (516.5) and New Mexico (514) rounded out the top five.
“This isn't what we were hoping for or looking for, it was a strange weekend,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “The cold affected us with some breathing issues, some other lingering illness. But there's a long time between now and NCAAs and hopefully we can come back and get going hard by then.”
On the same course the NCAA Championships will be conducted on in about six weeks, the men's Nordic teams began the day with the 20K mass start classic race and only three Buffs finished the race. Junior Mads Stroem finished second in a sprit to the finish with DU's Moritz Madlener, finishing 1.1 seconds behind him in a time of 56:52.9. Stroem now has four podium appearances in six races this year and has finished first or second in 15 of the last 18 races.
“I felt better today but not great,” Stroem said. “In a mass start, it's easier to keep up with the leaders, but today I think I took the wrong track coming into the finish area. I've been training hard since the summer, I think I need a week on the couch and then work hard in February to get ready for NCAAs.”
Senior Arnaud Du Pasquier finished ninth in a time of 58:52.7 and junior Max Scrimgeour finished 18th in 1:00:42.6. Scrimgeour beat UNM's Austin Huueck in a sprint to the finish, winning by just four-tenths over the Lobo on his home course. Du Pasquier recorded his third top 10 finish in the last four races.
Freshman Petter Reistad and junior Jackson Hill both sat out the race after not feeling 100 percent. Both struggled through some breathing issues during Friday's freestyle races. Additionally, sophomore Ian Boucher made it just past the half way mark of the race before bowing out, also with issues breathing.
“When you have two guys capable of being in the top 10 sitting out, it's hard,” Stroem said. “If Petter and Jackson were racing, we could've had four in the top 10 or close to that. It was good to see Max with the lead pack for a few laps. He's been struggling for a long time with illnesses, and to see him back at even 75-80 percent is great.”
In the women's race, sophomore Petra Hyncicova continued her streak of top five finishes, taking fourth in a time of 50:17.5, beating out Utah's Sloan Storey by 4.0 seconds. Hyncicova had the lead after the first lap and tried to stay connected to the top pack that included three skiers but didn't have as good of skis for the hills. On the downhills she was faster, as evidenced by her catching of Storey, who had a 15 second lead with just 2 kilometers left in the race, most of which is downhill.
“I had really good skis,” Hyncicova said. “I had the lead for the first lap. In the second lap, I couldn't quite keep up on the hills with the leaders. Near the end, I saw the Utah skier in fourth and I really wanted to catch her, I was really motivated to catch her and beat her.”
Sophomore Ane Johnsen had her best finish of the year, taking sixth in a time of 51:05.0. She was sick right before the Utah meet and then finished 10th in both races at the Montana State Invitational last week. She has three top 10s in four races this year and now has nine top 10 finishes in 13 career races.
Junior Lucy Newman was the Buffs third finisher in a time of 53:00.0 flat. Freshman Christina Rolandsen was just behind Newman in 18th in a time of 54:18.3. She continues to post better results after suffering from an extended illness over the holiday break back home in Norway. She missed the first two races of the year and this was her first time in the top 20.
Junior Camilla Brautaset finished 21st in a time of 54:42.5 while sophomore Jesse Knori didn't race after struggling in yesterday's freestyle race.
Meanwhile at Mt. Werner, the alpine teams were competing in an extra giant slalom RMISA Qualifier race after having finished the alpine portion of the meet on Saturday.
Sophomore Tonje Trulsrud continued her string of podium appearances in GS action, finishing third in a time of 1:57.81. She now has four podiums in five GS races this year. She opened the year in second at the Utah meet, then after not finishing in the first GS Qualifier in Montana, she won two straight before today's third place finish.
Senior Thea Grosvold finished 16th in 2:00.48, freshman Nora Christensen was 18th in 2:01.05 and junior Katie Hostetler was 27th in 2:03.98. Junior Jessica Honkonen is not with the team in Steamboat as she is returning to Colorado from Finland due to family issues. Senior Clare Wise injured her shoulder prior to yesterday's GS race and is expected to be back before New Mexico's Invitational in about a month.
On the men's side, freshman Ola Johansen also continued his sting of impressive results with a second place finish in a time of 1:56.53, a quarter-second behind the race winner, Endre Bjertness from Utah. He now has four podium finishes in five GS races on the season and hasn't finished lower than fourth in those races. Including three slalom races, to start his career he has five podium appearances in eight races and hasn't finished lower than sixth.
Fellow freshman Max Luukko also had a solid race, finishing sixth in a time of 1:56.65. He hasn't finished lower than sixth in the five GS races on the season and has one podium, which he accomplished yesterday.
