Buffs Pre-College Racing Season Underway

COPPER MOUNTAIN & STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.– The pre-collegiate racing season is well underway with alpine teams taking part in the first North American Cup races of the 2021-22 season in Copper Mountain while the Nordic teams head to Rabbit Ears pass near Steamboat Springs to get on the snow for the first time this season.

COPPER MOUNTAIN NOR-AMS

On the alpine side, several current and former CU skiers were at Copper Mountain as the Nor-Am Cup season got underway with two GS and two slalom races for each gender over the past six days.

The action at Copper Mountain got underway with a pair of women's slalom races Thursday and Friday. Former Buff Mikaela Tommy, Cass Gray, who's taking a year off from CU to make an Olympic run, and freshman Katie Fleckenstein all competed. Tommy took sixth, Gray seventh and Fleckenstein 42nd in the second slalom race on Friday. Tommy picked up 40 Nor-Am Cup points and Gray 36 for those finishes.

Transitioning to the weekend, the men's GS races took place Saturday and Sunday. Sophomore Louis Fausa used the fastest second run in the field to finish 11th in the first GS race on Saturday. Freshman Jacob Dilling picked up two Top 20 finishes, leading the Buffs on Sunday with a 16th place finish after finishing 19th on Saturday. Senior Filip Forejtek also earned Nor-Am Cup points with a 20th place finish Sunday and former Buff David Ketterer finished 25th on Saturday to pick up some points, as well. Senior Bobby Ryan and junior Alex Birkner both had solid improvement from Saturday to Sunday, Ryan moving up from 50th to 38th and Birkner from 49th to 40th.

Monday saw the switch to slalom with a pair of races over two days. Ketterer, who won the Nor-Am Slalom Title in 2017 while at CU, finished second in Monday's race. Forejtek was solid on both days, picking up a pair of 19th place finishes, while Dilling had his third top 20 in four races Sunday, leading the Buffs in 16th. Birker finished in the points in 21st place on Monday, while senior Max Bervy finished just out of the points, taking 31st and sophomore Chase Seymour also competed in all four races, finishing 42nd on Tuesday.

Women's slalom action also took place Monday and Tuesday, but no current or former Buffs competed.

After the first weekend, Ketterer finds himself in the top 10 of the NorAm point standings with 86 points, and fourth on the slalom list with 80. Dilling is 21st overall with 42 points and 18th on the GS list with 27 points. Fausa is 26th overall and 22nd in slalom and Forejtek is 30th overall and 30th in slalom while Birkner is 33rd on the slalom list. On the women's side, Tommy is ninth with 40 points and Gray 12th with 36.

The next Nor-Am Cup competition is in Lake Louise Dec. 6-10, but will only consist of downhill and Super G races so no current Buffs are scheduled to compete. The next slalom and GS competition on the Nor-Am circuit is in Panorama, Canada, Dec. 12-18, where several Buffs are slated to attend.

NORDIC TEAMS HIT SNOW AT RABBIT EARS

On the Nordic side, the Buffs and several college teams normally open the season in West Yellowstone with a week's worth of training followed by the first FIS race of the season. Due to lack of snow, the Buffs and several other teams relocated to Rabbit Ears pass just outside Steamboat Springs. While there is no official FIS race, the teams work together to set up time trails and other training opportunities for those in attendance.

The first FIS races of the season will take place in Duluth, Minn., Dec. 4-5 with a few Buffs slated to compete.

LUCZAK EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUES

Freshman Magdalena Luczak was forced to skip the World Cup slalom races in Levi last weekend and is next scheduled to compete in two GS races at Mayrhofen, Austria on the European Cup Tour on Nov. 28-29, both races replacing GS races from other venues on the tour. She will stay in Austria for two European Cup slalom races at Pass Thurn on Dec. 2-3.

WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES UPCOMING

The 30th Winter World University Games is upon us, slated to take place Dec. 11-21 in Lucern, Switzerland. Coach Richard Rokos will again lead the alpine teams for the United States, a role he has served in many times in the past. Five Buffs are slated to compete at World University Games, an event similar to the Olympic Games for students around the world. Magnus Boee and Fredrik Nilsen are both scheduled to compete in men's Nordic races while Kaitlyn Harsch will compete in women's alpine and Filip Forejtek and Bobby Ryan will compete in men's alpine action at the event.

Players Mentioned

Max Bervy

Alex Birkner

Magnus Boee

Louis Fausa

Katie Fleckenstein

Filip Forejtek

Kaitlyn Harsch

Bobby Ryan

Chase Seymour

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