Forejtek Earns Second Place In RMISA Qualifier Race

PARK CITY, Utah--Sophomore Filip Forejtek continued his impressive skiing here, leading the Colorado Ski Team by finishing second in an RMISA slalom qualifier race Monday, earning him critical NCAA qualification points in the process.

No team scores were calculated for Monday's race, which is only used for NCAA qualification and individual accolades. Forejtek took full advantage of the opportunity, as his second-place finish Monday on the heels of a fourth-place finish Sunday, his two best career slalom finishes, vaulted him No. 16 to a tie for No. 4 on the slalom list. That move up will be critical for his seeding and start order for the soon approaching NCAA Championships.

"Filip had great races throughout the whole three days, he took over the helm of the men's team for the moment," Rokos said. "It's good to have two or three guys in that top group all the time."

Freshman Emma Hammergaard led the women with an eighth-place finish, her first career top 10 for slalom and second top 10 of her career, matching an eighth-place she had in a GS race in Aspen to open the season.

Senior Andrea Arnold finished 16th and Kaitlyn Harsh 17th for the Buffs. Stef Fleckenstein, who hadn't finished lower than fifth all season, had to hike on her first run and finished 24th. Senior Mikaela Tommy and sophomore Olivia Gerrard both didn't finish the races.

The other men's finishers included Joey Young in 12th place, Alex Birkner in 15th, Teddy Takki in 17th and Max Bervy, who also had to hike on his first run, in 21st. Bobby Ryan was the only CU skier who didn't finish the men's race, although 16 skiers in all earned DNFs.

WHAT IT MEANS: Qualifier races are meant to be races where skiers don't have the pressure of scoring for the team, they can let loose and go for it. On the whole, that's what happened for the Buffs, and it was beneficial for Forejtek and Hammergaard to get their best finishes of the season. Some others hiked or didn't finish, which you never want for a team race, but isn't a big deal for a qualifier.

MEN'S ALPINE NOTES:

Forejtek's earned his career-best finish for the second straight day, on the heels of his first top-five finish Sunday in fourth, his second-place finish gives him two top five slalom finishes, critical for NCAA Qualification purposes. In three races in Park City, he had two second places and one fourth-place finish. He now sits No. 6 on the GS qualification list and tied for fourth on the slalom list.
Forejtek now has three career podiums, two in the last three races, and six career top-five finishes, four this season and three in a row.

WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES:

Hammergaard's eighth-place finish was her best of her season/career and first top 10 in slalom. She has one top 10 in GS, also eighth, which she got in the first race of the season in January in Aspen.
Fleckenstein and Tommy have largely secured their high seeds for the NCAA Championships. Fleckenstein sits second on the slalom list, Tommy fifth, and Tommy leads the GS list with Fleckenstein tied for second. The third skier chosen will likely be whoever performs best in Bozeman at this week's RMISA Championships between Hammergaard, who is No. 13 on the GS list and No. 16 on the slalom list, senior Andrea Arnold (also 16th on the slalom list, No. 19 on the GS list) and sophomore Kaitlyn Harsch (18th on the GS list, 19th on the slalom list).

QUOTABLE:
Richard Rokos:
"On the whole, this week was pretty good. On the women's side, both Mikaela and Stef skied to their potential, finishing in the top five, a respectable result. On the women's side, any of the others can step in any time. Bella (Isabelle Fiejeland) is still recovering a bit but we had good news there and we're hopeful she has a chance to ski in Bozeman this week."

"Filip had great races throughout the whole three days, he took over the helm of the men's team for the moment. Joey is still recovering from some injuries and had some other misfortunes this past week. It's good to have two or three guys in that top group all the time. Behind them, all the rest of the guys are showing occasions of excellence."

"This week I'm hoping the Nordic team will be back in the groove and healthy, something that was haunting us the last couple races. We're looking to be in good shape and form for the NCAA Championships."

UP NEXT: Teams will head north to Bozeman on Tuesday for the RMISA Championships. The alpine teams will have two GS races, one a qualifier on Thursday and one for the Championships on Friday, and a slalom race on Saturday. For the first time this season, both alpine and Nordic teams will compete on the same days, as the freestyle races will take place Friday and the classic races Saturday. Bozeman will also host the NCAA Championships March 11-14.

WOMEN'S SLALOM (27 collegiate finishers)—1. Amelia Smart, DU, 1:47.21; 2. Andrea Komsic, DU, 1:50.17; 3. Eirin Engeset, UU and Eleri Smart, DU, 1:50.59; 5. Kaitlyn Vesterstein, UU, 1:50.83; 6. Katie Hensein, DU, 1:50.87; 7. Julia Toiviainen, WMC, 1:50.98; 8. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:51.22; 9. Rebecca Fiegl, UAA, 1:51.26; 10. Henriette Resen, SMC, 1:52.08. Other CU Finishers: 16. Andrea Arnold, 1:53.49; 17. Kaitlyn Harsch, 1:54.02; 24. Stef Fleckenstein, 1:58.08. Did Not Finish First Run: Mikaela Tommy, Olivia Gerrard.

MEN'S SLALOM (21 collegiate finishers)—1. Joachim Lein, UU, 1:55.03; 2. Filip Forejtek, CU, 1:55.65; 3. Colby Lane, DU, 1:56.16; 4. Simon Fournier, 1:56.17; 5. Aaage Solheim, MSU, 1:56.50; 6. Mikkel Solbakken, 1:56.87; 7. Jett Seymour, DU, 1:57.82; 8. Cole Puckett, DU, 1:58.56; 9. Addison Dvoracek, UU, 1:58.60; 10. Tomas Birkner de Miguel, UU, 1:58.69. Other CU Finishers: 12. Joey Young, 1:59.01; 15. Alex Birkner, 2:00.20; 17. Teddy Takki, 2:00.72; 21. Max Bervy, 2:23.32. Did Not Finish First Run: Bobby Moyer.

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Players Mentioned

Andrea Arnold

Max Bervy

Alex Birkner

Stef Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Olivia Gerrard

Emma Hammergaard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Bobby Moyer

Bobby Ryan

Teddy Takki

Mikaela Tommy

Joey Young