Wahlqvist Wins First Collegiate Race At Westminster Invite

Wednesday, January 17

Park City, Utah

W-8:30 & 11:45 / M-9:30 & 12:45

Colorado

Slalom

Photo by: Matan Coll, CU Athletics

Wahlqvist Wins First Collegiate Race At Westminster Invite

January 17, 2024 | Skiing

Results

By: Curtis Snyder, Associate AD/Athletic Communications

PARK CITY, Utah – Freshman Filip Wahlqvist became just the fifth skier in Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team history to win his first career men's alpine race, taking the gold medal in the slalom race at the Westminster Invitational here Wednesday at Olympic Park.

Wahlqvist joins Lou Hassell (1956, Aspen, Downhill), Roche Bush (1961, Wyoming, GS), Tim Hansen (1992, Utah, GS) and Drew Roberts (2007, Utah, Slalom) as the only skiers to accomplish the feat. He also did it in dramatic fashion, starting 16th overall and moving up to ninth before jumping into first with the third-fastest second run.

The conditions were less than ideal, with heavy snow throughout the day. That along with a new rule where you're not allowed to hike in a slalom race, and both the men's and women's race had more racers not finish than any in recent RMISA history. Less than 50 percent of the skiers in both races finished, with 17 of 38 women and 26 of 55 men completing the race.

Wahlqvist was one of just two CU skiers able to finish on the men's side, joined by fellow freshmen Etienne Mazellier, who was one of just two skiers faster than Wahlqvist in the second run, using the second-fastest time to move all the way from 28th to 16th in the final standings. The other five CU men didn't finish, perhaps none as heartbreaking as Louis Fausa, who had the fastest first run in the field and there was a momentary glimmer of hope for a 1-2 finish until he skied out on his second run.

The women had similar issues, with only two of seven skiers finishing the race. Julia Toiviainen, who like Wahlqvist started in 16th position, moved up to 10th after the first run and like Mazzelier, she also had the second-fastest second run and moved up to sixth place. Caroline Jones just missed out on starting behind Toivianen and instead because of the seeding process started 32nd and moved all the way up to 17th after the first run then up to ninth after her second run to pick up a top 10 finish.

Having just two skiers score in both races hurt the Buffs in the team standings, as CU slipped from third to fifth place as both Alaska Anchorage and Montana State had impressive days in the tight standings. The Buffs, however, kept fairly equal with first place Utah (477 points) and second place Denver (419). Alaska Anchorage moved up from sixth to third and has 398 points with Montana State (375) three points ahead of the Buffs (372). Just 47 points separate second through fifth places entering the final races of the meet on Friday.

UP NEXT: The second of four days at Olympic Park will keep skiers in the same discipline but a different meet, as the Utah Invitational slalom races are on tap for Thursday with women's first run scheduled for 9 a.m. and men's first run at 10 a.m. Action will continue at Olympic Park with giant slalom races, first to close out the Westminster meet Friday then the Utah meet on Saturday.

WHAT IT MEANS: While on the surface, Wednesday's results don't look good, there are some silver linings. The four skiers that finished the race all had impressive results, and all are newcomers to the program. For the most part the returning skiers were the ones that didn't finish and they have all proven themselves in the past. In many a season at CU, having 10 skiers not finish in a day of racing would have greatly hindered the team's chances of a decent finish, but with this deep team, it hurt, but not as bad, and the Buffs can move up a few spots Friday with a good GS showing. Important for the four skiers that did finish, they all got a solid result both for future starting positions and for NCAA Championship qualifying. On top of all that, Wahlqvist becoming just the fifth skier in this most storied part of the most storied program in the NCAA is quite an accomplishment.

TEAM NOTES:

The Buffs scored 105 points on the day, 56 in the men's race and 49 in the women's race. Wahlqvist's win is worth 40 points and Mazzelier scored 16 points. Toiviainen picked up 27 points and Jones 22 on the women's side.
The men's 56 points was fourth most but all three teams ahead of the Buffs had three team scorers and the Buffs did beat two teams that had three team scorers vs. their two.
The women had 49 points and finished fifth as only two women's teams finished three skiers and three of the eight teams finished just one skier in the race to score points. In all only 17 collegiate skiers finished the race while 21 didn't finish the race.

