Boee Wins RMISA Qualifier At U.S. Championships

HOUGHTON, Mich.—After an average day Monday to open the 2023 ski season, the Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team responded with authority by placing 1-3-5 on the men's side and fifth on the women's in the Classic Sprints races here Wednesday in another RMISA Qualifier at the U.S. National Cross Country Ski Championships.

"Overall we had a much better day today than Monday," CU Nordic Coach Jana Weinberger said. "Magnus, Will, Hugo and Weronika all skied very strong. Will and Magnus didn't qualify super high but worked their way through the heats. Hugo qualified seventh and was the top U20 skier, and Weronika qualified fifth and outside of getting boxed out a little in the final heat, she did great, as well. We skied more like we should be skiing, and in Classic distance races, I think Luka (Riley) and Zander (Mauer) will move up quite a bit, too."

This is the second race of the U.S. Championships and the second that counts as an NCAA Qualification race for the RMISA skiers in attendance. The remaining two races later this week will not count at RMISA Qualifiers.

Senior Magnus Boee picked up the win on the men's side, finishing second overall behind Kristoffer Karsrud from Northern Michigan (not an RMISA school). Junior Will Koch finished fourth overall, picked up a podium as the third place RMISA skier and was the second-place American in the field, earning a podium appearance as only US skiers are eligible to be named the U.S. National Champion.

Freshman Hugo Hinckfuss earned a fifth-place RMISA finish as he was the first skier out of the final, taking third in the first semifinal heat. Hinckfuss was the top U20 skier in the qualifier and the only one that advanced to the quarterfinal heats, as the next highest U20 or U18 skier finished 41st in the qualifier.

No team scores are kept for RMISA Qualifiers, but had this been a scored meet, the men's team would've easily won the race over Utah by a score of 103-85.

On the women's side, junior Weronika Kaleta picked up a fifth place finish as five RMISA skiers advanced to the final. She struggled a bit at the end of the final and finished last after winning her quarterfinal heat and taking second in her semifinal heat.

For Boee, after finishing outside the top 10 for just the third time in 36 (now 37) career races on Monday, he responded with his 15th collegiate win, which moves him alone into fifth place in CU history for all gender's and disciplines, alone into third for men's skiers and he maintains his second place standing among men's Nordic skiers in CU history.

WHAT IT MEANS: As coach Jana Weinberger predicted, the Buffs as a team performed better Wednesday than they did Monday, especially on the men's side, claiming three top five finishers after having just one in the top 10 on Monday. Still short-handed on the women's side, Kaleta was nonetheless able to get a top five finish for NCAA qualification. The Buffs will look to continue to race strong the final two races here at US Nationals even though they won't count as college races and then will look to divide and conquer next week as both the MSU Invitational and World University Games take place.

UP NEXT: There are still two days of racing here at the U.S. Championships, but they will not count for RMISA qualification. After that, two events are on the horizon for the Nordic teams, as the Montana State Invitational will take place at the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center on Jan. 13-14. The Buffs will essentially be split between that meet and the World University Games, which take place in Lake Placid Jan. 12-22. Seven Nordic Buffs will represent their respective countries at World University Games, leaving six Buffs to compete in the Montana State meet.

"We'll look for two more solid days of racing," Weinberger said. "They're important races for the junior skiers. Luka could earn a spot for the Junior World Championships if he skis well. Will is also trying to earn a spot for World Cups, so if he skis well he could earn some World Cup starts this season."

