Ski Buffs Stampede Into Lead At DU Invitational

Wednesday, January 14

Aspen, Colo.

All Day

Colorado

Giant Slalom at Aspen Highlands

Photo by: Matan Coll, CU Athletics

January 14, 2026 | Skiing

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Accambray’s Win Leads Dominating Performance That Included Eight In The Top Eight

By: Curtis Snyder, Associate AD/Athletic Communications

ASPEN, Colo. – The Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team stampeded into the lead at the Denver Invitational on Wednesday, winning both giant slalom races at Aspen Highlands Ski Resort in a dominant third alpine event in as many days.

On the women's side, Louison Accambray won the race in wire-to-wire fashion, posting the fastest time in both runs to lead the Buffs to the team victory. Cathinka Lunder added a fourth-place finish, while Paige DeHart and Alexa Brownlie tied for sixth as Colorado placed four skiers in the top six.

Colorado's women scored 98 points, outpacing Denver by 20 (78) and Utah by 33 to swing the meet standings. Entering the day trailing Denver by eight points, the Buffs moved into a 12-point lead after the women's race.

The men followed with an equally deep showing, scoring 100 points behind three top-five finishes. Justin Bigatel finished second and Filip Wahlqvist took third to put two Buffs on the podium, while Christoffer Oestroem placed fifth. Feb Allasina finished eighth and Stanley Buzek 12th, giving Colorado five finishers inside the top 12.

After the completion of the Denver Invitational's alpine events, Colorado holds a 37-point lead in the meet standings, 353–316, with Utah third at 284.5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the women's giant slalom, Accambray delivered one of the day's signature performances, backing up the fastest first run in the field with the fastest second run to secure the win by seven tenths of a second. Lunder posted the fourth-fastest first run and held her position through the second run to finish fourth.

DeHart and Brownlie both started deeper in the field and climbed into a tie for sixth through different paths. Brownlie started 28th and made a major first-run jump with the eighth-fastest opening run, vaulting up 20 positions. DeHart started 30th, moved up 11 spots to 19th after the first run, then charged with the third-fastest second run to gain another 13 positions and join Brownlie in sixth. (Hannah Soria was disqualified on the first run.)

The CU men capitalized on strong start positions and delivered across the lineup. Bigatel sat second after the first run and maintained it in the second run, while Wahlqvist moved from fourth into third to give Colorado two podium finishes. Oestroem started 16th and surged to fifth after the first run, holding that spot through the second.

Allasina and Buzek also made significant moves from outside the top seeds. Allasina started 30th, jumped to eighth after the first run and maintained his position. Buzek started 41st and climbed to 12th after the first run, holding there in the second. Across the women's and men's races for the Buffs outside the top seed, the six Buffs improved a combined 117 positions from their start numbers.

UP NEXT

The RMISA teams remain in Aspen on Thursday for the final giant slalom race of the week as part of the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Colorado Invitational, the first time Colorado's alpine meet will be held in Aspen, where former CU skier Spencer Nelson died in 2010 while hiking on the Maroon Bells.

WHAT IT MEANS

Days like this are fun, and today's races will have a positive impact on the remainder of the season for the Buffaloes. The stat of improving 117 positions from their start numbers for the skiers not already in the top seed essentially means all those Buffs made huge steps toward better starting positions. Obviously the team points are huge, and winning is the goal, and eight Buffs in the top eight is a huge day, but the ultimate goal is winning the NCAA Championships and one key to that is starting in good positions at the NCAA Championships, and today will provide a solid foundation for that goal.

TEAM NOTES

Colorado swept both races on the day, scoring 100 points in the men's GS and 98 in the women's GS, totaling 198 points and outscoring every team by more than 40 points (Utah 157, Denver 153).
The Buffs flipped an eight-point deficit entering the day into a 37-point lead over Denver after the Denver Invitational's alpine events, 353–316; Utah is third at 284.5.
Despite the overall lead, Colorado sits second in the discipline standings: women's alpine (DU 183, CU 182) and men's alpine (Utah 188, CU 171).

WOMEN'S ALPINE NOTES

Louison Accambray won her fourth career race, all in giant slalom, and opened the season with three straight podiums following 2–3 slalom finishes at Loveland. She now owns eight career podiums and, in 17 career races, has 11 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes.
Cathinka Lunder finished fourth for a career-best result and her first top-five finish in collegiate racing. Her previous best GS finish was sixth, achieved at last season's Denver Invitational.
Alexa Brownlie tied for sixth and has opened her collegiate career with three straight top-10 finishes (6th, 7th, 8th).
Paige DeHart tied for sixth to earn her first collegiate top-10 finish after narrowly missing a top 10 in Tuesday's slalom (11th).

MEN'S ALPINE NOTES

Filip Wahlqvist finished third for his fourth career GS podium, 16th career podium overall, and second straight podium after placing third in Tuesday's slalom. He now has 22 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes in 28 completed races.
Justin Bigatel earned a career-best second-place finish for his third career podium and first in a GS race. His previous best GS finish was sixth, achieved twice last season (DU and UAA).
Christoffer Oestroem placed fifth in his first career GS race and recorded his first finish of the week after two slalom DNFs at Loveland.
Feb Allasina finished eighth for his third straight top-10 to open his collegiate career after placing third and fourth in the slalom races at Loveland.
Stanley Buzek finished 12th after starting 41st and moving into the top 12 on the first run.

TEAM SCORES (THRU 3 RACES): 1. Colorado, 353; 2. Denver, 316; 3. Utah, 284.5; 4. Montana State, 214; 5. Alaska Anchorage, 203; 6. Nevada, 195.5; 7. Colorado Mountain, 163; 8. Westminster, 119.

WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM: 1. Louison Accambray, Colorado, 2:01.01; 2. Sara Rask, Denver, 2:01.71; 3. Guro Hestad Vognild, Westminster, 2:02.75; 4. Cathinka Lunder, Colorado, 2:03.34; 5. Melanie Dahlberg, Utah, 2:03.44; 6. Paige DeHart, Colorado, 2:03.54; 6. Alexa Brownlie, Colorado, 2:03.54; 8. Sarah Zoller, Westminster, 2:03.61; 9. Erica Lynch, Nevada, 2:03.65; 10. Cecilia Pizzinato, Denver, 2:03.67. Other CU Skiers: Hannah Soria, DSQ (Run 1).

MEN'S GIANT SLALOM: 1. Johs Herland, Utah, 1:59.30; 2. Justin Bigatel, Colorado, 1:59.94; 3. Filip Wahlqvist, Colorado, 2:00.56; 4. Adrian Hunshammer, Denver, 2:00.95; 5. Christoffer Oestroem, Colorado, 2:00.97; 6. Sindre Myklebust, Utah, 2:01.64; 7. Jay Poulter, Utah, 2:01.87; 8. Feb Allasina, Colorado, 2:01.95; 9. Christian Soevik, Denver, 2:02.11; 10. Gianluca Boehm, Montana State, 2:02.13. Other CU Skiers: 12. Stanley Buzek, 2:02.37.