Senior Cameron Smith finished ninth in 1:58.39 and senior Henrik Gunnarsson was 13th in a time of 1:56.86. Junior Roger Carry finished 17th in a time of 1:59.06, senior Kasper Hietanen was 23rd in 2:01.92 and senior Adam Zika was 24th in 2:02.64.
The Buffs now have an extended break before the second half of the season gets underway at New Mexico. After three meets and two RMISA Alpine Qualifiers in the last 21 days, the teams now have 27 days off before heading to Red River, N.M., on Feb. 20-21. It will then be a whirlwind to the end of the season with the RMISA Championships taking place in Beaver Creek and Vail on Feb. 26-27 and the NCAA Championships taking place back here in Steamboat Springs on March 9-12.
“This break is at a good point in the season, for sure,” Cranmer said. “If you're skiing well, maybe we wouldn't' like it, but with our team struggling in a couple areas, it's coming at a good time.”
“This season has been a little frustrating overall,” Stroem said. “But we have the potential to be really good. One day alpine has a good day and we have an average day, the next we have a good day and they have an average day. We haven't fully put it together yet, but we have the potential.”
University of Colorado Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational Team Results (FINAL)—1. Utah 649; 2. Denver 587; 3. Colorado 583; 4. Montana State 516.5; 5. New Mexico 514; 6. Alaska Anchorage 402.5; 7. Westminster 240; 8. Wyoming 118; 9. Colorado Mountain 61.
Men's 20k Classic (28 finishers)— 1.Moritz Madlener, DU, 56:51.8; 2. Mads Stroem, CU, 56:52.9; 3. Niklas Persson, UU, 57:05.5; 4. Kevin Bolger, UU, 58:04.3; 5. Erik Axelsson, MSU, 58:10.4; 6. Noe Bellet, UU, 58:38.4; 7. Lars Hannah, DU, 58:46.5; 8. Aljaz Praznik, UNM, 58:51.2; 9. Arnaud Du Pasquier, 58:52.7; 10. Oscar IVars, UU, 59:13.5. Other CU Finishers: 18. Max Scrimgeour, 1:00:42.6.
Women's 15k Classic (30 finishers)— 1. Emilie Cedervarn, UNM, 48:58.0; 2. Veronika Mayerhofer, UU, 49:00.3; 3. Linn Eriksen, DU, 49:01.8; 4. Petra Hyncicova, 50:17.5; 5. Sloan Storey, UU, 50:21.5; 6. Ane Johnsen, CU, 51:05.0; 7. Cambria McDermott, MSU, 51:06.7; 8. Natalie Mueller, UU, 51:14.4; 9. Kati Roivas, UNM, 51:30.2; 10. Eva Sever Rus, UNM, 52:10.1. Other CU Finishers: 15. Lucy Newman, 53:00.0; 18. Christina Rolandsen, 54:18.3; 21. Camilla Brautaset, 54:42.5.
Men's Giant Slalom (37 finishers): Endre Bjertness, UU, 1:56.28; 2. Ola Johansen, CU, 1:56.53; 3. Dominic Demschar, UU, 1:57.40; 4. Sean Alexander, UAA, 1:57.47; 5. Taylor Shiffrin, DU, 1:57.55; 6. Max Luukko, CU, 1:57.65; 7. Carl-Johan Oester ,UNM & Giulio Bosca, WMC, 1:58.04; 9. Sebastian Brigovic, DU, 1:58.21; 10. Cameron Smith, CU, 1:58.39. Other CU Finishers: 13. Henrik Gunnarsson, 1:58.86; 18. Roger Carry, 1:59.06; 27. Kasper Hietanen, 2:01.92; 28. Adam Zika, 2:02.64.
Women's Giant Slalom (31 finishers): 1. Kristine Haugen, DU, 1:57.43; 2. Chloe Fausa, UU, 1:57.68; 3. Tonje Trulsrud, CU, 1:57.81; 4. Ann-Kathrin Bruening, WMC, 1:58.23; 5. Courtney Altringer, UNM, 1:58.47; 6. Tuva Norbye, DU, 1:58.83; 7. Charley Field, UAA, 1:58.88; 8. Tonje Sekse, WMC, 1:59.02; 9. Sydney Staples, UNM, 1:59.08; 10. Monica Huebner, DU, 1:59.39. Other CU Finishers: Thea Grosvold, 2:00.48; 18. Nora Christensen, 2:01.05; 25. Katie Hostetler, 2:03.98.
