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| [h=1]Buffs Third After GS Races At Utah Invitational[/h] Release: 02/06/2013 Courtesy: CUBuffs.com | ||||||
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| GEORGETOWN, Colo.—The University of Colorado ski team is in third place at the 2013 Utah Invitational, just 11 points behind the leader and host Utes after giant slalom races kicked off the meet here at the Loveland Ski Area Wednesday. Races that were originally scheduled for January 31 and February 1 in Utah had to be moved to Loveland Wednesday and Thursday due to conflicts at Park City. “Our women’s team as absolutely fabulous today, not only just keeping pace but actually winning the race,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “This is our weaker event, at least on the men’s side. The guys skied consistently but not great. They just need to relax a little more. We don’t regularly train here and this hill has some tough terrain. ” On the hill that Utah is using as its home course and that Denver regularly trains on throughout the year, the Buffs are behind those two teams but engaged in a tight battle with the pair. Utah leads through two races with 236 points while the Pioneers are second with 228 and the Buffs sit third with 225 points. Those three schools, which all finished in the top three in both races and all with over 100 points in both, hold a substantial lead over the rest of the field, as fourth place sits Montana State with 160 points, some 65 points behind the Buffs. The Buffs won the women’s race on the strength of four skiers finishing in the top nine, led by freshman Brooke Wales, who finished second in a time of 1:56.61, her third runner-up performance in five races on the season. Just behind her was sophomore Shane McLean, who earned her second straight GS podium by taking third in 1:57.08. Wales had the second-fastest first run while McLean was the second-fastest down the second run. Freshmen Thea Grosvold finished eighth in a time of 1:58.62, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of fellow CU freshman Jessica Honkonen (1:58.64). Senior Khyla Burrows finished 29th in a time of 2:04.79 while freshman Clare Wise did not finish. Wise had moved up from a starting position of 44th into 19th after the first run but didn’t finish the second run. On the men’s side, freshman Kasper Hietenan finished fifth in a time of 1:56.70 after starting in 24th position while junior Andreas Haug also hit the top 10 in a time of 1:56.84, good for eighth place afer starting 27th. Hietenan blazed down the second run in the second fastest time (59.22) to move into the top five while senior Max Lamb was the Buffs third scorer in a time of 1:57.00. “My hero of the day was definitely Max,” Rokos said. “He started 31st and finished 11th. Andreas and Kasper had similar performances. Kasper also had a similar result yesterday, he’s proving he can ski from behind and catch up.” Freshman Cameron Smith finished 25th in 1:58.32, junior Fletcher McDonald took 29th in 1:58.94 and freshman Henrik Gunnarsson finished 32nd in 1:59.65. Action continues Thursday at the Utah Invitational with the slalom races, scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. The focus then turns to Nordic action in the Utah Invitational with races Friday and Saturday in Soldier Hollow, Utah, while the alpine teams head down to New Mexico to conclude the UNM Invitational with a pair of slalom races Saturday and Sunday. University of Utah Invitational (through two of eight events)—1. Utah 236; 2. Denver 228; 3. Colorado 225; 4. Montana State 160; 5. New Mexico 145; 6. Alaska Anchorage 143; 7. Westminster College 126; 8. Colorado Mountain College 20. Women’s Giant Slalom (31 collegiate finishers)—1. Kristine Haugen, DU, 1:55.99; 2. Brooke Wales, CU, 1:56.61; 3. Shane McLean, CU, 1:57.08; 4. Kristiina Rove, UU, 1:57.81; 5. Kelly McBroom, MSU, 1:57.83; 6. Tonje Sekse, WMC, 1:58.06; 7. Devin Delaney, DU, 1:58.53; 8. Thea Grosvold, CU, 1:58.62; 9. Jessica Honkonen, CU, 1:58.64; 10. Jamie DuPratt, UU, 1:58.67. Other CU Finishers: 30. Khyla Burrows, 2:04.79. Did Not Finish (second run): Clare Wise. Men’s Giant Slalom (36 collegiate finishers)—1. Jeremy Elliot, UU, 1:55.87; 2. Grant Jampolsky, DU, 1:56.02; 3. Tim Hribar & Ryan Wilson, UU, 1:56.42; 5. Kasper Hietenan, CU, 1:56.70; 6. David Herzog, WMC, 1:56.75; 7. Trevor Philp, DU, 1:56.83; 8. Andreas Haug, CU, 1:56.85; 9. Espen Lysdahl, DU, 1:56.94; 10. Niko Harmanen, UAA, 1:56.97. Other CU Finishers: 11. Max Lamb, 1:57.00; 25. Cameron Smith, 1:58.94; 29. Fletcher McDonald, 1:58.94; 32. Henrik Gunnarsson, 1:59.65. |
from cubuffs.com