Buffs Finish Third At DU Invitational

GEORGETOWN, Colo.—Louis Fausa finished fifth place in the men's slalom race and the Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team remained in third place after the final day of the Denver Invitational here Sunday at Loveland Ski Area.

Fausa picked up his first top five finish of the season and third of his career, moving up five spots after putting down the 10th fastest first run. Jacob Dilling was fourth after the first run but slipped to 11th after a mistake late in his second run. Alex Birkner was the Buffs third team scorer in 26th place.

On the women's side, Kaitlyn Harsch had the fifth-fastest second run and moved up to 14th place after starting the race in 23rd and having the 17th fastest first run. Cleo Braun finished 22nd and Emma Hammergaard made a mistake on her first run and ended up in 30th place.

The Buffs finished the meet with 455 points after picking up 105 on the final day. Utah won the meet with 734 points and Denver was second with 608. Behind the Buffs, Montana State finished 494 points and Alaska Anchorage rounded out the top five with 422 points.

WHAT IT MEANS
After five days of racing and most of the last month away from Boulder, the Buffs will get a much-needed break before heading to Alaska to take part in the final regular season race and the RMISA Championships in two weeks. In the past couple of weeks, the Buffs have had many bright spots that will make the last third of the season interesting.

UP NEXT
All that remains in the 2023 season is the final regular season meet in Alaska, followed immediately by the RMISA Championships from Feb. 20-25. Then two weeks later the NCAA Championships will end the season March 8-11.

TEAM NOTES

The Buffs scored 104 points on the day, 42 in the women's race and 63 in the men's race.
The Buffs finished the meet with 518 points, third behind Utah (734) and Denver (608) and head of Montana State (494) and Alaska Anchorage (422).

WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES

Harsch led the way for the Buffs in 14th place, her second best finish of the season and third top 20 performance.
Cleo Braun finished 22nd, her best finish of the season.
Hammergaard had a misstep on her first run and finished 30th. Elena Exenberger didn't finish her second run.

MEN'S ALPINE NOTES

Fausa finished fifth for the Buffs, his first top five finish of the season and third of his career. He has four straight top 10 finishes, four this season and now has 11 in his career.
Dilling finished 11th, his 20th top 20 finish of his career in 21 career races.
Alex Birkner finished 26th, Sebastian Kohlhofer 32nd and Chase Seymour 33rd while Jack Reich didn't finish his second run and Filip Forejtek didn't race for the second straight day.

DENVER INVITATIONAL TEAM RESULTS (FINAL)—1. Utah 734; 2. Denver 608; 3. Colorado 518; 4. Montana State 494; 5. Alaska Anchorage 422; 6. Westminster 256; 7. Alaska Fairbanks 220; 8. Colorado Mountain 145; 9. Nevada 106;10. Wyoming 68.

WOMEN'S SLALOM #2 (35 collegiate finishers)—1. Madison Hoffman, UU, 1:32.14; 2. Sara Rask, DU, 1:32.64; 3. Nora Brand, DU, 1:33.39; 4. Michelle Kerven, UU, 1:33.41; 5. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:33.75; 6. Justin Lamontagne, MSU, 1:33.83; 7. Nicola Rountree-Williams, CMC, 1:34.17; 8. Mia Hunt, DU, 1:34.20; 9. Evelina Fredricsson, WMC, 1:34.36; 10. Eleri Smart, DU, 1:34.60. CU Finishers: 14. Kaitlyn Harsch, 1:35.18; 22. Cleo Braun, 1:36.61; 30. Emma Hammergaard, 1:40.75. Did Not Finish Second Run: Elena Exenberger.

MEN'S SLALOM #2 (40 collegiate finishers)—1. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:35.61; 2. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:36.27; 3. Henry Heaydon, MSU, 1:36.76; 4. Joachm Mjelde, WMC, 1:37.02; 5. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:37.13; 6. Jeremy Mathers, UU, 1:37.25; 7. Cole Puckett, DU & Raphael Lessard, UU, 1:37.32; 9. Gustav Vollo, UU, 1:37.33; 10. Mikke Solbakken, WMC, 1:37.46. Other CU Finishers: 11. Jacob Dilling, 1:37.48; 26. Alex Birkner, 1:40.75; 32. Sebastian Kohlhofer, 1:42.81; 33. Chase Seymour, 1:43.88. Did Not Finish Second Run: Jack Reich.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Birkner

Cleo Braun

Jacob Dilling

Elena Exenberger

Louis Fausa

Filip Forejtek

Emma Hammergaard

Kaitlyn Harsch

Sebastian Kohlhofer

Jack Reich

Chase Seymour