Luczak Wins, Wahlqvist Podiums At DU Meet

Monday, February 5

Dillon, Colo.

W-9 AM / M-10 AM

Colorado

Slalom

Photo by: Ron Knabenbauer, University of Denver

February 05, 2024 | Skiing

Results

By: Curtis Snyder, Associate AD/Athletic Communications

GEORGETOWN, Colo. – Magdalena Luczak won the women's slalom and Filip Wahlqvist took second in the men's slalom race, propelling the Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team to second place after the first day of the Denver Invitational here Monday at Loveland Ski Area.

Luczak picked up her second win of the season, third of her career and first in slalom racing. In the last four races, her first four of the season, she has two wins and two runner-ups, one each in both GS and slalom, solidifying outstanding NCAA qualification points in both disciplines.

The Buffs won the women's race with Caroline Jones finishing fifth, her best as a Buff and 10th career top five finish, and Julia Toiviainen finishing 11th, the three skiers racking up 89 points to edge out Utah (87) and Denver (82).

On the men's side, Wahlqvist's second place finish is his fourth podium and fifth top five finish in his first eight college races. He's now won two slalom races and taken second in the third to lead the RMISA slalom MVP and NCAA qualification lists. He was joined in the team point scoring by Etienne Mazellier, who finished tied for 11th and Louis Fausa, who struggled a bit by his standards to finish 26th.

UP NEXT: CU will finish out five alpine racing days in the past six with another slalom race that will close out the alpine portion of the Denver Invitational Tuesday at Loveland. The alpine's regular season will essentially be complete minus on giant slalom qualifier in Bozeman immediately ahead of the RMISA Championships in late March. Nordic teams will take part in races Friday and Saturday at Maloit Park to close out the DU Invitational and its own regular season.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs proved at Steamboat Springs they can compete at a high level, and minus a few mishaps on the men's side, that was reinforced Monday as the team won the women's race and took third in the men's race as the Buffs, Utes and Pioneers are all within 15 points of each other. Tuesday's races are as much about getting high slalom finishes for NCAA Qualification purposes as they are about team points in the DU Invitational as the Buffs are down to just two slalom races left before the NCAA Championships, the final opportunity coming at the RMISA Championships later this month, and with just two opportunities left, it's likely only Luczak and Wahlqvist are happy with their points on the slalom side with the top two finishes making up that calculation.

Team Notes

The Buffs scored 155.5 points on the day and sit 14.5 points behind host Denver (170) while Utah is 2.5 points behind the Buffs in third place with 153 points.
The Buffs scored 89 points in winning the women's race with Luczak (40), Jones (29) and Toiviainen (20) scoring points.
The Buffs scored 66.5 points in the men's race with Walhqvist (37), Mazellier (20.5) and Fausa (9) scoring points.

Women's Alpine Notes

Luczak's win is her second of the season and third of her career, and first in slalom action. In nine career races, she has won three with five podiums, six top 5s and seven top 10s, including three top 10, two top five and one podium, a win, in slalom races.
Luczak has now won a race in both GS and slalom this season.
- She is the first women's alpine skier to win a race in both disciplines in 16 seasons since Lucie Zikova did so in 2008. Zikova did it three times, also in 2006 and '07, and Luzcak is just the eighth women's alpine skier to accomplish the feat in CU history. She joins Kim Reichhelm (1980), Jennifer Barrett (1991), Andrea Rojs (1991, '94), Linda Wikstrom (1999), Tove Pashkowski (2000) and Mia Cullman (2003) along with Zikova's three seasons.
- She is the 12th women's alpine skier to win a slalom and GS race in a career, as the other five along with the above eight are Julie Furtado (1987-88), Caroline Gedde-Dahl (1996-98), Linda Wickstrom (1999-2000), Erika Ghent (2010-12) and Tonje Trulsrud (2016-18).
Luczak now has four straight podiums and four straight top two finishes.
- She is one of just five women's alpine skiers to have four or more straight finishes in the top two, joining Tiana Tutt (1981), Lee Sevison (1982), Rojs (1994) and Zikova in both 2006 and '08.
- She is just one of seven women's alpine skiers with four straight podiums as Amy Griffith (1977) joins the list along with a second stretch from Rojs in 1991 and Mikaela Tommy in 2020.
Jones finished fifth, her best finish as a Buff and 10th career top five finish, all in slalom races. She also has 14 career top 10 finishes in 20 finished slalom races.
Toiviainen finished 11th, her 22nd career top 20 in 22 slalom races finished, and her 43rd top 20 of her career in 43 career races finished.
Denise Dingsleder finished 16th, her 32nd career top 20 finish, including 13 in slalom in 15 finished races.

Men's Alpine Notes

Wahlqvist finished second, his fourth career podium in eight races, seven of which he's finished. He has now finished first, first and second in three slalom finishes this season.
Mazellier finished 11th, his sixth top 20 of the season and his career, all in the top 16. He now has an eighth and 11th place finish for the NCAA qualification standings.

Team Standings (Thru 2 of 8 Races): 1. Denver 170; 2. Colorado 155.5; 3. Utah 153; 4. Alaska Anchorage 128; 5. Westminster 108; 6. Montana State 96.5; 7. Nevada 64; 8. Colorado Mountain 47.

Women's Slalom (28 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Magdalena Luczak, CU, 1:37.94; 2. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:38.36; 3. Sara Rask, DU, 1:38.51; 4. Nora Brand, DU, 1:38.60; 5. Caroline Jones, CU, 1:38.63. Other CU Finishers: 11. Julia Toiviainen, 1:39.82; 16. Denise Dingsleder, 1:40.38. Did Not Finish First Run: Ashley Campbell, Emma Hammergaard. Did Not Finish Second Run: Cleo Braun, Elena Exenberger.

Men's Slalom (38 Collegiate Finishers): 1. Leon Nikic, UAA, 1:36.74; 2. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:37.03; 3. Mikkel Solbakken, UU, 1:37.39; 4. Thomas Hoffman, DU, 1:37.47; 5. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:37.77. Other CU Finishers: 11. Etienne Mazellier, 1:38.52; 26. Louis Fausa, 1:40.35. Did Not Finish First Run: Jacob Dilling. Did Not Finish Second Run: Jack Reich.