Buffs Alpine Back In Action At Utah Invitational

PARK CITY, Utah--After over five weeks, the alpine teams in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association will be back in action this weekend at the Utah Invitational, with three races on tap here at Park City Ski Resort.

The Buffs will join other alpine teams from the Western Region for three FIS-U-sanctioned races. Alaska Anchorage, Colorado Mountain, Denver, Montana State, Utah, and Westminster College are expected to join the Buffs in Park City. The Utah meet will conclude the regular season for teams in the RMISA as the RMISA Championships will commence next week in Bozeman, Mont., the same venues that will play host to the NCAA Championships next month.

Teams will compete in giant slalom races on Saturday and slalom races on Sunday and Monday, which Sunday's races counting toward team scoring for the Utah meet and Monday's counting as an extra NCAA Championships qualifier.

The alpine teams haven't been in action since January 17 when alpine events ended at CU's own Spencer James Nelson Memorial Invitational. The races that day ended a whirlwind open to the season with six days of racing over a nine-day period. The upcoming stretch is similar as between Saturday and the end of RMISA Championships on Feb. 29, there will be another stretch of six days of racing over a period of eight days.

But just because the teams haven't been competing in college races doesn't mean they haven't been competing at all. The alpine teams have kept busy with other competitions. An overview:

On the women's side, Stef Fleckenstein and Mikaela Tommy have been skiing on the Nor-Am circuit, both skiing in events in Canada at Gregorian Paks, Osler Bluff and Craigleith and then returning to the United States for races at Whiteface Mountain and the National Winter Activity Center.

Fleckenstein took part in 12 races and finished all of them with 10 top 10 performances, including a third-place showing in the dual slalom race at Craigleight and two fourth-place finishes, in the slalom at Craigleith and the alpine combined at Whiteface Mountain. Tommy finished eight of nine races with six top 10s and a pair of fifth-place showings, one at Whiteface in a giant slalom race and then two days later in a slalom race t the National Winter Activity Center.

The rest of the women's team and the men's team took part in races at Steamboat Springs and in Utah, prepping themselves for what they'll see this weekend at the Utah Invitational.

Emma Hammergaard perhaps had the best time between, winning three races, a GS at Steamboat and two slaloms at Snowbird. She also took second in the other GS race at Steamboat and finished fifth and sixth in two GS races at Park City. Kaitlyn Harsch finished third and fourth in the two GS races at Steamboat, ninth and 10th in two slalom races at Snowbird and finished one GS at Park City, taking 11th. Andrea Arnold hit the podium in both GS races at Steamboat Springs, a second and a third, while finishing seventh in both GS races at Park City and 10th in one slalom at Snowbird. Olivia Gerrard didn't race at Steamboat but took 12th in one GS race at Park City and was fifth and 11th in the two slalom races at Snowbird.

On the men's side, Filip Forejtek led the way for the Buffs with two wins and a second place in the GS races at Steamboat and Park City, earning three podiums in the discipline. Teddy Takki took second place in a slalom race at Steamboat and was top 10 in two GS races at Park City, finishing eighth and ninth. Boby Ryan and Max Bervy both finished in fifth place in the two GS races at Steamboat and Alex Birkner was seventh in the slalom there. Joey Young had a DNF and DNS in two races since Eldora but is expected to be full-go this weekend at Utah.

The Buffs do expect Isabelle Fidjeland to return for the first time since the 2018 season. She injured herself days before the start of the 2019 season and has been recovering since. She also missed the majority of her freshman season in 2017 after she was hit by a car on her bike in October of that year. She's started 18 career races with 14 top 20 finishes in her career.

Megan McGrew, who hasn't skied in a college race since 2018 and initially hurt her knee in training prior to the NCAA Championships that season, has missed the last two seasons. She announced earlier this week on Instagram that she's retiring from racing. She will remain on the team and help coaches Richard Rokos and Stefan Hughes the remainder of the season.

"Even at 6 years of age, I knew ski racing was the only thing I wanted to do for as long as I could," McGrew posted on Instagram. "Nother really matches the feeling of crossing the finish line after a run you're proud of. The people I've met and the place I've gone, I am forever grateful for. Racing in college has been a privilege and an opportunity I'll always cherish. Unfortunately, the last few years my body has struggled to keep up with the physical demands of the sport. My knee isn't quite what it used to be. Although my ski racing career is behind me now, I will always remain the biggest fan of the sport. Thank you to everyone that was a part of my incredible journey."

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Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Max Bervy

Alex Birkner

Isabelle Fidjeland

Stef Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Olivia Gerrard

Emma Hammergaard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Megan McGrew

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

Joey Young