University of Colorado Athletics
Colorado
Utah Invitational (MGS)
Johansen Wins Giant Slalom As Buffs Inch Closer To Denver, Remain In Second
January 06, 2016 | Skiing
PARK CITY, Utah – Freshman Ola Johansen continued the incredible start of his career by winning the giant slalom race, helping the University of Colorado ski team to a win in the event as CU edged ever closer to Denver in the overall team standings of the Utah Invitational Wednesday at Park City Mountain Resort.
Freshman Max Luukko took fifth and senior Henrik Gunnarsson was eighth as CU was the only team with three skiers in the top 10. The Buffs racked up 92 points while Denver was second with 80.
At the midpoint of the meet, the Pioneers lead with 320 points to Colorado's 318. Utah jumped into third and has 268 points and Westminster is fourth with 258. New Mexico (214) is fifth and Montana State (202), Alaska Anchorage (179) and Colorado Mountain College (73) round out the team scoring.
“We've been skiing and training and racing a lot, but this was our first intercollegiate race that meant more for us,” head coach Richard Rokos said. “In short, we are doing well, sitting in second place, just two points behind DU, and they are loaded with World Cup skiers. It's good to compete on that level.”
Johansen is the first men's alpine skier in the 26-year era of coach Richard Rokos to finish as high as first and second in the first meet of the season. He is just the fifth men's alpine skier to record two top 5 finishes in the first meet of the season. The last time that happened was in 2007 when Stefan Hughes finished third in the GS and second in the slalom, also in Utah.
“Ola is a great skier and he has a good background,” Rokos said. “He was injured, so I didn't know exactly how well he would do. He had no firm expectations coming in and he exceed all expectations. He's very mature, a good skier and consistent. Those three things for a college skier is like finding gold.”
Johansen is also the first skier in six years to finish as high as first and second in any meet, since Gabriel Rivas was first in the GS and second in the slalom in 2010 at the Nevada Invitational. He was fourth after the first run and then had the third-fastest second run secure the win.
Luukko's fifth place finish give him two finishes in the top 11 to start his career. Gunnarsson's eighth place finish gives him seven career top 10 finishes in GS races, and it's his second straight after taking seventh at the NCAA Championships last March to earn All-America honors.
“Max is a similar deal to Ola,” Rokos said. “He is fighting with having his body in the right place at the right time, little technical things, but those new guys are taking over this part of the season. It's good for the rest of our guys, too, to get pulled into that. Everybody is performing well right now.”
The Buffs also had five skiers in the top 15 with junior Roger Carry finishing 14th in a time of 1:53.68 and senior Adam Zika right behind him in 15th in 1:54.07. Senior Camron Smith finished 26th in 1:57.19 and senior Kasper Hietanen was 27th in 1:57.96.
The alpine teams will now head up to Montana State for its invitational, which begins Saturday and runs through Monday with an extra RMISA Alpine Qualifier. While the alpine teams head north, the Nordic teams head to Utah to finish out the Utah Invitational Sunday and Monday.
“We'll build on this,” Rokos said. “We were fighting the snow on the course, it was dangerous in parts. Park City is a very difficult hill, there are changes in terrain and dramatic drops. From now on, there's no place this season where things will be this dramatic. We came out of it with pretty good results and it will be a confidence booster for us as well.
“On the whole, for NCAA purposes, these races don't have a ton of meaning,” he continued. “We will qualify a full team regardless, that's the nature of our business right now. We are trying to catch up to the training volume that the top guys on other teams do to compete at the highest level. We have three quick meets and then three weeks off, we will use that to continue to train and build on this, we will still travel and compete in non-college races. It's a trend in NCAA skiing that we're getting involved with a lot of top international races and building our teams to the level of a national team.”
Team Scores (4 of 8 events)—1. Denver 320; 2. Colorado 318; 3. Utah 268; 4. Westminster 258; 5. New Mexico 214; 6. Montana State 202; 7. Alaska Anchorage 179; 8. Colorado Mountain College 73.
Men's Giant Slalom (34 Collegiate Finishers)—1. Ola Johansen, CU, 1:51.20; 2. Erik Read, DU, 1:51.28; 3. Ty Sprock, UU, 1:51.49; 4. Giulio Bosca, WMC, 1:51.58; 5. Max Luukko, CU, 1:51.78; 6. David Herzog, WMC, 1:52.20; 7. Dominic Demschar, UU, 1:52.23; 8. Henrik Gunnarsson, CU, 1:52.29; 9. Sebastian Brigovic, DU, 1:52.36; 10. Taylor Shiffrin, DU, 1:53.14. Other CU Finishers: 14. Roger Carry, 1:53.68; 15. Adam Zika, 1:54.07; 26. Cameron Smith, 1:57.19; 27. Kasper Hietanen, 1:57.96.
