Buffs Take Lead After GS Races At MSU Invitational

BOZEMAN, Mont.-Freshman Mikaela Tommy won her first collegiate GS race and five Buffs placed in the top 10, vaulting the University of Colorado ski team into the lead after the first day of the Montana State Invitational Wednesday here at Bridger Bowl.

The Buffs bounced back after struggling in alpine action last week at Eldora. After the GS races last week, the Buffs were in fifth place and had 110 points. CU improved 48.5 points Wednesday and scored 158.5 points.

"It's all about confidence, and today was a great confidence builder after Eldora," CU coach Richard Rokos said. "With Mikaela winning, that always lights the house, but to have five in the top 10 and all scorers in the top 15, that's a great sign. We still have room for improvement, but today was something we needed to have."

While Wednesday was a bluebird kind of day, there is a storm approaching that forced race organizers to switch the two GS races and make Wednesday's part of the MSU Invitational and Thursday the RMISA GS Qualifier #2.

TEAM: The Buffs finished second in both races to rack up 158.5 points in giant slalom action and hold a slim 7.5 lead over New Mexico (151). Host Montana State sits in third place with 139 points while Alaska Anchorage (119) edged out Denver (117) for fourth place. Utah is in sixth with 82 points followed by Westminster (80.5) and Colorado Mountain College (19).

ALPINE WOMEN: Tommy earned her first win in GS action in her career after missing both GS races in Eldora last week. Despite starting 16th, she had the fastest first run in a time of 46.44 and then had the third-fastest second run to earn the victory in a time of 1:36.73, winning by almost eight-tenths of a second. Stef Fleckenstein finished ninth in a time of 1:38.83 and Andrea Arnold had her career best GS race and first career top 10 in any discipline in a time of 1:39.22. Kaitlyn Harsch skied sick in her first run and decided not to start her second run and Nora Christensen and Olivia Gerrard did not finish their second runs.

ALPINE MEN: Freshman Teddy Takki finished fifth in a two-run time of 1:34.33 with senior Max Luukko taking sixth just .13 behind at 1:34.46. Sophomore Joey Young tied for 15th in a time of 1:35.11 and freshman Filip Forejtek was just behind in 17th place in a time of 1:35.19. Freshman Max Bervy finished 27th in 1:38.88 while junior Bobby Moyer didn't finish his second run.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs rebounded from last week's GS races in Eldora where the team was in fifth place after the first day to taking the lead here in Bozeman. Tommy getting a win and the Buffs having five top 10 finishes is great improvement over last week, but the good news is there's still room for improvement.

NOTEWORTHY: The top four team scores in the men's race were within four points of each other in the closest race in several years. Tommy became the first women's alpine skier to win her first career GS in 19 years since Tove Pashkowski did so in the 2000 season. New Mexico (76), Colorado (73.5), Montana State (73) and Alaska Anchorage (72) were all within four points.

QUOTEWORTHY:
Richard Rokos: "We didn't want to take a chance with the weather tomorrow, it was more important to get this race in as part of the meet. It's a disadvantage for most of the teams, it would've been better to have a day to get used to the hill, but the organizers made the right decision."

"The hill isn't too steep, but there is a lot of terrain. Only about half the field finished, and we did well there and again it's about confidence."

Mikaela Tommy: "It's a beautiful day here at Bridger Bowl. The first run was perfect conditions, the second run was a little choppy with cross-ruts which is normal, but it was a good race for how warm is was. I always try to win, I'm just like another spirit in a human body, I don't tr4y to put too much pressure on myself. I knew I was able to win, so I was trying to do that."

"Tomorrow I'll try to do the same thing, maybe a little more relaxed. Try to have fun and hopefully my team will vibe off of it and we'll have a good team vibe up there."

UP NEXT: With the change of GS races, Thursday's scheduled GS races will be the RMISA Qualifier #2 and not count toward team scoring. Skiers will be able to count individually toward NCAA qualification points. The MSU Invitational will continue Friday with slalom (alpine) and freestyle (Nordic) races.

MONTANA STATE INVITATIONAL TEAM RESULTS (through 2 of 8 events)—1. Colorado 158.5; 2. New Mexico 151; 3. Montana State 139; 4. Alaska Anchorage 119; 5. Denver 117; 6. Utah 82; 7. Westminster 80.5; 8. Colorado Mountain 19.

WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM (21 collegiate finishers)—1. Mikaela Tommy, CU, 1:36.73; 2. Amelia Smart, DU, 1:37.56; 3. Katie Hensien, DU, 1:37.76; 4. Andrea Komsic, DU, 1:37.87; 5. Sona Moriacikova, UNM, 1:37.92; 6. Stephanie Gartner, MSU, 1:38.04; 7. Tuva Norbye, DU, 1:38.05; 8. Rebecca Fiegl, UNM, 1:38.35; 9. Stef Fleckenstein, CU, 1:38.83; 10. Andrea Arnold, CU, 1:39.22. Did Not Start (Second Run): Kaitlyn Harsch. Did Not Finish (Second Run): Nora Christensen, Olivia Gerrard.

MEN'S GIANT SLALOM (28 collegiate finishers)—1. Addison Dvoracek, UU, 1:33.29; 2. Louis Muhlen-Schulte, MSU, 1:33.51; 3. Sky Kelsey, UAA, 1:33.86; 4. Vegard Busengdal, UNM, 1:33.94; 5. Teddy Takki, CU, 1:34.33; 6. Max Luukko, CU, 1:34.46; 7. Olav Sanderberg, UNM, 1:34.58; 8. Morten Bakke, 1:34.69; 9. Ty Sprock, UU, 1:34.83; 10. Didrik Nilssen, UAA, 1:34.84. Other CU Finishers: t-15. Joey Young, 1:35.11; 17. Filip Forejtek, 1:35.19; 27. Max Bervy, 1:38.88. Did Not Finish (Second Run): Bobby Moyer.

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Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Max Bervy

Nora Christensen

Stef Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Olivia Gerrard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Max Luukko

Bobby Moyer

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

Joey Young