MEN'S ALPINE NOTES:

Filip Wahlqvist won the race on the strength of the third fastest-second run, moving up from 16th to 9th then to the win in the two runs. He is the first CU skier to win their first race in 15 years, since Alexa Turzian and Vegard Kjoelhamar both accomplished the feat on the same day to open the 2009 Nordic season in Alaska. For men's alpine, he's the first since Roberts in 2007, who ironically enough also won the slalom race in Utah to open the season. It is CU's second win of the season joining Will Koch's win also in this meet with results taken from the US National Championships when he won the freestyle sprint race. It's the 685th race win in CU history and he's the 187th different skier to win a race at CU. It's the first win for men's slalom since Filip Forejtek won the slalom race at the Utah Invitational in 2022.
Etienne Mazellier also moved up dramatically in his first college race, starting 36th and moving up to 28th and then all the way to 16th with the second-fastest second run in the field.
Jacob Dilling, Ryder Sarchett and Jack Reich were three of 11 college skiers that didn't finish the first run and Chase Seymour and Louis Fausa were two of the 15 skiers that didn't finish the second run. Fausa did put down the fastest first run in the field, the second time he's won a run in his career, both in slalom.

WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES:

Julia Toiviainen missed last season due to a knee injury and after transferring from Westminster, she was able to start in the 16th position due to an injury protection rule. She took advantage, throwing down the 10th fastest first run and then the second-fastest second run to move up to sixth position. Counting her three seasons at Westminster, she started her 39th career race and has finished an astounding 36 of them and this was her 29th career top 10 finish.
Caroline Jones was forced to start 32nd despite being one of the best slalom skiers in the country last year. She skied at Vermont in the ESIA, and her starting points did not transfer in. She just missed out on taking advantage of rule that would've allowed her to start right behind Toiviainen, but as it were, she was the top seeded skier by FIS points after the college seeding was done and she started 32nd. She moved from that position all the way up to ninth. She has now finished an amazing 33 of 35 college races as she sat out the 2021 season at Vermont and being one of the best slalom skiers, she now has 11 top 10 finishes in 18 career slalom starts, this likely being her lowest starting position in a race since her freshman season in 2020.
Ironically it was CU's three returning skiers that didn't finish the first run, as Emma Hammergaard, Elena Exenberger and Cleo Braun were three of 14 skiers who didn't finish the first run while fellow newcomers to Toiviainen and Jones, Denise Dingsleder and Ashley Campbell were two of seven skiers not finishing the second run. Both were in position to do what Jones did as Dingsleder was in 12th after the first run and Campbell 15th.

TEAM STANDINGS (Thru 6 of 8 Races): 1. Utah 478, 2. Denver 419; 3. Alaska Anchorage 398, 4. Montana State 375; 5. Colorado 372; 6. Alaska Fairbanks 260; 7. Wyoming 134; 8. Westminster 107; 9. Colorado Mountain 64; 10. Nevada 62.

WOMEN'S SLALOM (17 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Nora Brand, DU, 1:35.51; 2. Ainsley Profitt, UAA, 1:36.39; 3. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:36.89; 4. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:37.30; 5. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:38.81. CU Finishers: 6. Julia Toiviainen, 1:39.05; 9. Caroline Jones, 1:41.50. Did Not Finish First Run: Emma Hammergaard, Elena Exenberger, Cleo Braun. Did Not Finish Second Run: Denise Dingsleder, Ashley Campbell.

MEN'S SLALOM (26 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:27.73; 2. Leon Nikic, UAA, 1:28.01; 3. Loic Chable, WMC ,1:28.71; 4. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:28.74; 5. Jeremie Lagier, WMC, 1:28.81. Other CU Finisher: 16. Etienne Mazellier, 1:30.36. Did Not Finish First Run: Jacob Dilling, Chase Seymour. Did Not Finish Second Run: Louis Fausa, Ryder Sarchett, Jack Reich.