Buffs Slip, Finish Third At UAA Invitational

GIRDWOOD, Alaska—The University of Colorado ski team had a tough day in men's alpine action at the Alaska Anchorage Invitational, and in the end fell from first to finish third here Saturday at Aleyska Ski Resort.

The women's race was first and three Buffs finished in the top 10, including clutch performances from freshmen Mikaela Tommy and Stef Fleckenstein that greatly enhanced their NCAA Qualification points, and another top 10 from senior Nora Christensen. Utah outscored the Buffs by 2.5 points in the women's race to take a one-point lead in the meet headed into the men's race. That's where things went south for the Buffs, as Joey Young was the only CU skeir to finish in the top 10, taking ninth, while senior Max Luukko finished 20th and freshman Max Bervy 27th as the only three Buffs to finish the race. In the end, not only did the Buffs fall to Utah by 53 points, but also allowed Denver to pass them for second place, as well.

"It was my hope on the men's side that we would improve our placement for NCAA Qualification," CU coach Richard Rokos said. "This was a disaster and will impact us far beyond today. This will follow us to Vermont and impact our starting positions for the NCAA Championships. I'm really disappointed in some of the guys for various reasons."

There is now just one day left before the NCAA Championships, as the teams will hold another slalom race Sunday to conclude the RMISA Championships, which double as the NCAA West Regional. Tomorrow's slalom action will still take place at Aleyska Ski Resort, but will be held on a different hill. The Buffs are currently in second place behind Utah.

"We will go out tomorrow and do our best," Rokos said. "The hill tomorrow isn't as challenging as today's was and the hope is that we will perform better."

TEAM: Utah won the men's slalom race with 94 points to the Buffs 42 while Denver scored 85 to move into second place. Utah's winning point total was 638 while Denver scored 598.5 points and the Buffs 585. In fourth was New Mexico with 508.5 points followed by host Alaska Anchorage with 449 to round out the top five.

ALPINE WOMEN: The pressure was on for Mikaela Tommy in the women's race. While she is safely qualified for NCAA Championships as the top seed in GS action, she only had one result in slalom before today and she moved up about 20 spots to 14th on the slalom list as a result. Fleckenstein matched her second best finish while freshmen Kaitlyn Harsch and Olivia Gerrard both improved their point totals, as well.

Tommy led the Buffs in seventh place with a two-run time of 1:38.37. She started 16th, moved up to 11th after the first run and then up four more spots to take seventh. Fleckenstein's time of 1:38.48 was good for eighth and Christensen's 10th place time was 1:38.71. Kaitlyn Harsch finished 14th in a time of 1:41.11, matching her career high for the third straight day in Alaska and setting a new career best for slalom action. Olivia Gerrard finished 16th in 1:41.44 and Andrea Arnold had a slight mistake on her first run and finished 21st in 1:43.12.

ALPINE MEN: Joey Young was again the Buffs best performer in slalom action, something he's accomplished in four of the five races so far this season. His time of 1:35.14 was just a second outside of a top five finish. Max Luukko finished 20th in a time of 1:36.62 and freshman Max Bervy was the Buffs third team scorer in 27th in a time of 1:41.83. Junior Bobby Moyer didn't start the race, freshman Teddy Takki didn't finish the first run and freshman Filip Forejtek, who was seventh after the first run, skied out at the top of his second run.

WHAT IT MEANS: Some days hurt in ski racing, and for the men's alpine team, today was one of those days. With just one day of slalom action left, the Buffs need good results tomorrow for NCAA Championship seeding. The Buffs likely aren't at risk to not qualify a full team as four Buffs are in the top 15 on the giant slalom qualification list, but as it stands now, only two of the men's skiers are in the top 35 of the qualification list on the slalom side. The women's team had a really good day Saturday and if the men's team can rebound, the Buffs have a big opportunity tomorrow not only to improve their qualification seeding, but make a run for a conference and regional championship at the same time.

NOTEWORTHY: Tommy's seventh place finish is her career best and just her second finish in a slalom race, as she missed the UNM Invitational with World Cup action. Fleckenstein finished in the top 10 in slalom for the third straight race and she now has six top 10s in eight finished races this season. Christensen had her 22nd career top 10 finish and fifth in slalom action this season in five races. Young continued his impressive season on the men's side and is the most consistent skier this season. He and Luukko are the only two alpine skiers to finish all 11 races to date and he now has nine finishes in the top 11 on the season, including a pair of top five finishes and one race victory.

UP NEXT: The Buffs eight day, two meet, 16 race adventure in Alaska comes to an end Sunday, as does the RMISA Championships, with the running of another slalom race at Aleyska Ski Resort. After tomorrow, the Buffs will return to Boulder for less than a week before embarking to Stowe, Vt., with less than half the team for the 2019 NCAA Championships.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE INVITATIONAL TEAM RESULTS (FINAL)—1. Utah 638; 2. Denver 598.5; 3. Colorado 585; 4. New Mexico 508.5; 5. Alaska Anchorage 449; 6. Montana State 349; 7. Alaska Fairbanks 195; 8. Westminster 182; 9. Colorado Mountain 64.

WOMEN'S SLALOM (25 collegiate finishers)—1. Jocelyn McCarthy, MSU, 1:35.90; 2. Rebecca Fiegl, UNM, 1:36.58; 3. Andrea Komsic, DU & Eirin Engeset, UU, 1:36.66; 5. Tuva Norbye, DU, 1:36.91; 6. Sona Moracikova, UNM, 1:37.46; 7. Mikaela Tommy, CU, 1:38.37; 8. Stef Fleckenstein, CU, 1:38.48; 9. Kaitlyn Vesterstein, UU, 1:38.52; 10. Nora Christensen, CU, 1:38.71. Other CU Finishers: 14. Kaitlyn Harsch, 1:41.11; 16. Olivia Gerrard, 1:41.44; 21. Andrea Arnold, 1:43.12.

MEN'S SLALOM (29 collegiate finishers)—1. Simon Fournier, DU, 1:32.68; 2. Mark Engel, UU & Joachim Lein, UU, 1:33.24; 4. Alex Barounos, UNM, 1:34.07; 5. Tobias Kogler, DU, 1:34.20; 6. Mikkel Wahl, WMC, 1:34.68; 7. Olav Sanderberg, UNM, 1:35.02; 8. Addison Dvoracek, UU, 1:35.07; 9. Joey Young, CU, 1:35.14; 10. Aage Solheim, MSU, 1:35.22. Other CU Finishers: 20. Max Luukko, 1:36.62; 27. Max Bervy, 1:41.83. Did Not Start First Run: Bobby Moyer. Did Not Finish First Run: Teddy Takki. Did Not Finish Second Run: Filip Forejtek.

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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