Thursday, February 20
Girdwood, Alaska
1:30 PM Women / 2:15 PM Men
Colorado
vs
Giant Slalom
Photo by: Stephanie Burgoon, UAA Athletics
Fausa, Luczak Win RMISA Individual Championships
February 20, 2025 | Skiing
Buffs Open In Second At RMISA Championships
GIRDWOOD, Alaska – Louis Fausa and Magdalena Luczak won individual RMISA Championships and the Colorado Buffaloes sit in second place after the first day of the 76th Annual RMISA Championships, with giant slalom races hosted at Alyeska Resort by the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Luczak won her second race in as many days and fifth straight college race, taking the women's GS race in dominant fashion winning both runs and taking the win by nearly a second. Unfortunately for the CU, the team had just one other finisher in Katie Fleckenstein in 14th position. Louison Accambray, who has won three GS races this season herself, and Ashley Campbell didn't finish the first run and Cathinka Lunder, who as seventh after the first run, didn't finish the second run.
With just two finishers, the team score suffered and the Buffs finished third as a team and 39 points behind Utah, which placed its three scorers in the top five.
CU's men did carve into the Utes lead a bit and coming in behind Fausa was Jacob Dilling was sixth and Filip Wahlqvist in 10th to give the team 88 points. Utah was second with 81 points and at the end of the day, led CU 178-146.
Fausa had the lead after the first run and was able to take the win by a quarter of a second, his third win of the season and in his in his career spanning a CU record 59 race starts.
UP NEXT: Friday and Saturday will be busy days with both alpine and Nordic both in action. The alpine teams will shift focus to slalom races, first as part of the UAA Invitational Friday and then the RMISA Championships on Saturday. Nordic teams will have 7.5K classic races Friday and will follow that up with 20K freestyle races on Saturday at Kincaid Park.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs certainly left some points on the board Thursday and if not for a little bad luck, could easily have the first day lead at the Championships. But more important than winning the meet is qualifying for the championships and improving seeding and Luczak's clutch performance the last two days means she will be the No. 2 seed in GS at the NCAA Championships behind Accambray in the entire RMISA. Down to the wire, there are two more races for every skier over the next two days that will help determine which skiers represent the Buffs at the NCAA Championships and what their seeding will be at the championships.
TEAM NOTES:
• Colorado scored 146 points on the day and sit in second place, 32 points behind Utah and nine ahead of Montana State (137) with Alaska Anchorage edging Denver, 103-100, for fourth place.
• CU won the men's GS race with 88 points, 40 from Fausa, 27 from Dilling and 21 from Walhqvist.
• CU scored 58 points in the women's race, 40 from Luczak and 18 from Fleckenstein.
INDIVIDUAL RMISA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
• Fausa and Luczak earned the 129th and 130th individual RMISA Championship in CU history.
• Fausa picked up the 88th men's honor, the 59th alpine honor and 21st men's GS title, and first since 2017 when David Ketterer won the men's GS race at the RMISA Championships.
• Luczak won the Buffs second straight women's GS title after Denise Dingsleder won it last season. It's the 42nd women's honor 58th women's alpine honor and 23 women's giant slalom honor.
WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES:
• Luczak won the race, her second race win in two days and fifth straight win and seventh overall, including five in GS races. In seven career GS races, she's won five of them and has six podiums. She has eight straight podium appearances dating back to the 2022 season. She has seven wins and nine podiums in 13 career finished races.
• Fleckenstein finished 14th her career best GS finish and second-highest finish overall. It's her fifth top 20 of the season.
• Louison Accambray, Ashley Campbell and Elena Exenberger didn't finish the first run and Cathinka Lunder didn't finish the second run.
MEN'S ALPINE NOTES:
• Louis Fausa won, his third GS win of the season and third win of his career. This season he has finished nine of 10 races with three wins, four podiums and seven top 10 finishes.
