Skiers Move Into Third At Midway Point Of NCAA Championships

JACKSON, N.H. — The University of Colorado ski team, buoyed by a strong performance from its women's cross country performers that also produced an individual national champion, moved up two spots into third place here Thursday at the midway point of the 64th annual Skiing Championships.

Utah took over the team lead with 301.5 points, comfortably ahead – for now – of defending national champion Denver (265) and Colorado (240). Montana State is a distant fourth (177) with Dartmouth (170) rounding out the top five. The leader at the midway point has won 11 of the last 16 titles; this is just the second time the Utes have led after four events since their last title in 2002; the other was two years ago when the Buffs overtook them for the crown, though Utah held just a 4-point edge then.

The next event – the slalom – is considered "moving day" in the sport, whereas the events of the third day as in a golf tournament often dictate the final result. The most treacherous of the four disciplines here, the slalom often makes or breaks the leaderboard and is something in the past CU has been able to utilize to take over the lead heading into the final day, doing so in 1999, 2006 and 2015 on its way to the title.

Junior Petra Hyncicova claimed her first NCAA title in cruising to an easy win in the women's 5-kilometer classical race. She was timed in 14:55.5 in her one loop around the track, besting Utah's Merete Myrseth by almost 19 seconds in the event which featured an interval start. She was one of three Buffaloes in the top eight, as sophomore Christina Rolandsen claimed fourth in 15:23.5 and senior Jesse Knorri placing eighth in 15:42.9.

CU NCAA WOMEN'S CLASSICAL CHAMPIONS
1993 Anette Skjolden
1998 Line Selnes
2002 Mari Storeng
2006 Jana Rehemaa
2008 Maria Grevsgaard
2011 Eliska Hajkova
2017 Petra Hyncicova

Hyncicova's title was the 92nd won by a Colorado Buffalo in NCAA Championship history, now four more than Denver (88); Utah won its 73rd Thursday. CU moved ahead of DU, 31-30, in years with multiple winners when adding in David Ketterer's giant slalom win Wednesday.

Her win in the classic race was a bit of a surprise to her, as she has been stronger in the longer freestyle skate and the fact that her heel which she injured at the U23 World Championships at the start of February is still hurting her.

"You just have to go for it because the first half of the race is uphill, so you have to go full in and then just hope that you are fast enough in the downhill," Hyncicova said. "I didn't expect to win in the short race, because I am better in skating, but winning the classic race is so good."

"She just felt like her skis were good and she won by quite a bit," Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. "Obviously, she had the right combination with her skis and today that was a big factor because having good skis made a big difference. If you didn't have the right wax or fast enough skis, then you would have had a tough time overcoming (the conditions)."

Hyncicova gave a lot of credit to Cranmer and assistant coach Jana Weinberger for preparing good skis for the team today in what was tough snow conditions (known in ski circles as, "hitting the wax").

"I was trying to focus on my race and then with these conditions I was really nervous, I didn't know what to expect, but Bruce and Jana did a really good job, made really fast skis and I had really good grip," Hyncicova said. "In the middle of the race when Jana told me that I'm leading, just two second ahead of the Utah girl, I was like, 'Okay, you have to go, you just have to win.'"

Her victory highlighted a very strong day for the Buffs where five of six racers earned All-America honors.

"To have everybody but one person top 10 … I always figure to win championships you need almost if not everybody in the top 10, and everybody was there in the classic race," Cranmer said.

In her first NCAA race, Rolandsen joined Hyncicova in earning first-team All-America honors with her fourth-place finish. She fell near one of the last turns, but even with that she recovered to finish top five for the fifth time this season (three have been in classic races).

Knori drew second-team All-America honors, the second consecutive season doing so in the classic race, her strongest event where this year she already had three top six finishes this with one victory. In 2016 at Steamboat Springs, she finished fifth in what was her first NCAA Championship.

The women, who opened Thursday's racing, were a big boon to the Buffs in the team standings.

"In general, in going from fifth place to second after the women, that made up some points and we are headed in the right direction," Cranmer said. "It gives ourselves a fighting chance."

