The University of Denver ski team finished third at the NCAA National Championship meet on March 13 at the Sugar Bowl Resort in Donner Summit Truckee, Calif. after going strong for the first two days of the four-day event.
The Pioneers had a strong 26-point lead over then-second place New Mexico after day two.
However, the Pioneers struggled in the men’s slalom and remained at a loss in the Nordic classic races, thus dropping from first to third. Denver still holds the NCAA record for ski titles with 17, after winning three straight titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
New Mexico won the 2004 championship with 623 overall net points, followed by Utah in second with 581.
Denver finished in a strong third at 568 points. Following close behind Denver was Colorado, which improved from seventh to fourth with 564 points.
“I am disappointed with our finish,” skiing Director Kurt Smitz said. “New Mexico is a tough competitor and we battled them all year, but to finish third is a bit disappointing. Overall, we had a lot of good things happen at this national championship.”
In the Nordic classic races, Denver’s best finish came from senior Karin Camenisch who was 12th in the women’s 15K classic race with a time of 54:24.6.
Junior Tara Hamilton finished soon after in 15th place with a time of 54:45.9. Senior Niina Karvonen finished 35th.
Leading the men was sophomore Martin Bartnes with a time of 54:23.9; 17.
Sophomore Amund Hansen was 17th and freshman Erland Hoff finished 20th.
The giant slalom events were won by Denver.
One individual national title was given to freshman Pia Rivelsrud in the slalom as well as six All-America honors.
Rivelsrud won both runs of the slalom race, finishing with a combined time of 1:22.8.
On her first run she sped down the course in 39.60, and was clocked at 43.20 in the second. Dartmouth’s Courtney Calise came closest to Rivelsrud at 1:23.4, and Denver’s Barbara Knor finished close behind with a combined time of 1:24.01.
Senior Sophie Ormond finished 12th for the Pioneers at 1:25.95.
“Pia’s skill and ability really showed,” Smitz said. “Barbara’s effort was outstanding as well.”
On day three of the championships, junior David Lamb hooked a gate on the first run and was disqualified.
After the first run, junior Dominik Schweiger was in 5th place, but after falling twice he had to hike up the hill and start again. Freshman Lars Ola Kjos also crashed on the hill.
The Pioneers’ poor performance could be due to the snow conditions at the championships. The use of artificial chemicals hardened the course, as the temperature was approximately 70 degrees. Consequently, Eastern skiers performed well in the icy conditions, as Dartmouth had two of the top five times.
“The snow was like ball-bearings under your feet,” said Smitz. “We don’t ski this kind of snow at all; it’s very icy and layered. But that’s what you deal with in skiing, and everyone had the same conditions.”
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the dedicated team work put forth all year did not provide the first-place finish they had planned for, citing the poor skiing conditions.
However, both the coaches and the team look forward to a promising upcoming year, Smith said.
