Boee Takes Second In Aspen Qualifier Race

ASPEN, Colo.—Freshman Magnus Boee earned his fourth straight podium appearance and the women's team placed two in the top 10 as the Colorado Ski Team took part in the women's 5k and men's 10k freestyle races as part of the Raole Willie Memorial Ski Race here Saturday.

The races are a RMISA Nordic Qualifier and do not count for team scoring.

Boee took second place about 40 seconds behind race winner Bernhard Flaschberger from Denver and more than 20 seconds ahead of third place Logan Diekmann from Utah.

Freshman Anna-Maria Dietze led the women in seventh place and junior Hedda Baangman turned in another top 10 of her own, taking eighth place.

All of the Buffs who skied - senior Anne Siri Lervik and freshman Ryan Jackson didn't race - took home a top 20 finish. Quinn Lehmkuhl was 14th, Ezra Smith 15th and Bridget Donovan 19th on the women's side and Sondre Bollumn was 11th, Wyatt Gebhardt 13th, Tyler Terranova 17th and Andre Potyk 18th on the men's side. For Dietze, Lehmkuhl and Terranova, the results are the best of their respective careers.

The Nordic teams will remain in the Aspen/Snowmass area Sunday for the Owl Creek Chase, a 21K Classic race that will also count as a Nordic Qualifier for the RMISA. The men start at 9 a.m. in a mass start followed shortly by the women at 9:05 a.m. The race begins in Snowmass and follows the Owl Creek Trail into Aspen.

WHAT IT MEANS: As a qualifier race, no team scores were counted, but the Buffs got some solid results in a less stressful environment. Boee solidified his freestyle standing for NCAA Championships even further and remains a leading candidate for the men's Nordic MVP honor. Dietze looked strong on the women's side and Baangman hit the top 10 as she usually does.

NORDIC WOMEN'S NOTES:

Dietze got her season/career best finish of seventh in the race. She previously finished 11th in the classic race for the CU Invite and her best freestyle finish was 13th at both CU and DU.
Baangman's eighth place finish gives her 22 top 10 finishes in her career in 26 career finishes.
Lehmkuhl's 14th place finish is her career best finish for either discipline and first career top 15 finish. Her previous best was 16th for a classic race in 2019 and 17th in the freestyle race to open the season at the CU Invitational.
Smith's 15th place finish gives her five top 15s on the season and is her 12th career top 20 finish in 15 career races.
Donovan had her season/career best freestyle finish in 19th and first top 20 in the discipline. Overall it's her second top 20 finish, after having taken 16th in the 15K classic race at the CU Invitational.
On the season, the women's team has 23 top 20 finishes and 13 top 10 performances.

NORDIC MEN'S NOTES:

Boee's second place finish is his fourth straight podium appearance (two wins, two seconds) and he hasn't finished outside the top 5 in his first five career collegiate races.
Bollum finished 11th, the fourth time in five races he's been in the top 12.
Gebhardt finished 13th, the second best freestyle finish of the season for him, behind a seventh-place showing to open the season at the CU Invitational.
Terranova finished 17th, his best career finish and second career top 20, both of which have come in freestyle (18th last season at DU).
Potyk finished 18th and has finished all five races this season between 15th and 18th, giving him 21 career top 20 finishes.
On the season, the men's team has 25 top 20 finishes and 10 top 10 finishes with four podium appearances, all by Boee.

QUOTEWORTHY:

Austin Caldwell: "Overall a good day, we're looking forward to a longer classic race tomorrow. We'll go from Snowmass to Aspen, it's a point to point race, it's harder to preview the course, harder to test for wax. Be sure to watch out for Hedda and Magnus, they conditions I think will be set up for them tomorrow."

Magnus Boee: "I'm quite happy with that, the last 5K was brutal today, I didn't feel all that great but getting second place is cool. We're at a pretty high altitude, which I definitely felt on the second lap. As a team, we know we can do better. Tomorrow we have the mass start, and it's starting at point A and ending at point B, there's no laps. We'll go check out the course later today to see the best way to attack it. It's the Owl Creek Chase, we start at Snowmass and end here at Aspen with a 21K course. I like races where you start at one point and end somewhere else, it makes the journey more interesting."

Anna-Maria Dietze: "It was a really warm today and fun skiing today. I was happy that I did better, especially at altitude. Hedda was right with me. It wasn't the best day for the whole team, but we'll get there. The next few races are in lower altitude and we're looking forward to that. Tomorrow will be different, a 21K race and a lot of people bunched together. We're excited to get out there and see how it goes."

UP NEXT: The Nordic teams will remain in the Aspen/Snowmass area Sunday for the Owl Creek Chase, a 21K Classic race that will also count as a Nordic Qualifier for the RMISA. The men start at 9 a.m. in a mass start followed shortly by the women at 9:05 a.m. The race begins in Snowmass and follows the Owl Creek Trail into Aspen.

WOMEN'S FREESTYLE (23 collegiate finishers)—1. Leah Lange, UU, 15:59.9; 2. Guro Jordheim, UU, 16:04.0; 3. Eveliina Piippo, DU, 16:11.3; 4. Julia Richter, 16:45.5; 5. Karianne Moe, UU, 16:49.7; 6. Mariah Bredal, UU, 16:51.7; 7. Anna-Maria Dietze, CU, 17:08.3; 8. Hedda Baangman, CU, 17:13.2; 9. Aubrey LeClair, MSU, 17:19.9; 10. Natalie Hynes, UAA, 17:21.3. Other CU Finishers: 14. Quinn Lehmkuhl, 17:50.3; 15. Ezra Smith, 17:53.3; 19. Bridget Donovan, 18:18.8. Did Not Start: Anne Siri Lervik.

MEN'S 10K FREESTYLE (26 collegiate finishers)—1. Bernhard Flaschberger, DU, 28:48.3; 2. Magnus Boee, CU, 29:27.6; 3. Logan Diekmann, UU, 29:59.1; 4. Espen Persen, UAA, 30:01.2; 5. Zanden McMullen, MSU, 30:03.5; 6. Sigurd Roenning, UAA, 30:04.9; 7. Bjorn Riksaasen, UU, 30:07.9; 8. Ti Donaldson, MSU, 30:08.9; 9. Ola Jordheim, UU, 30:10.5; 10. Sondre Bollum, CU, 30:21.3. Other CU Finishers: 13. Wyatt Gebhardt, 31:13.1; 17. Tyler Terranova, 31:31.5; 18. Andrew Potyk, 31:33.2. Did Not Start: Ryan Jackson.

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Players Mentioned

Hedda Baangman

Magnus Boee

Sondre Bollum

Anna-Maria Dietze

Bridget Donovan

Wyatt Gebhardt

Ryan Jackson

Quinn Lehmkuhl

Anne Siri Lervik

Andrew Potyk

Ezra Smith

Tyler Terranova