Freshmen Shine As Buffs Conclude Western Region Open

SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The University of Colorado alpine teams closed out the Western Region Open FIS races on Saturday and Sunday at Sun Valley Resort with 10 finishes inside the top 10 and one race victory from freshman Andrea Arnold.

Arnold was one of two freshmen who recorded their best finishes of the winter, highlighting the weekend for the Buffs.

Arnold, who's highest finish on the collegiate circuit was 16th in a pair of giant slalom races, placed second in Saturday's GS race with a two-run time of 1:45.22. She came back on Sunday to win the second giant slalom race of the weekend, beating Switzerland's Anne-Solene Bregou by 0.33 seconds for her first FIS race victory of the winter.

Classmate Bobby Moyer faired equally as well, earning the first top five finishes since he placed fourth in a Super G race at a FIS competition in Aspen on Jan. 23, 2015. He came in second on Sunday in the final slalom race with a two-run time of 1:24.69. Moyer ended up just seven one-hundredths out of first place thanks to his strong second run time of 42.75, which was the fastest in the field among all 48 finishers on their second time down the slope.

The previous day, Moyer finished in fourth in the men's slalom. His highest finish on the collegiate circuit this year was 13th in three different slalom races.

Sophomore Max Luukko placed second in Saturday's men's slalom; his highest slalom finish on the collegiate circuit this year was fourth in the RMISA alpine qualifier. His finish Saturday was highlighted by his first run time of 38.74 that was the fastest in the field and his total two-run time of 1:23.34 was 0.42 seconds behind winner Oskar Voello from Norway.

Sandwiched in between Luukko and Moyer in Saturday's races was David Ketterer, who finished third. Ketterer then placed sixth in Sunday's slalom race.

Other top 10 finishers over the weekend include Tonje Trulsrud's fifth place finish in Sunday's GS, Roger Carry's fourth place finish in Sunday's slalom and Nora Christensen's ninth place showing in Saturday's GS.

Carry's finish on Sunday is his best since he won the giant slalom at a FIS race held at Eldora Mountain Resort on Jan. 3, 2017. It was also his top slalom finish since placing fifth on March 15, 2014 in a FIS race held at Mission Ridge, Wash.

Saturday's Women's Giant Slalom (67 finishers)—1. Ann-Kathrin Breuning, Westminster College, 1:44.14; 2. Andrea Arnold, CU, 1:45.22; 3. Marie Aufrere, Westminster College, 1:45.42; 4. Kathryn Parker, AUS, 1:45.44; 5. Katie Hensien, Rowmark Ski Academy, 1:45.47; 6. Anne-Solene Bregou, SIU, 1:46.01; 7. Mia Henry, Montana State, 1:46.18; 8. Sofija Novoselic, Westminster College, 1:46.44; 9. Nora Christensen, 1:46.90; 10. Erin Smith, Sun Valley Ski Club, 1:47.40. Other CU Finishers: 11. Katie Hostetler 1:47.74; Isabella Fidjeland DNF2, Megan McGrew DNF1, Tonje Trulsrud DNF1.

Saturday's Men's Slalom (60 finishers)—1. Oskar Voello, Westminster College, 1:22.92; 2. Max Luukko, CU, 1:23.34; 3. David Ketterer, CU, 1:23.75; 4. Bobby Moyer, CU, 1:23.91; 5. Dominic Demschar, Utah, 1:24.12; 6. Patrick Carry, Montana State, 1:24.17; 7. Ty Sprock, Utah, 1:24.87; 8. Martin Grasic, Utah, 1:25.04; 9. Marc Talbott, Williams University, 1:25.33; 10. Jordan Asher, Whistler Mountain Ski Club, 1:25.62. Other CU Finishers: Roger Carry DNF1.

Sunday's Women's Giant Slalom (60 finishers)—1. Andrea Arnold, CU, 1:42.85; 2. Anne-Solene Bregou, SIU, 1:43.17; 3. Stephanie Gartner, Montana State, 1:43.47; 4. Ann-Kathrin Breuning, Westminster College, 1:43.73; 5. Tonje Trulsrud, CU, 1:44.04; 6. Katie Hensien, Rowmark Ski Academy, 1:44.18; 7. Sofija Novoselic, Westminster College, 1:44.51; 8. Anika Angriman, Italy, 1:45.09; 9. Marie Aufrere, Westminster College, 1:45.14; 10. Erin Smith, Sun Valley Ski Club, 1:45.33. Other CU Finishers: 11. Nora Christensen 1:45.37; 14. Katie Hostetler 1:47.01; 28. Megan McGrew 1:53.10; Isabella Fidjeland DNF2;

Sunday's Men's Slalom (48 finishers)—1. Tommy Anderson, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, 1:24.62; 2. Bobby Moyer, CU, 1:24.69, 3. Oskar Voello, Westminster College, 1:24.88; 4. Roger Carry, CU, 1:25.00; 5. Mikkel Wahl, NOR, 1:25.16; 6. David Ketterer, CU, 1:25.64; 7. Max Hall, Denver, 1:25.85; 8. Patrick Carry, Montana State, 1:26.07; T-9. Michel Macedo, Brazilian National Team, 1:26.09; T-9. Louis Muhlen-Schulte, AUS, 1:26.09. Other CU Finishers: Max Luukko DNF1

Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Roger Carry

Nora Christensen

Isabelle Fidjeland

Katie Hostetler

David Ketterer

Max Luukko

Megan McGrew

Bobby Moyer

Tonje Trulsrud