Tommy, Fleckenstein Take Top Two Spots In RMISA Qualifier

ASPEN—Senior Mikaela Tommy won her fourth career race and Stef Fleckenstein got her first career podium appearance as the Canadian duo finished first and second, helping the Colorado Ski Team put together a solid performance at the RMISA Alpine Qualifier races here Friday at Aspen Highlands Ski Resort.

While there was no team scoring, the women's team certainly took the honors on the first day. On top of Tommy's gold and Fleckenstein's silver, freshman Emma Hammergaard was eighth. Tommy had almost a second lead over the field after the first run and was third in the second run to hold on for the win. Fleckenstein was second in the first run and won the second run to cut into Tommy's lead a bit but remain in second. Hammergaard started in 33rd position, moved up to 18th after the first run and had the fifth-fastest second run to move into the top 10.

On the men's side, junior Joey Young led the way for the Buffs as he did much of his sophomore campaign, taking fourth place, the best GS finish of his career. Sophomore Teddy Takki had a solid day taking eighth place, matching his career best GS race, giving the Buffs two top 10 finishes to open the season.

"Overall it was a good day," CU coach Richard Rokos said. "The women's team did exceptionally well, but they are good so we expect them to. The men have more potential, no question, they didn't quite hit their capacity. It was cold today, almost exceptionally cold, but the visibility was good, the course was a little bumpy, but the snow was good, overall a fine day."

Friday was similar to what Las Vegas calls a soft opening. The results certainly count for individuals but not for team scoring. Saturday's GS races will officially open the 2020 Denver Invitational and count for team scoring.

ALPINE WOMEN: CU's women had a great first day of action with Tommy winning and Fleckenstein taking second. Beyond Hammergaard's eighth-place finish, sophomore Kaitlyn Harsch took 14th and sophomore Olivia Gerrard was 21st. Andrea Arnold looked poised for a top 10 finish after being in ninth after the first run, but did not finish her second run. Tommy's first run was the top in the field in 1:03.69, nearly a second better than Fleckenstein's second place time of 1:04.66. Fleckenstein won the second run in 1:07.86 and Tommy was third in 1:08.38 as those two held their first run positions, Tommy in a time of 2:12.07 and Fleckenstein in 2:12.62. Hammergaard's eighth place time was 2:15.29 while Harsch's time was 2:16.17 and Gerrard's 2:16.80.

ALPINE MEN: Junior Joey Young again led the Buffs, as he did much of 2019, setting a new career best finish for GS in fourth place in a time of 2:08.10. Takki got into the top 10 for the third career time in GS action in eighth place in 2:08.60. Sophomore Bobby Ryan took 16th place in his first race as a Buff in 2:09.62 after transferring from Boston College and freshman Alex Birkner finished in 22nd in his first collegiate race in a time of 2:10.56. Sophomore Filip Forejtek didn't finish the second run and sophomore Max Bervy didn't finish the first run.

WHAT IT MEANS: This race was big for Tommy, Fleckenstein and Hammergaard even if it didn't count for any team scoring. Friday's races still count for NCAA Qualification, RMISA Alpine Seeding and toward individual accolades like MVP and All-RMISA. For seeding specifically, early season success can lead to better starting positions, and Hammergaard starting in 33rd and moving into the top 10 is the best case scenario to make that happen. If she can get another top 10 on Saturday, she'll be well suited for solid starting positions the rest of the season in GS action. On the men's side, it was also a big race for Young to work his way up the seeding list on the GS side and for Takki, who had some issues finishing races a season ago, starting off strong is a good sign.

NOTEWORTHY:

For Tommy, it's her fourth career win, all coming in GS racing, and she now has four wins in six career GS starts. Her four GS wins ranks tied for third in CU history and she ranks tied for seventh for most wins by a women's alpine skier in any discipline.
Fleckenstein's second place was her career best finish in either discipline and first career podium appearance and first career top five finish. Her previous best in a GS race was eighth last year at the UAA Invitational. She now has nine top 10 finishes in 12 finished races.
Hammergaard became the first women's alpine skier since Tonje Trulsrud in 2016 to get a top 10 in a skier's first career race.
Harsch matched her career best GS finish which she also obtained at the RMISA Championships last season.
Young had his best career GS finish, bettering seventh place twice, last in a qualifier race last season. It's his first career top five finish in GS action and fifth top 5 finish overall.
Takki matched his second-best GS finish in his career and now has three top 10 finishes, all in GS action.

QUOTEWORTHY:
Richard Rokos: "Overall, it was a good day for the Buffs. The women's team did exceptionally well, but they are good so we expect them to. The men have more potential, no question, they didn't quite hit their capacity."

"Mikaela and Stef absolutely the power to do it, at this point it's more about the people behind them, who will step up into the third spot. Today it looks like Emma is getting there, starting 33rd and finishing eighth and with that start, she had to deal content with ruts in the course more than the others."

"On the men's side, Joey had his fairly standard performance and Teddy had a solid race. Filip was out of luck a little bit right before the finish line."

"It was cold today, almost exceptionally cold, but the visibility was good, the course was a little bumpy, but the snow was good, overall a fine day. We're looking forward to tomorrow. It was pretty much a day you could go out and try your limits, there's no consequences but tomorrow comes the real format where it counts for team scoring."

UP NEXT: Friday essentially being a warm-up day, tomorrow more important action begins with another GS race that will count toward the team scores for the 2020 Denver Invitational. Sunday's slalom action will conclude the alpine portion of the DU meet, the only college racing taking place this season.

WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM (25 collegiate finishers)—1. Mikaela Tommy, CU, 2:12.07; 2. Stef Fleckenstein, CU, 2:12.62; 3. Erin Engeset, UU, 2:13.49; 4. Georgia Burgess, UAA, 2:14.20; 5. Henriette Resen, WMC, 2:14.68; 6. Nellie Talbot, MSU, 2:14.78; 7. Sona Moravcikova, UU, 2:14.94; 8. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:08.80; 9. Lana Zbasnik, WMC, 2:15.53; 10. Rebecca Fiegl, UAA, 2:15.74. Other CU Finishers: 14. Kaitlyn Harsch, 2:16.17; 21. Olivia Gerrard, 2:16.80. Did Not FInish Second Run: Andrea Arnold.

MEN'S GIANT SLALOM (26 collegiate finishers)—1. Mikkel Solbakken, WMC, 2:05.05; 2. Aage Solheim, MSU, 2:06.13; 3. Tobias Kogler, DU, 2:06.33; 4. Joey Young, CU, 2:08.10; 5. Joachim Mjelde, WMC, 2:08.16; 6. Mikkel Wahl, WMC, 2:08.32; 7. Didrik Nilsen, UAA, 2:08.45; 8. Teddy Takki, CU, 2:08.60; 9. Dominic Unterberger, UAA, 2:08.86; 10. Olav Sanderberg, UAA, 2:08.97. Other CU Finishers: 16. Bobby Ryan, 2:09.62; 21. Alex Birkner, 2:10.56. Did Not Finish First Run: Max Bervy. Did Not Finish Second Run: Filip Forejtek.

Tommy, Fleckenstein Take Top Two Spots In RMISA Qualifier

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Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Max Bervy

Alex Birkner

Stef Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Olivia Gerrard

Emma Hammergaard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Bobby Ryan

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

Joey Young

Tommy, Fleckenstein Take Top Two Spots In RMISA Qualifier

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Max Bervy

Alex Birkner

Stef Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Olivia Gerrard

Emma Hammergaard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Bobby Ryan

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

Joey Young

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