Wahlqvist, Dingsleder Hit Podium In Qualifier Races

BIG SKY, Mont. – Colorado's Filip Wahlqvist and Denise Dingsleder hit the podium as the Buffaloes ski team competed in giant slalom qualifier races at Big Sky Resort Thursday, one day ahead of the start of the 2024 RMISA Championships.

With no team scoring, the races serve as an extra chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which the Buffs will host in Steamboat Springs March 6-9, and officially brings the regular season to a close.

Several Buffs took advantage of the extra race, including Wahlqvist and Dingsleder, who both had their career-best GS finishes, Wahlqvist taking second in the men's race and Dingsleder third in the women's.

For Dingsleder, it was her 23rd career GS race in college and the first time she hit the podium in GS. She now has six overall podium appearances, the other five coming in slalom. She was joined by Emma Hammergaard in fifth place while Elena Exenberger took 11th, Julia Toiviainen 12th and Caroline Jones 15th, giving CU five in the top 15.

Wahlqvist hit the podium in GS for the second time, also taking third at the Westminster Invitational earlier this season. He now has five podiums this season. He was joined in the top 10 by a trio of other Buffs with Etienne Mazellier taking fifth, Louis Fausa sixth and Jacob Dilling seventh, and Jack Reich just outside in 11th, giving CU five of the top 11 finishers. Ryder Sarchett sat third after the first run but had a mishap on his second run and finished 22nd and Chase Seymour finished 48th.

UP NEXT: The Buffs will continue GS action at Big Sky Friday, these races as part of the RMISA Championships. Saturday alpine action closes out with slalom races and Nordic action kicks in with the 7.5K freestyle races and the championships will end Sunday with the 20K classic races. CU will then host the NCAA Championships March 6-9 in Steamboat Springs.

WHAT IT MEANS: It was certainly a solid day of skiing for the Buffaloes with several skiers moving up the GS rankings for NCAA Championship qualification. In the men's race, four different skiers had top 5 finishes in one run or the other, and Wahlqvist's second podium puts him in position to get a top five seed at the NCAA Championships. Mazellier also improved his GS seeding significantly with his second top five finish of the season. Dilling got his first top 10 and another one Friday could also vault him higher. On the women's side, Dingsleder got her second top five finish and moved up significantly with her podium appearance and Hammergaard also improved her position by a few points. Exenberger and Jones also had their best GS finishes of the season.

MEN'S GIANT SLALOM (49 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Mikkel Solbakken, UU, 1:53.25; 2. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:53.47; 3. Tanner Perkins, MSU, 1:53.86; 4. Sindre Myklebust, UU, 1:54.07; 5. Etienne Mazellier, CU, 1:54.08. Other CU Finishers: 6. Louis Fausa, 1:54.13; 7. Jacob Dilling, 1:54.25; 11. Jack Reich, 1:54.59; 22. Ryder Sarchett, 1:55.08; 48. Chase Seymour, 1:58.70.

WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM (31 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Sara Rask, DU, 1:56.26; 2. Nora Brand, DU, 1:57.30; 3. Denise Dingsleder, CU, 1:57.38; 4. Giulia Tintorri, WMC, 1:57.54; 5. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:57.75. Other CU Finishers: 11. Elena Exenberger, 1:58.93; 12. Julia Toiviainen, 1:59.08; 15. Caroline Jones, 1:59.17. Did Not Finish Second Run: Ashley Campbell.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Campbell

Jacob Dilling

Denise Dingsleder

Elena Exenberger

Louis Fausa

Emma Hammergaard

Caroline Jones

Etienne Mazellier

Jack Reich

Ryder Sarchett

Chase Seymour

Julia Toiviainen

Filip Wahlqvist