Although Denver started in sixth during the opening day of the Denver Invitational, the Pioneers rallied and finished second with 590.5 points in the invite which was the last Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) regular season meet in 2018.
The DU Nordic team contributed with 154 points on Feb. 11, with the women’s 5 km classical and the men’s 10 km classical. The women were second, scoring 88 points, while the men took fourth in the Nordic events with 66 points.
“It was a perfect Colorado day for racing,” said Nordic Coach Dave Stewart. “Bluebird skies, fresh snow and cold temperatures warming up through the day. We had a strong team performance with five top-10 results, highlighted by Linn in second fighting for the win.”
“[It was a] Beautiful day and a fun race. I had my first podium of the year in a 5 km race, which I am very happy about!” senior Linn Eriksen (Oslo, Norway) said following the race.
She finished second with a time of 19.02.6. Her teammate, junior Jasmi Joensuu (Kuortane, Finland) finished fifth, clocking in at 19:06.1. Junior Taeler McCrerey (Frisco, Colo.) finished tenth with a time of 19:48.0, and sophomore Kristine Karrsrud (Oppland, Norway) finished 16th in 20:43.7. The final skier for Denver, senior Aja Starkey (Bozeman, Montana), finished 24th in 21:19.5.
Senior Dag Frode Trolleboe (Oslo, Norway) finished fourth for the men in the 10 km, with a time of 34:05.4. After the race he said, “I’m happy with the result today. I’ve been struggling on this course in the past, so it was fun to fight in the top today.”
Fellow Pioneers, sophomore Eivind Kvaale (Høydalsmo, Norway) and freshman Borgar Norrud finished eighth and 22nd, with respective times of 34:26.5 and 26:28.5
On Feb. 10, the Alpine team scored 169 points, and Nordic scored 165 points. The Alpine team finished the invite in fourth place.
Freshman Tobias Kogler (Hallein, Austria) placed first in the men’s slalom with a time of 1:27.04. The Pioneers had two second place finishes. Graduate student Alex Leever (Vail, Colo.) finished second in the men’s slalom in 1:27.48, while junior Tuva Norbye (Oslo, Norway) finished second in the women’s slalom with a time of 1:28.71. Freshman Amelia Smart (Vancouver, B.C.) finished fifth in the slalom with a time of 1:29.19, while freshman Jett Seymour (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) tied for sixth for the men, with a time of 1:28.23. Other finishers for DU include sophomore Tanner Farrow (Hailey, Idaho) in 1:29.10 and sophomore Nick Santaniello in 1:52.46.
The ski team will compete at the RMISA Regionals on Feb. 22, in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