MEN'S NORDIC NOTES:

Boee advanced to the quarterfinals with the 22nd-fastest qualification time, won his quarterfinal heat, took second to Koch in his semifinal heat before finishing as the top RMISA skier in the final heat to pick up the win. His win gives him 15 career wins in 37 career races. He also now has 34 top 10 finishes, 29 top five and 24 podium appearances.
- The 15 wins puts him into sole possession of fifth place in CU history, breaking a tie with Dave Butts (1958-60) and Mads Stroem (2014-17).
- It puts him into sole possession of third place for wins by a men's skier, breaking tie with the same two skiers and behind only Frank Brown (17, 1957-59) and Rune Oedegarard (19, 2012-15).
- It puts him into second place for men's Nordic skiers behind Oedegaard.
- He becomes just the fifth skier in CU history to win a race in four different seasons, joining Bjorn Svensson (1990-93), Maria Grevsgaard (2006-09), Eliska Hajkova (2010-13) and Oedegaard (2012-15).
- His 24 career podium appearances puts him into sole possession of eighth place in CU history, fifth place for men's skiers and fourth for men's Nordic skiers.
- His 29 top five finishes now ranks tied for ninth in CU history, tied for sixth for men's skiers and tied for fourth for men's Nordic skiers.
- His 34 top 10 finishes ranks tied for 19th in CU history, tied for 13th for men's skiers and tied for eighth for men's Nordic skiers.
Koch placed 23rd in the qualifier heat to advance to the quarterfinals, where her finished second in his heat before winning his semifinal heat and taking fourth in the final heat. His third place is his third career podium appearance, fourth career top five finish, 14th top 10 and 20th top 20 in 21 career races.
Hinckfuss placed seventh in the qualifier race, took second in his quarterfinal heat and fourth in his semifinal heat. He picked up his first top five and first top 10 finish in his second career race.
Fredrik Nilsen placed 19th based on his qualifying time and finishes 19th for the second straight race, giving him 13 top 20 finishes in his 14 career races.
Alexander Maurer finished 23rd based on his qualifying time.
Luka Riley finished 26th based on his qualifying time.

WOMEN'S NORDIC NOTES:

Kaleta finished fifth overall, she was fifth after the qualifier and then won her quarterfinal heat and took second in her semifinal heat before struggling a bit at the end of the final heat where she took sixth as the fifth RMISA finisher. She now has 20 finished races and 13 top 10 finishes including four top five finishes.
Elena Grissom finished 22nd based on her qualifying time in her second collegiate race.
Kili Lehmkuhl finished 29th based on her qualifying time.

MEN'S CLASSIC SPRINTS (42 collegiate finishers): 1. Magnus Boee, CU, 2:52.61 (2F); 2. Luke Jager, UU, 2:53.39 (3F); 3. Will Koch, CU, 2:54.65 (4F); 4. Christopher Kalev, UAF, 3:00.11 (6F); 5. Hugo Hinckfuss, CU, 3:01.36 (4QF); 6. Sigurd Roenning, UAA, 2:59.12 (5QF); 7. Noel Keefe, UU, 2:56.80 (3SF); 8. Tom Mancini, UU, 2:57.93 (4SF); 9. Mike Ophoff, UAF, 2:55.56 (4SF); 10. Andreas Kirkeng, DU, 3:02.03 (5SF). Other CU Finishers: 19. Fredrik Nilsen, 3:00.53 (Q), 23. Alexander Maurer, 3:01.76 (Q), 26. Luka Riley, 3:04.36 (Q).

WOMEN'S CLASSIC SPRINTS (32 collegiate finishers): 1. Mariel Pulles, UAF, 3:23.04 (2F); 2. Tilde Baangman, MSU, 3:26.24 (3F); 3. Sydney Palmer-Leger, UU, 3:27.45 (4F); 4. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 3:27.65 (5F); 5. Weronika Kaleta, CU, 3:32.11 (6F); 6. Novie McCabe, UU, 3:31.51 (3SF); 7. Karianne Dengerud, UU, 3:28.28 (6SF); 8. Sophia Mazzoni, MSU, 3:37.85 (4QF); 9. Celine Mayer, UU, 3:37.50 (4SF); 10. Pascale Paradis, UAA, 3:38.86 (5SF). Other CU Finishers: 22. Elena Grissom, 3:48.00 (Q); 29. Kili Lehmkuhl, 4:02.82 (Q).

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Players Mentioned

Magnus Boee

Elena Grissom

Hugo Hinckfuss

Weronika Kaleta

Will Koch

Kili Lehmkuhl

Alexander Maurer

Fredrik Nilsen

Luka Riley