Colorado University Athletics
CHRISTIANSEN'S FIRST COLLEGE WIN JUMPS CU INTO THIRD PLACE FINISH IN ALASKA INVITE
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. ? A strong showing in the men’s classical race Saturday propelled the University of Colorado ski team into a third place finish in the Alaska Invitational, which was held in Wyoming for financial considerations.
Denver won the meet with 541 team points, but it was a logjam behind the Pioneers, as only 7 seven-and-a-half point s separated second through fourth. Defending NCAA champion New Mexico held off the Buffaloes, snaring second with 493.5 points, followed by Colorado with 487 as the Buffs vaulted past Utah the final day. The Utes finished fourth and host Alaska-Anchorage took fifth with 465.5.
CU junior Erling Christiansen entered Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle race with 11 career top five finishes in 25 races, but had never recorded a victory and had just one runner-up finish, which came last week in the freestyle at Utah’s meet. But all that changed as the Oslo, Norway native captured his first college race after posting a 41:41.2 time, edging Alaska’s Kjetil Dammen by 4.6 seconds.
“He broke away at one point and then got caught, but in the end he managed to pull away and just had a little bit more when he needed it,” CU nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. “It was a tough uphill, and it was bitter cold, in the low teens at best. But he had enough left in his tank to out-sprint the kid from Alaska over the last couple of hundred meters. He calculated correctly, let the other guy make his move first and then timed his counter perfectly in the end and won by four seconds or so.”
“I’m pretty happy about it,” Christiansen said. “It was a tough race, but I actually managed to ski away from the whole pack after two kilometers. I got a little tired and near the end, a few were able to catch me. But it was a long uphill at the finish, and I feel that’s kind of an advantage for me because that has always been one of strengths, skiing those kind courses.
“The temperatures were so cold this morning, and I forgot to put on my wind briefs and long underwear; so when I got to the finish, the section below my belt line was completely frozen,” he said. “About 10 minutes afterwards, it hit me and I was in some pain, but it’s funny now. But other than that, I did just about everything else right and things fell in place for me.”
Senior Tor Erik Schjellerud, who won Friday’s 10K classical race Friday, finished fifth in the freestyle in a 42:04.3 time, with junior Henrik Hoye right behind him in 42:16.0 to give Colorado three of the top six finishers.
Action resumes for the NCAA western schools in two weeks, as Denver will host its invitational at Winter Park on January 28-29. Four alpine skiers are in action this week in the World University Games in Innsbruck, Austria: Rachel Roosevelt, Erika Hogan, Kristin Taylor and Lucie Zikova. CU head coach Richard Rokos is also a member of the U.S. coaching staff.
Alaska Invitational Team Scores?1. Denver 541; 2. New Mexico 493.5; 3. Colorado 487; 4. Utah 486; 5. Alaska-Anchorage 465.5; 6. Nevada 380; 7. Montana State 367; 8. Western State 256; 9. Whitman 135; 10. Boise State 44.
Men’s 15K Freestyle?1. Erling Christiansen, CU, 41:41.2; 2. Kjetil Dammen, UAA, 41:45.8; 3. Inge Kritsoffersen, UNM, 41:51.5; 4. Rene Reisshauer, DU, 41:58.2; 5. Tor Erik Schjellerud, CU, 42:04.3; 6. Henrik Hoye, CU, 42:16.0; 7. Magnus Carlsson, Utah, 42:34.0; 8. Dirk Grimm, UNM, 42:47.7; 9. Mark Iverson, MSU, 42:49.7; 10. Daniel Sonntag, Utah, 43:04.3. Other CU Finisher: 23. Tim Damrow, 46:03.2.
Women’s 10K Freestyle?1. Mandy Kaempf, UAA, 36:07.9; 2. Trine Lundamo, UNM, 38.36.6; 3. Nicole DeYong, UAA, 38:54.0; 4. Tara Hamilton, DU, 39:01.1; 5. Andrea Roberts, UNM, 39:01.9; 6. Emily Robins, MSU, 39:12.3; 7. Bodil Ryste, CU, 39:23.2; 8. Muriele Huberli, CU, 39:29.2; 9. Barbro Hatlevik, Utah, 39:39.1; 10. Jessica Gray, CU, 39:41.2. Other CU Finisher: 19. Brooke Rygg, 41:51.0.