Skiers In Second At UNM Invitational

TAOS, New Mexico — Buoyed by the best overall effort of its men’s and women’s alpine teams this winter, the University of Colorado ski team is in second place at the midway point of the New Mexico Invitational, as the first four events were completed here Friday.

The host Lobos, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, lead with 470 points, followed by the No. 2-ranked Buffaloes with 428.  Utah is third (382), followed by Montana State (363) and defending NCAA champion Denver (363).

Colorado dominated the women’s giant slalom, with three scorers in the top six and five finishers in the top 11, as the Buffs scored 128 points for the race, 21 more than second-place New Mexico.  Junior Katie Hartman broke through with CU’s first individual win of the winter (alpine or Nordic), smoking the field with a two-run time of 2:08.77.  She had nearly a full-second lead after the morning run and cruised to the win in 1.36 seconds over New Mexico’s Anne Brusletto.  It was Hartman’s second collegiate victory, her first since claiming the GS right here two years ago.

Freshman Erika Ghent captured fourth in 2:11.06, her sixth straight top five finish this winter, with fellow frosh Sara Hjertman sixth in 2:11.62.  Sophomore Jennifer Allen was 10th in 2:12.21, with junior Carolina Nordh literally right behind her in 11th, 1/100th of second back in 2:12.22.  Sophomore Joelle Chevalier was 15th in 2:12.61, one of the best races of her young career and gave the Buffs six finishers in the top 15 for the third time in six races this winter.

In the men’s giant slalom, the Buffaloes had their best team race of the season, with three finishers in the top 10 for the first time since the middle of last winter.  Junior Gabriel Rivas claimed fourth in 2:05.78, while freshman Spencer Nelson was seventh in 2:06.15, his first career top 10 finish, and senior Arman Serebrakian ninth in 2:06.59, tying his second-best collegiate effort.  Senior Drew Roberts was just outside the top 10, snaring 12th in 2:06.86.  New Mexico’s Petter Brenna won in 2:04.61.

Sophomores Eric Davis (15th, 2:06.94) and Taggart Spenst (23rd, 2:08.17) completed the CU contingent’s finishers; senior Stefan Hughes had to hike on his second run and didn’t finish.

“It was good day for the alpine team” CU head coach Richard Rokos said.  “I was pretty happy to see the guys ski the way they did, especially with Drew coming from the 37th starting spot to finish 12th.  That gave us four finishers in the top dozen, and we will take that all season long, but of course would still want to do better.  The women were almost phenomenal, and Katie was spectacular today.  She did a great job particularly on her first run and won by a pretty good margin.  The rest of the girls all did well, five in the top 11 and six in the top 15 are ‘dream come true’ situations.”

The Buffs didn’t enjoy the kind of day they have previously in Nordic competition, scoring 193 points to trail the host Lobos (236), Montana State (218) and Denver (199).  That was in part due to some sickness, the absence of a top woman’s performer, and competing at 10,000-feet combined with a hot New Mexico team taking advantage of its home course at some 10,000 feet in elevation.

In the women’s 5-kilometer freestyle, UNM senior Polina Ermoshina won her second career race, winning the interval start format competition in 16:56.0.  CU’s top finisher was sophomore Eliska Hajkova in 17:46.2, uncharacteristic in the sense that she had win and three runner-up efforts prior but a touch of illness slowed her a bit.  Junior Alexa Turzian was 12th in 18:32.6, while sophomore Katie Stege was CU’s third scorer, placing 19th in 19:24.8.  Freshman Mary Rose was 24th in 20:01.1 to round out the Buff women.

CU was still minus top frosh Joanne Reid, who missed two weeks of school to participate in the Nordic Junior World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany.  She was America’s top junior there in the distance events, but Cranmer wanted her to catch up in school and not bring her from sea level to 10,000 feet to compete.

In the men’s 10k event, the Buffs placed four in the top 10, but a 1-2-4 finish by New Mexico saw the Lobos pickup 138 points, just three shy of the maximum.  Martin Kaas won in 28:55.4, with junior Jesper Ostensen posting CU’s best finish in placing fifth in 29:16.9.  Senior Matt Gelso was sixth (29:20.2), followed by sophomore Reid Pletcher in ninth (29:59.5), skiing for the first time this season after being sick in January, and junior Vegard Kjoelhamar grabbing 10th (30:04.6). 

Junior Patrick Neel (17th, 30:46.9) and freshman Ian Mallams (26th, 32:05.4) completed the CU men’s effort Friday.