In the men's 10-kilometer race, Utah's Martin Bergstroem claimed the title in a 25:33.1 time, some 26 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, DU's Dag Frode Trolleboe.   Colorado was led by sophomore Petter Reistad and senior Mads Stroem, both earning All-American honors with top 10 finishes, and they did so double-poling Thursday.

"Normally, we don't double pole," Reistad said. "Normally, everybody is skiing and we kick. The conditions were making it pretty hard to get a good kick, so Mads and I went for it, tried to double-pole and that worked out alright, not great."

Reistad placed fourth with a time of 26:29.3, earning first-team All-America honors after he finished ninth in the same event last winter, his very first NCAA Championship.

For Stroem, he was the first racer on the course in the men's race, which was a disadvantage to him. Still, he came through with an eighth-place finish in a time of 27:03.1 to draw second-team All-America honors and now become a seven-time All-American.

"I know Mads is excited and Petter is excited for (Saturday's freestyle) race," Cranmer said. "I think we can be in there just as easily and maybe a little better. Jackson (Hill) for sure is a much better skater, so he theoretically can ski top 10. We have to be optimistic."

Senior Jackson Hill rounded out the CU performers Thursday with a 36th place finish in a time of 28:27.9.

Friday's slalom races will commence with the women's first run at 7 a.m. MST, followed by the men's first run at 8 a.m.; the second runs will follow at 10:30 a.m. for the women and 11:15 a.m. for the men. The Nordic freestyle races will finish off the NCAA meet on Saturday;   the men are first with their 20-kilometer run at 8 a.m., with the women's 15k to follow at 10 a.m.

LINER NOTES: Colorado skiers are seeded fairly high in the slalom; Ketterer is first, with Max Luukko sixth and Ola Johansen seventh; on the women's side, Nora Christensen is seventh and Tonje Trulsrud 10th … Ketterer can make some history with a top finish in the slalom Friday: seven skiers in CU history have earned podium (top three) finishes in their first career NCAA races (four alpine, three Nordic), with two winning the titles (Per Kare Jakobsen in 1988 and Line Selnes in 1998, both in Nordic) … Stroem is looking for his fourth individual NCAA title in Saturday's freestyle race; he's looking to tie four others in school history who have four: Bill Marolt, Mike Porcarelli and Biddy Werner (all skiing) and Jennifer Barringer (track) … Denver was the next best in the women's 5k, placing its three performers in the top 19; Utah had the second-most points behind CU's 94 with 76 thanks to having the second and fifth finishers, but it's third skier was 21st.

ADDITIONAL CU QUOTES

CU NORDIC COACH BRUCE CRANMER

On Having 5 of 6 Racers Earning All-American Honors In The Classic Races
"To have everybody but one person top 10, I always figured to win championships you need everybody top 10 and everybody was there in the classic race. I didn't think Jackson, that would be realistic for him to be there, but in getting a win was pretty cool."

On Moving Up In The Team Standings
"In general, in going from fifth place to second after the women, that made up some points and we are headed in the right direction. It gives ourselves a fighting chance."

On Petra Hyncicova's Championship Victory
"She just felt like her skis were good and she won by quite a bit. Obviously, she had the right combination with her skis and today that was a big factor because having good skis made a big difference. If you didn't have the right wax or fast enough skis then you would have had a tough time overcoming (the conditions)."

On What To Expect In Saturday's Freestyle Races
"I think we might be a little stronger in skating. It will be colder, so I think our chances are good there. The guys are excited … I know Mads is excited and Petter is excited for that race. I think we can be in there just as easily and maybe a little better. Jackson for sure is a much better skater, so he theoretically can ski top 10. We have to be optimistic."

CU JUNIOR PETRA HYNCICOVA

On Becoming A National Champion
"It feels great, I can't say anything else. It is awesome."

On The Final Moments Waiting For The Three Racers To Finish After She Crossed The Finish Line
"I just hoped I would win. I got splits from Jana (Weinberger) and Bruce (Cranmer) that I'm leading and in my mind it was just, 'you have to go, you have to beat the Utes and DU.' I was just fighting for the team and I'm so glad I got the win."

