Buffs Head to Alaska For UAA and Seawolf Invites

BOULDER – The University of Colorado ski program returns to action this week, competing in the UAA and Seawolf Invitationals hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage.

This will be just the seventh trip for CU up to Alaska in the last 20 seasons. Both meets are being held in conjunction with each other, spanning over the next three weeks.

For the student-athletes, the trip to Alaska is a special one and for different reasons.

"Alaska really reminds me of the Czech Republic, so I am really excited to go there," said junior Petra Hyncicova, who is a native of Liberec, Czech Republic and member of the women's Nordic team.

"Alaska is a little bit different from skiing in the rest of the west because it is at sea level, so I think it can be a good test for how it will be racing at NCAA (Championships) in the east at the end of the season, which is also at sea level," added sophomore Petter Reistad of the men's Nordic team.

CU's alpine teams will have four days of racing, Jan. 25-28, at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska.

Alpine Schedule

Date	Meet	Event	Location
Jan. 25	Seawolf Invite	Men's and Women's Giant Slalom (women's 1st run at 12:35 p.m., men's 1st run at 1:30 p.m.)	Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska
Jan. 26	UAA Invite	Men's and Women's Giant Slalom (women's 1st run at 12:35 p.m., men's 1st run at 1:30 p.m.)	Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska
Jan. 27	Seawolf Invite	Men's and Women's Slalom (women's 1st run at 12:35 p.m., men's 1st run at 1:10 p.m.)	Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska
Jan. 28	UAA Invite	Men's and Women's Slalom (women's 1st run at 12:35 p.m., men's 1st run at 1:10 p.m.)	Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska

The Nordic races will run Feb. 7-12 with three of the four being held at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. The one that is not at Kincaid Park is the men's and women's classic mixed gender relay on Feb. 8. That event, the first time in nearly 30 years that a mixed gender relay is taking place, is being held at the Girdwood Nordic Race Trails.

"It's a first time and it is kind of a pilot program," head coach Richard Rokos said of the mixed gender relay. "So maybe in the future this will be something to bring a little more excitement because it is a spectator friendly, a short race and is exciting."

Nordic Schedule

Date	Meet	Event	Location
Feb. 7	Seawolf Invite	Men's and Women's Freestyle Sprint Qualifying Race 2-2:30 p.m. Women first, break (3 minutes), men second. Top 30 men & women advance. Sprint heats 3:30-5 p.m.	Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska
Feb. 8	Seawolf Invite	Men's and Women's Classic Mixed Gender Relay (4x5K) Starts at 1 p.m.; Leg 1-Men, Leg 2-Women, Leg 3-Men, Leg 4-Women	Girdwood Nordic Race Trails
Feb. 11	UAA Invite	Men's and Women's Classical (5/10K) Women's 5K at 12 p.m., Men's 10K at 1:30 p.m.	Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska
Feb. 12	UAA Invite	Men's and Women's Freestyle (20/15K) Men's 20K at 12 p.m., Women's 15K at 2 p.m.	Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska

Buffs at the 2017 FIS Nordic Junior & U23 World Ski Championships
While the Nordic teams have time before their races in Alaska, two Buffs will be traveling to Midway, Utah once again to compete in the FIS Nordic U23 World Ski Championships being held at Soldier Hollow Resort.

Senior Jesse Knori is skiing for the U23 United States Ski Team while junior Petra Hyncicova is on the Czech Republic National Team.

Knori and Hyncicova will be racing in the classic sprint race on Jan. 31, the 10K freestyle on Feb. 2 and the 15K Skiathalon on Feb. 4.

"I don't know what to expect because last year I went to Romania and it was different because there was a jet lag problem," Hyncicova said. "This year it is kind of a home event for me, so I would say I would like to be in the top 15, especially for the sprint."

Ketterer Update at FIS World Cup
CU freshman alpine skier David Ketterer competed Sunday and Tuesday in the men's slalom at the FIS World Cup in Austria.

Sunday's race was held in Kitzbuehel where Ketterer was not one of the 25 out of a total 73 competitors to qualify for the second run. In Tuesday's slalom held in Schladming, Ketterer did not finish his first run.

Ketterer has really enjoyed the atmosphere at his first World Cup.

"Yes it was definitely one of the toughest races I've done so far and amazing to race in front of 30,000 people," he said when asked if he was enjoying the experience. "Crazy atmosphere, the next race coming up (Tuesday night) has 45,000 expected."

Players Mentioned

Petra Hyncicova

David Ketterer

Jesse Knori

Petter Reistad

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