• Jacob Dilling finished sixth, his 24th career top 10 performance and 13th in GS races. In the last six races, he has finished five of them and finished in the top 10 each time with two podium appearances.
• Filip Wahlqvist finished 10th and now has finished in the top 10 in all 10 races this season and 17 straight races dating back to February 2024.
• Justin Bigatel finished 13th and has now finished in the top 20 in each of the eight races he's finished this season. He now has exactly two sixth, two eighth, two 13th and two 16th place finishes on the season.
• Jack Reich finished 19th, his eighth career top 20 finish in GS races and 10th overall. He has three top 20s this season and this is his third best finish of the season.
RMISA CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM STANDINGS (Thru 2 of 8 Races): 1. Utah 178; 2. Colorado 146; 3. Montana State 137; 4. Alaska Anchorage 103; 5. Denver 100; 6. Westminster 87; 7. Nevada 77; 8 Colorado Mountain 56.
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM (24 collegiate finishers): 1. Magdalena Luczak, CU, 1:26.96; 2. Claire Timmermann, UU, 1:27.87; 3. Elise Hitter, WU, 1:28.19; 4. Kaila Lafreniere, UU, 1:28.52; 5. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:28.89; 6. Sara Rask, DU, 1:29.36; 7. Ashleigh Alexander, UAA, 1:29.91; 8. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:29.96; 9. Tea Kiesel, MSU, 1:31.07; 10. Sarah Zoller, WU, 1:31.11. Other CU Finisher: 14. Katie Fleckenstein, 1:32.93. Did Not Finish First Run: Louison Accambray, Elena Exenberger, Ashley Campbell. Did Not Finish Second Run: Cathinka Lunder.
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM (31 collegiate finishers): 1. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:23.22; 2. Johs Herland, UU, 1:23.47; 3. Jamie Casselman, MSU, 1:23.49; 4. Loic Chable, DU, 1:23.53; 5. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:23.93; 6. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:24.23; 7. Simen Strand, UU, 1:24.28; 8. Alejandro Puente Tasias, WU 1:24.30; 9. Adrian Hunshammer, DU, 1:24.36; 10. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:24.39. Other CU Finishers: 13. Justin Bigatel, 1:24.66; 19. Jack Reich, 1:25.14.
Luczak won her second race in as many days and fifth straight college race, taking the women's GS race in dominant fashion winning both runs and taking the win by nearly a second. Unfortunately for the CU, the team had just one other finisher in Katie Fleckenstein in 14th position. Louison Accambray, who has won three GS races this season herself, and Ashley Campbell didn't finish the first run and Cathinka Lunder, who as seventh after the first run, didn't finish the second run.
With just two finishers, the team score suffered and the Buffs finished third as a team and 39 points behind Utah, which placed its three scorers in the top five.
CU's men did carve into the Utes lead a bit and coming in behind Fausa was Jacob Dilling was sixth and Filip Wahlqvist in 10th to give the team 88 points. Utah was second with 81 points and at the end of the day, led CU 178-146.
Fausa had the lead after the first run and was able to take the win by a quarter of a second, his third win of the season and in his in his career spanning a CU record 59 race starts.
UP NEXT: Friday and Saturday will be busy days with both alpine and Nordic both in action. The alpine teams will shift focus to slalom races, first as part of the UAA Invitational Friday and then the RMISA Championships on Saturday. Nordic teams will have 7.5K classic races Friday and will follow that up with 20K freestyle races on Saturday at Kincaid Park.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs certainly left some points on the board Thursday and if not for a little bad luck, could easily have the first day lead at the Championships. But more important than winning the meet is qualifying for the championships and improving seeding and Luczak's clutch performance the last two days means she will be the No. 2 seed in GS at the NCAA Championships behind Accambray in the entire RMISA. Down to the wire, there are two more races for every skier over the next two days that will help determine which skiers represent the Buffs at the NCAA Championships and what their seeding will be at the championships.