On The Race
"I told myself that I can go really hard because of my heel, it was hurting a lot today. I was trying to focus on my race and then with these conditions I was really nervous, I didn't know what to expect, but Bruce and Jana did a really good job, made really fast skis and I had really good grip. In the middle of the race when Jana told me that I'm leading, just two second ahead of the Utah girl, I was like, 'okay, you have to go, you just have to win.' "

On Her Mindset With The Shorter 5K Classical
"You just have to go for it because the first half of the race is uphill, so you have to go full in and then just hope that you are fast enough in the downhill. I didn't expect to win in the short race, because I am better in skating, but winning the classic race is so good."

On All Three CU Women's Racer Finishing Top 8
"Having three girls in top eight, it's great. I'm so happy for them. I wish we could share the podium together because they all are great classic skiers. We have another race and I will hope for that."

CU SOPHOMORE PETTER REISTAD

On Being A First-Team All-American
"It feels good, a little bittersweet being the best classic skier in school, but I felt good today. I was double-poling, which is my specialty and I think I could be on top of the podium if I had great day and even some better conditions for double-poling. It was okay."

On Double Poling
"Normally, we don't double pole. Normally, everybody is skiing and we kick. The conditions were making it pretty hard to get a good kick, so Mads and I went for it, tried to double-pole and that worked out alright, not great."

On The Conditions
"Bruce said it was some of the hardest conditions to get a good kick on, because you have the transformed snow since it has been warm the last couple of days. You don't have solid tracks, it gets kind of tricky, slippery, you got the new snow on top and it is really hard to find the good skis, the good kick, but when you do you have guys far ahead of the others."

On the Mindset For Saturday's Freestyle Race
"Well, I think both Mads and I have confirmed that we are right there. The things we have done to prepare have been right, so I want to climb up on the podium and I think Mads does too."

NCAA Skiing Championship Team Scores (4 of 8 events)— 1. Utah 301½; 2. Denver 265; 3. Colorado 240; 4. Montana State 177; 5. Dartmouth 170; 7. Vermont 152; 7. Northern Michigan 120; 8. New Mexico 109½; 9. New Hampshire 86; 10. Alaska-Anchorage 79; 11. Williams 62½; 12. Colby 59½; 13. Middlebury 43; 14. Alaska-Fairbanks 39; 15. Bates 16; 16. St. Michael's 15; 17. Plymouth State 13; 18. St. Scholastica 12; 19. Michigan Tech 11; 20. Colby Sawyer 10; 21. Bowdoin 0.

Women's 5-Kilometer Classical (40 finishers)— 1. Petra Hyncicova, CU, 14:55.5; 2. Merete Myrseth, Utah, 15:14.2; 3. Alayna Sonnesyn, UVM, 15:15.3; 4. Christina Rolandsen, CU, 15:23.5; 5. Guro Jordheim, Utah, 15:31.7; 6. Vivian Hett, NMU, 15:34.5; 7. Krista Niiranen, UNM, 15:41.2; 8. Jesse Knorri, CU, 15:42.9; 9. Elizabeth Gill, UNM, 15:43.9; 10. Lauren Jortberg, Dart., 15:44.2.

Men's 10-Kilometer Classical (39 finishers)— 1. Martin Bergstroem, Utah, 25:33.1; 2. Dag Frode Trolleboe, DU, 25:59.1; 3. Martin Mikkelsen, Utah, 26:25.7; 4. Petter Reistad, CU, 26:29.3; 5. Moritz Madlener, DU, 26:36.7; 6. Fredrik Schwencke, NMU, 26:40.2; 7. Adam Martin, NMU, 26:50.5; 8. Mads Stroem, CU, 27:03.1; 9. Ian Moore, UVM, 27:07.7; 10. Lars Hannah, DU, 27:10.8. Other CU Finisher: 36. Jackson Hill, 28:27.9.

(Associate SID Jason Clay contributed to this report.)

Skiers Move Into Third At Midway Point Of NCAA Championships

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Players Mentioned

Nora Christensen

Jackson Hill

Petra Hyncicova

Ola Johansen

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Max Luukko

Petter Reistad

Christina Rolandsen

Mads Stroem

Tonje Trulsrud

Skiers Move Into Third At Midway Point Of NCAA Championships

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Players Mentioned

Nora Christensen

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Ola Johansen

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Max Luukko

Petter Reistad

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Tonje Trulsrud

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