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| [h=1]Buffs Jump To Second At Utah Invitational[/h]Release: 02/07/2013 Courtesy: Curtis Snyder, Associate SID | ||||||
| GEORGETOWN, Colo.—The University of Colorado used five top seven finishes to jump up one spot into second place at the midpoint of the Utah Invitational after the running of the slalom races here Thursday at Loveland Ski Area. Denver surged into the lead after compiling 476 points, holding a 36 point advantage on the Buffs (440) while Utah slipped from first to third with 392 points. New Mexico used an impressive day to move up to fourth in the standings with 363 points. Montana State sits fifth with 309 points, followed by Alaska Anchorage with 227 points. Freshman Jessica Honkonen led the way for the Buffaloes, finishing just off the podium in fourth place in a time of 1:39.19. Freshman Thea Grosvold finished sixth in 1:39.76 and freshman Brooke Wales was right behind Grosvold in seventh (1:39.93). Sophomore Shane McLean also had her best slalom finish of the season, taking home ninth place in a time of 1:40.43. Honkonen earned her second top five slalom finish on the season, all-important for NCAA qualification and enabled her to move from 17th place to third place on the NCAA slalom qualification points list for RMISA skiers. Grosvold also improved her slalom standing with her second top six finish and Wales improved her qualification by a few points, as well, although she is already solid on the GS side with three runner-up performances on the season. Senior Khyla Burrows didn’t finish the first run and freshman Clare Wise was disqualified on her second run. In men’s action, senior Max Lamb took fifth in a time of 1:35.98 while freshman Henrik Gunnarsson took seventh in a time of 1:36.01. Junior Fletcher McDonald finished sixth in 1:37.07 as the Buffs third scorer. Lamb, like Honkonen, earned an all-important second top five finish to move up the slalom NCAA qualification standings. Gunnarsson and McDonald already had two solid slalom performances on the season, with both having solid finishes that could help in tiebreaker scenarios. Junior Andreas Haug finished 18th in a time of 1:37.74 with freshman Cameron Smith taking 22nd in 1:42.26 and freshman Kasper Hietenan bringing home 26th in 1:45.35. The Utah Invitational continues Friday with Nordic action at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. The 5K women’s and 10K men’s classical interval start races will take place Friday starting at 9 a.m. Saturday’s 15K women’s and 20K men’s mass start freestyle race will conclude the Utah meet. The alpine teams, meanwhile, have a travel day to make their way to Red River, N.M., where the New Mexico Invitational will conclude with two slalom races for each gender on Saturday and Sunday, thus ending the RMISA regular season. University of Utah Invitational (through four of eight events)—1. Denver 476; 2. Colorado 440; 3. Utah 392; 4. New Mexico 363; 5. Montana State 309; 6. Alaska Anchorage 227; 7. Westminster College 190; 8. Colorado Mountain College 40. Women’s Slalom (20 collegiate finishers)—1. Kristine Haugen, DU, 1:38.08; 2. Ana Kobal, UU, 1:38.58; 3. Tianda Carroll, DU, 1:39.08; 4. Jessica Honkonen, CU, 1:39.19; 5. Mateja Robnik, UNM, 1:39.53; 6. Thea Grosvold, CU, 1:39.76; 7. Brooke Wales, CU, 1:39.93; 8. Courtney Altringer, UNM, 1:49.18; 9. Mary Rachel Hostetter, UNM, 1:40.70; 10. Lindsay Cone, DU, 1:40.71. Other CU Finishers: 11. Shane McLean, 1:40.43. Did Not Finish (First Run): Khyla Burrows. Disqualified (Second Run): Clare Wise. Men’s Slalom (29 collegiate finishers)—1. Espen Lysdahl, DU, 1:34.03; 2. Juho-Pekka Penttinen, UNM, 1:34.98; 3. Max Marno, DU, 1:35.63; 4. Nikolai Narvestad, WMC, 1:35.89; 5. Max Lamb, CU, 1:35.98; 6. Chris Acosta, UNM, 1:36.00; 7. Henrik Gunnarsson, CU, 1:36.01; 8. Andreas Adde, UAA, 1:36.21; 9. Joonas Rasanen, UNM, 1:36.28; 10. Trevor Philp, DU, 1:36.42. Other CU Finishers: 12. Fletcher McDonald, 1:37.07; 18. Andreas Haug, 1:37.74; 22. Cameron Smith, 1:42.26; 26. Kasper Hietanen, 1:45.35. |
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