TEAM NOTES:
• Colorado scored 146 points on the day and sit in second place, 32 points behind Utah and nine ahead of Montana State (137) with Alaska Anchorage edging Denver, 103-100, for fourth place.
• CU won the men's GS race with 88 points, 40 from Fausa, 27 from Dilling and 21 from Walhqvist.
• CU scored 58 points in the women's race, 40 from Luczak and 18 from Fleckenstein.
INDIVIDUAL RMISA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
• Fausa and Luczak earned the 129th and 130th individual RMISA Championship in CU history.
• Fausa picked up the 88th men's honor, the 59th alpine honor and 21st men's GS title, and first since 2017 when David Ketterer won the men's GS race at the RMISA Championships.
• Luczak won the Buffs second straight women's GS title after Denise Dingsleder won it last season. It's the 42nd women's honor 58th women's alpine honor and 23 women's giant slalom honor.
WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES:
• Luczak won the race, her second race win in two days and fifth straight win and seventh overall, including five in GS races. In seven career GS races, she's won five of them and has six podiums. She has eight straight podium appearances dating back to the 2022 season. She has seven wins and nine podiums in 13 career finished races.
• Fleckenstein finished 14th her career best GS finish and second-highest finish overall. It's her fifth top 20 of the season.
• Louison Accambray, Ashley Campbell and Elena Exenberger didn't finish the first run and Cathinka Lunder didn't finish the second run.
MEN'S ALPINE NOTES:
• Louis Fausa won, his third GS win of the season and third win of his career. This season he has finished nine of 10 races with three wins, four podiums and seven top 10 finishes.
• Jacob Dilling finished sixth, his 24th career top 10 performance and 13th in GS races. In the last six races, he has finished five of them and finished in the top 10 each time with two podium appearances.
• Filip Wahlqvist finished 10th and now has finished in the top 10 in all 10 races this season and 17 straight races dating back to February 2024.
• Justin Bigatel finished 13th and has now finished in the top 20 in each of the eight races he's finished this season. He now has exactly two sixth, two eighth, two 13th and two 16th place finishes on the season.
• Jack Reich finished 19th, his eighth career top 20 finish in GS races and 10th overall. He has three top 20s this season and this is his third best finish of the season.
RMISA CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM STANDINGS (Thru 2 of 8 Races): 1. Utah 178; 2. Colorado 146; 3. Montana State 137; 4. Alaska Anchorage 103; 5. Denver 100; 6. Westminster 87; 7. Nevada 77; 8 Colorado Mountain 56.
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM (24 collegiate finishers): 1. Magdalena Luczak, CU, 1:26.96; 2. Claire Timmermann, UU, 1:27.87; 3. Elise Hitter, WU, 1:28.19; 4. Kaila Lafreniere, UU, 1:28.52; 5. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:28.89; 6. Sara Rask, DU, 1:29.36; 7. Ashleigh Alexander, UAA, 1:29.91; 8. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:29.96; 9. Tea Kiesel, MSU, 1:31.07; 10. Sarah Zoller, WU, 1:31.11. Other CU Finisher: 14. Katie Fleckenstein, 1:32.93. Did Not Finish First Run: Louison Accambray, Elena Exenberger, Ashley Campbell. Did Not Finish Second Run: Cathinka Lunder.
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM (31 collegiate finishers): 1. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:23.22; 2. Johs Herland, UU, 1:23.47; 3. Jamie Casselman, MSU, 1:23.49; 4. Loic Chable, DU, 1:23.53; 5. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:23.93; 6. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:24.23; 7. Simen Strand, UU, 1:24.28; 8. Alejandro Puente Tasias, WU 1:24.30; 9. Adrian Hunshammer, DU, 1:24.36; 10. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:24.39. Other CU Finishers: 13. Justin Bigatel, 1:24.66; 19. Jack Reich, 1:25.14.
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