Boee Wins Owl Creek Chase

ASPEN, Colo.—Freshman Magnus Boee earned his third win of the season as the Colorado Ski Team racked up 10 top 20 finishes here Sunday at the Owl Creek Chase, doubling as an RMISA Nordic Qualifier.

There was no team scoring for the race, a popular point-to-point race that starts in Snowmass and finishes in Aspen, now in its 50th season. The race counts for individual qualifying and honors purposes.

Boee won his third race of the season, all coming in the last four races. He hasn't finished lower than second in his last five races and his only other finish of the season was fifth place in the opening race of the season at the CU Invitational. Another impressive win, he took Gold by 48.1 seconds, not quite the 71-second margin of his classic win at the DU Invitational, but impressive nonetheless.

"Before the start, the biggest question for me as if I should double pole the whole way or use grip wax," Boee said. "I ended up double-polling, which wasn't a bad choice, it was tough but worth it. I broke away after 4-5 K and held onto my lead and won by a wide margin, so that was cool. It ended well, I won the race and am super happy about that."

Junior Sondre Bollum was the second CU skier across the line in 11th with Andrew Potyk (14th), Wyatt Gebhardt (17th) and Tyler Terranova (20th) all earning top 20 finishes. Ryan Jackson did not start the race.

In the women's race, the Buffs were led by Hedda Baangman and her seventh-place finish. It was her first time leading the Buffs, as she was second in the first five races of the season, behind Anne Siri Lervik the first four races of the season and Anna-Maria Dietze on Saturday. Lervik did not start the race for the second straight day.

Ezra Smith earned her fourth top 10 finish of the season while Dietze finished in 12th place. Bridget Donovan (18th) and Quinn Lehmkuhl (19th) gave the Buffs five top 20 finishes, similar to the men's race. All 10 skiers that started the race for the Buffs finished in the top 20.

The Nordic teams will remain on tap and will compete in the Utah Invitational in less than a week, set to commence Feb. 14-15 at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alpine teams will close out the regular season at the Utah Invitational at Park City Feb. 22-24 before teams head to Montana for both the RMISA and NCAA Championships.

WHAT IT MEANS: As a qualifier race with no team scores, the pressure is off a little bit to post top results, but good results in a qualifier are nonetheless important. Boee continues his stellar rookie campaign, picking him his third college win. Baangman had another top 10 finish and has been consistent all season and Smith got into the top 10 again, all good signs. If Lervik and Jackson can come back healthy for the Utah Invitational, the Buffs will be in a position to end the regular season on a strong note and get into postseason action.

NORDIC WOMEN'S NOTES:

Baangman's seventh-place gives her 23 career top 10 finishes in 27 finished races. She has been the model of consistency for the Buffs this season, finishing between fifth and eighth in all six races.
Smith finished ninth and took home her fourth top 10 in six races this season, three of which have now been ninth place. She has finished in the top 15 in all six races this season and has 13 career top 20 finishes in 15 career races, including seven career top 10 finishes.
Dietze finished 12th, her fifth top 15 finish in six races this season. She has finished between 11th and 13th in four of the six races.
Donovan finished 18th, her third career top 20 finish and second in a row. Distance classic races seem to be her deal as her two best finishes this season are in the 15K classic race at CU and now the 21K classic race in Aspen. She had never competed in a race as long as 15K prior to the start of her college career.
Lehmkuhl finished 19th, her fourth top 20 of the season.
On the season, the women's team has 28 top 20 finishes and 15 top 10 performances.

NORDIC MEN'S NOTES:

Boee's win is his third win of the season and second straight dominant classic victory. He won Sunday's race by 48.1 seconds after winning the 10K classic at the DU Invitational by over 70 seconds. He now has five straight podium appearances and hasn't finished lower than second in those five races. He has finished in the top five in all six races this season.
Bollum finished 11th for the second straight race, the fifth time he's been in the top 12 this season.
Potyk had his best finish of the season in 14th place, his second top 15 on the season and sixth straight top 20 finish, giving him 22 top 20s in his career.
Gebhardt finished 17th and has six top 20 finishes on the season.
Terranova hit the top 20 for the second straight race and third time in his career.
On the season, the men's team has 30 top 20 finishes and 11 top 10 finishes with five podium appearances, all by Boee.

QUOTEWORTHY:

Magnus Boee: "It ended well, I won the race and am super happy about that. Before the start, the biggest question for me as if I should double pole the whole way or use grip wax. I ended up double polling, which wasn't a bad choice, it was tough but worth it. I broke away after 4-5 K and held onto my lead and won by a wide margin, so that was cool."

"Today as a point-to-point race, I hadn't skied the course before, so I was uncertain about how hard it would be to double pole. I took a chance and went fo rit, it was super hard but it paid off having good glide today. Especially with some new snow on the ground. It was a risky choice, but it paid off so that was cool."

"Next up for us is the Utah Invitational in Soldier Hollow. The Utah Invitational will be a cool race, obviously, we want to do well because it's Utah's invitational and they've been doing so well this year. Then we have a week off and then it's Regionals, which is the same place as NCAAs. Regionals will be good to prepare for NCAAs, the highlight of the season."

UP NEXT: The Nordic teams will remain on tap and will compete in the Utah Invitational in less than a week, set to commence Feb. 14-15 at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alpine teams will close out the regular season at the Utah Invitational at Park City Feb. 22-24 before teams head to Montana for both the RMISA and NCAA Championships.

WOMEN'S 21K CLASSIC (34 collegiate finishers)—1. Eveliina Piippo, DU, 1:23:03.4; 2. Leah Lange, UU, 1:24:10.3; 3. Emma Tarbath, MSU, 1:24:23.9; 4. Guro Jordheim, UU, 1:24:52.5; 5. Mariah Bredal, UU, 1:25:40.6; 6. Vera Norli, DU, 1:26:26.6; 7. Hedda Baangman, CU, 1:27:11.1; 8. Karianna Moe, UU, 1:27:24.5; 9. Ezra Smith, CU, 1:27:40.4; 10. Julia Richter, UU, 1:28:03.9. Other CU Skiers: 12. Anna-Maria Dietze, 1:29:37.4; 18. Bridget Donovan, 1:34:03.9; 19. Quinn Lehmkuhl, 1:34:06.5. Did Not Start: Anne Siri Lervik.

MEN'S 21K CLASSIC (41 collegiate finishers)—1. Magnus Boee, CU, 1:10:28.3; 2. Maximilian Bie, UU, 1:11:16.8; 3. Espen Persen, UAA, 1:11:18.6; 4. Bernhard Flaschberger, DU, 1:11:20.1; 5. Zanden McMullen, MSU, 1:11:20.5; 6. Sigurd Roenning, UAA, 1:11:31.7; 7. Ole Marius Kirkeng, DU, 1:11:44.8; 8. Logan Diekman, UU, 1:11:50.3; 9. Ola Jordheim, UU, 1:12:07.6; 10. Eli Jensen, MSU (1:12:46.2). Other CU Finishers: 11. Sondre Bollum, 1:13:43.5; 14. Andrew Potyk, 1:15:02.4; 17. Wyatt Gebhardt, 1:15:27.9; 20. Tyler Terranova, 1:16:12.7. 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