Skiing Notebook

BOULDER — With the first week of the 2018 season now in the books, we have several updates on the University of Colorado ski team and our first accolades to announce.

RMISA SKIERS OF THE WEEK: The RMISA announced the first skiers of the week for the 2018 season and Colorado took home three of the four honors issued out. The Buffs swept the skier of the week honors on the alpine side with Tonje Trulsrud and Ola Johansen being the high point winners from the Montana State Invite.

On the Nordic side, senior Petra Hyncicova earned the women's skier of the week honor after her performance at the U.S. Cross Country Championship where she placed first among collegians in the 10K freestyle race and was second in the freestyle sprint.

Johansen won both the slalom and giant slalom at the Montana State Invite while Trulsrud took first in the slalom and was second in the giant slalom.

How you win a RMISA Skier of the Week Award is based on the following criteria:
          • Chosen for each meet based on NCAA qualification points. Associate/non-NCAA members are not eligible.
          • If there is a tie in points, it goes to lowest time differential for both races.
          • You can only win it once a season.

For all three of these Buffs, this marks the third time in their careers that they have collected RMISA Skier of the Week honors.

BUFFS ON THE WORLD STAGE: Sophomore David Ketterer, the 2017 NCAA slalom and giant slalom champion, will be making his eighth career World Cup slalom start on Sunday in Wengen, Switzerland. The following Sunday, Jan. 21, he will race in the men's slalom World Cup event held in Kitzbuehel, Austria and is also scheduled for the Jan. 23 slalom in Schladming, Austria, before flying back to the U.S. to rejoin the Buffs on Jan. 24.

Alvar Alev will be back in his home country to compete in the Estonian National Championships this week, as he is trying to qualify for the Estonian Olympic Team. Thus, he will miss the MSU Invite, but CU will have freshman Sondre Bollum backl in Montana. Bollum missed the U.S. Cross Country Championships so he could compete at the Norwegian National Cup races, called the DNB Cup, in the biathlon. Bollum is also working on Olympic qualification with his native Norway in the biathlon.

NEXT UP: The alpine teams, fresh off an impressive performance in the slalom on Tuesday, are now in Huntsville, Utah for the alpine races in the Utah Invitational. The women's giant slalom will run on Thursday, Jan. 11, the men's GS on Friday and both slalom races on Saturday. All races are being held at Snowbasin Resort.

The Nordic teams will wrap up the Montana State Invitational this weekend. On Saturday, the Buffs compete in the 5/10K freestyle and on Sunday compete in the 15/20K classic at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone.

SCHEDULE CHANGES: Due to a lack of snow, the location of two Nordic races will be moved. For the Utah Invitational, the 15/20K freestyle and 5/10K classic races will now take place in West Yellowstone, Mont., the same location the Buffs are at this weekend. Those two races will also move up one day from originally scheduled, the freestyle events taking place on Thursday, Jan. 18, and the classic on Friday, Jan. 19.

The 21K freestyle mass start and 5K classical interval of the Jade Enterprises/UNM Invitational will now be held in Crested Butte, Colo. on the same days as originally scheduled (Feb. 3-4).

OLYMPIC QUALIFIER: Brian Hansen, a two-time Olympian in long track speedskating, has qualified for a third Olympics after finishing second last weekend in the men's 1,500 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials. Hansen was never on the CU ski team, but was a student at the University of Colorado for two years. He won a silver media in team pursuit in 2010 and had a pair of seventh-place finishes and a ninth-place finish at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS: The CU Alumni Association will be up in Steamboat Springs come March to support the Buffs as they vie for their 21st national title. The Alumni Association is hosting complimentary hospitality tents in Gondola Square on Friday and Saturday afternoon, plus a Buffs Bash with a view of the slalom races at Howelson Hill, and a Steamboat Sendoff after the championships end on Saturday.

Friday, March 9: Hospitality Tent
Gondola Square
12-2 p.m.
Free CU swag and snacks

Buffs Bash
Aurum Food & Wine
Cost: $15 per person, includes appetizers and cash bar

Saturday, March 10: Hospitality Tent
Gondola Square
12-2 p.m.
Free CU swag and snacks

Steamboat Sendoff
Carl's Tavern
Cost: $10 per person, includes appetizers and cash bar

Click here to register and for questions, contact Pamela Dadaos, Senior Athletic Events Manager, at 303-492-4786 or at Pamela.Dadaos@colorado.edu.

Players Mentioned

Alvar Alev

Sondre Bollum

Petra Hyncicova

Ola Johansen

David Ketterer

Tonje Trulsrud

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