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| [h=1]Red Wins As Buffs Surge To Lead At Utah Invite[/h] Release: 02/08/2013 Courtesy: Curtis Snyder, Associate SID | ||||||
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| MIDWAY, Utah—Behind another win from senior Joanne Reid and runner-up performance from freshman Gustav Nordstroem, the University of Colorado surged to the lead of the Utah Invitational after the Nordic classical races took place here at Soldier Hollow Friday. The Buffs didn’t win either race as a team, but turned a 36-point deficit to Denver into a 28-point advantage. CU now leads with 662 points while the Pioneers are second with 633. Utah, which trailed the Buffs by 48 points and Denver by 84 entering today, made up ground on both teams and is now third with 624 points, just nine behind Denver but still 38 behind Colorado. New Mexico is fourth with 521 points while Montana State sits fifth with 486 points and Alaska Anchorage is in sixth with 441 points. With tricky conditions that changed throughout the morning that affected the women’s race more than the men’s race, Reid was able to win her fifth consecutive race and sixth overall this season out of seven. She finished second in the other race. “It was supposed to snow during the race, so we were a little spread out on what our thinking was,” Cranmer said. “The guys race was a little easier to get good skis because it was colder, but it warmed up for the women’s race. In classical, we have to prep up to three skis per person, so we’re more scattered getting them ready for the races. In the end, though, skis didn’t seem to be a huge factor. They may not have been perfect, but they were good.” Reid won in a time of 14:49.8, by just 2.5 seconds over Alaska Anchorage’s Marine Dusser (14:52.3). In a season where she has won races by 15-20 seconds, Friday’s race saw the top seven skiers finish within 18.1 seconds of each other. “Joanne seemed to do what she’s been doing all year,” Cranmer said. “She maybe slipped once or twice, but she seemed to be continuing on her roll here. The times were close, in a 5K race they’re normally tight.” Her string of five straight race victories is the longest since Matt Gelso accomplished the feat on the Nordic side near the end of the 2010 season. It’s the longest on the women’s side since Maria Grevsgaard won seven straight during the 2008 season when she claimed 11 of the season’s 12 races. Reid’s six wins this season is the most by a CU skier, alpine or Nordic, since Grevsgaard won those 11 races in 2008 and it matches the seventh-most in a season since skiing went co-ed in 1983. The six wins matches the total from her current assistant coach, Jana Weinberger, which she accomplished in 2006, and it matches the sixth-most wins by a woman in CU history. She now has eight wins in her career to go with 16 podium appearances. Freshman Maria Nordstrom finished ninth in a time of 15:14.9, just 25.1 seconds behind Reid, while senior Eliska Hajkova struggled a bit, finishing 18th in a time of 15:40.4 (still just 50.6 seconds behind Reid) and senior Mary Rose, continuing to recover from the flu, finished 24th in a time of 16:14.0. “Maria was a little higher up earlier in the race,” Cranmer said. “It was such a tight race that if you’re even off just a little bit, you can give up a lot of ground. Mary is still recovering; it may take her a little bit to fully recover from that. “Eliska wasn’t happy with her race,” he continued. “It’s hard to say why she wasn’t where she normally is. She said she tried hard; it just wasn’t working for her. The skis today made a big difference, I don’t know if it was not having the perfect combination, there are so many variables, it’s hard to get it right all the time. But I don’t know if it was that formula or if her body just wasn’t responding to the hard work.” On the men’s side, Nordstroem took second in a tie of 25:45.3, finishing behind Utah’s Miles Havlick by 26.1 seconds (25:19.2). Sophomore Rune Oedegaard took fourth in a time of 25:58.7 while junior Andreas Hoye was 10th in 26:23.6. “Gustav raced really well today,” Cranmer said. “He tends to do better on the shorter course, he’s more of a sprinter, and the nature of the course here is probably good for him. Rune got a little sick after the race, so something wasn’t quite right with his body today. He’s not way off the mark, but he’s always trying to be the winner, so he’s not happy unless he’s winning.” Freshman Michael Vigers finished 20th in 27:16.0 while freshman Charlie Von Thaden brought home 23rd in a time of 27:33.1 and sophomore Arnaud Du Pasquier was right behind him in 24th with a time of 27:51.0. Senior Ian Mallams is sick and did not race. The Utah Invitational will conclude Saturday with the running of the 15K women’s and 20K men’s freestyle races. A storm is expected to hit the area overnight. “We’re expecting snow,” Cranmer said. “Soldier Hollow is weird, because sometimes it will snow two feet nearby and they’ll get two inches here. Especially if it’s snowing during the race, it will make it interesting. We will be prepared. It will be more of a tactical race, you won’t be able to just go pedal to the metal, especially in a longer race when it is snowing or recently snowed.” The alpine teams, meanwhile, will be back in action this weekend with slalom races concluding the New Mexico Invitational Saturday and Sunday at Red River, N.M. The Buffs are currently in second place in that meet with 430 points, 27 points behind Utah (457) and 27 points ahead of third place Denver (403). University of Utah Invitational (through six of eight events)— 1. Colorado 662; 2. Denver 633; 3. Utah 624; 4. New Mexico 521; 5. Montana State 486; 6. Alaska Anchorage 441; 7. Westminster College 190; 8. Colorado Mountain College 40. Men’s 10K Classical (28 collegiate finishers)—1. Miles Havlick, UU, 25:19.2; 2. Gustav Nordstroem, CU, 25:45.3; 3. Einar Ulsund, UU, 25:46.1; 4. Rune Oedegaard, CU, 25:58.7; 5. Lukas Ebner, UAA, 26:01.9; 6. Mats Resaland, UNM, 26:04.2; 7. Viktor Braennmark, UAA, 26:06.6; 8. Patrick Madden, MSU, 26:11.5; 9. Trygve Markset, DU, 26:17.9; 10. Andreas Hoye, CU, 26:23.6. Other CU Finishers: 20. Michael Vigers, 27:15.7; 23. Charlie Von Thaden, 27:33.1; 24. Arnaud Du Pasquier, 27:51.0. Did Not Start: Ian Mallams. Women’s 5K Classical (32 collegiate finishers)—1. Joanne Reid, CU, 14:49.8; 2. Marine Dusser, UAA, 14:52.3; 3. Rose Kemp, UU, 15:00.5; 4. Patricia Sprecher, UAA, 15:02.5; 5. Makayla Cappel, DU, 15:03.6; 6. Sloan Storey, UU, 15:03.8; 7. Jessica Yeaton, MSU, 15:07.9; 8. Silje Benum, DU, 15:12.2; 9. Maria Nordstrom, CU, 15:14.9; 10. Annie Liotta, MSU, 15:16.1. Other CU Finishers: 18. Eliska Hajkova, 15:40.4; 24. Mary Rose, 16:14.0. |
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