“Today was nothing super special, but we did all right,” CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said.  “The elevation here is brutally high, but a relatively flat course.  That’s not Alexa’s game or strong suit, and Eliska has never raced this high before.  A couple of kids have some illness issues.  Just hard to say why we didn’t do as well as we did the first two races, other than maybe the guys skied a little conservative and a couple of the girls had some illness issues.  Hopefully, we’re just saving the best for last. But four guys in the top 10 is still a good effort.  If we’re a little off our game here, it’s not that big a deal.  It’s still too early to peak.”

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA SKIING: The Vermont Carnival is on the eastern docket the next through Sunday, and the host Catamounts hold the team lead after Friday’s giant slalom events.  UVM is in the lead with 275 points, followed by Dartmouth (209) and New Hampshire (201).  In the women's giant slalom race, UVM dominated their home course with a 1-2-3 podium finish from Megan Ryley, Lyndee Janowiak and Kara Crow.  UVM also captured the top two spots in the men’s GS, with David Donaldson taking first followed by teammate Erik Gilbert.  The action resumes on Saturday with slalom races for the alpine skiers and 5- and 10-kilometer classical competitions for the cross-country athletes.  Cross country will also compete in 10-kilometer skate races for both men and women on Sunday.  Colorado is the host of this year’s NCAA Championships, set for March 10-13 in Steamboat Springs. 

Women’s Giant Slalom (36 finishers)—1. Katie Hartman, CU, 2:08.77;  2. Anne Brusletto, UNM, 2:10.13;  3. Lindsay Cone, DU, 2:10.76;  4. Erika Ghent, CU, 2:11.06;  5. Sofia Smith, Utah, 2:11.34;  6. Sara Hjertman, CU, 2:11.62;  7. Malin Hemmingsson, UNM, 2:11.69;  8. Eva Huckova, UU, 2:11.75; 9. Nicole Poleschuk, UNR, 2:12.20;  10. Jennifer Allen, CU, 2:12.21.  Other CU Finishers: 11. Carolina Nordh, 2:12.22;  15. Joelle Chevalier, 2:12.61.  Did Not Finish (1st run): Khyla Burrows.

Men’s Giant Slalom (33 finishers)—1. Petter Brenna, UNM, 2:04.61;  2. Thomas Schwab, UNM, 2:04.81;  3. Kyle Kung, Utah, 2:05.76;  4. Gabriel Rivas, CU, 2:05.78;  5. Thomas Zumbrunn, Utah, 2:05.92;  6. Martin Harris, UNR, 2:06.13;  7. Spencer Nelson, CU, 2:06.15;  8. Michael Mackie, MSU, 2:06.31;  9. Arman Serebrakian, CU, 2:06.59;  10. Olivier Lacaille, UNM, 2:06.67.  Other Finishers: 12. Drew Roberts, 2:06.86;  15. Eric Davis, 2:06.94;  23. Taggart Spenst, 2:08.17.  Did Not Finish (2nd run): Stefan Hughes.

Women’s 5k Classic (29 finishers)— 1. Polina Ermoshina, UNM, 16:56.0;  2. Antje Maempel, DU, 17:05.0;  3. Casey Kutz, MSU, 17:37.0;  4. Laura Rombach, UAA, 17:41.9;  5. Maria Graefnings, UNR, 17:43.5;  6. Kaelin Kiesel, MSU, 17:45.5;  7. Eliska Hajkova, CU, 17:46.2;  8.Katie Dolan, DU, 18:02.8;  9. Kristin Ronnestrand, UNR, 18:18.1;  10. Rachelle Kanady, MSU, 18:21.7.  Other CU Finishers:  12. Alexa Turzian, 18:32.6; 19. Katie Stege, 19:24.8;  23, Mary Rose, 20:01.1.

Men’s 10k Classic (36 finishers)—1. Martin Kaas, UNM, 28:55.4;  2. Pierre Niess, UNM, 29:01.0;  3. Ryan Scott, MSU, 29:02.2;  4. Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, UNM, 29:09.7;  5. Jesper Ostensen, CU, 29:16.9;  6, Matt Gelso, CU, 29:20.2;  7. Andrew Dougherty, DU, 29:22.4;  8. Bernhard Roenning, MSU, 29:58.6;  9. Reid Pletcher, CU, 29:59.5;  10. Vegard Kjoelhamar, CU, 30:04.6.  Other CU Finishers: 17. Patrick Neel, 30:46.9;  26. Ian Mallams, 32:05.4.