The Pioneer alpine ski team participated in the annual DU Invitational in Winter Park, Colo., over the weekend, finishing this weekend’s portion of the meet in 3rd place.
This ski meet, the team’s fourth of the season, was a prime opportunity for the skiers to get back in gear after a short break, as well as to get an idea of who their biggest competitors will be this season. Currently, Denver (374) is trailing only Utah (456) and Colorado (429).
“Third place is not optimal, but it is still too early in the season to tell much,” said head coach Andy LeRoy.
Perhaps affecting the team’s performance was the fact that the Denver ski team was the only one of the eight teams competing that has been in classes for the past two weeks. While DU had the advantage of a long winter break for training, there is a slight disadvantage for this particular meet because of the athletes’ early return to school.
However, the Pioneers still made a strong showing this weekend. Freshman Trevor Philp, who just returned from competing in the World Cup Race in Switzerland, finished 2nd in both the slalom and the giant slalom.
“Two second-place finishes is a good start to the college season,” said Philp. “It’s a good confidence builder, and hopefully for me the giant slalom will pick up. It’s great to contribute to the team and not just focus on individual results.”
Fellow freshman Espen Lysdahl also finished strong in 5th place in the giant slalom and 4th in the slalom. These accomplishments marked the men’s second slalom win of the season. Max Marno, another freshman, raced to a 12th-place finish.
On the women’s side, sophomore Sterling Grant finished 9th in the giant slalom on Saturday and 17th in the slalom on Sunday. Another notable competitor was freshman Devin Delaney, who tied for 13th with teammate Mariaelena Rizzieri in the giant slalom and came in 9th the next day. Sunday marked the first time that Delaney has cracked the top 10 in slalom in her collegiate career.
After this competition, LeRoy said he feels that the team is “excited to go out and work for the rest of the week, since we are sitting in a good spot.”
“It was a good day for the men,” said LeRoy. “They took their second slalom win of the season. The ladies had a few mishaps on the course today, but we are building for the end of the year. We look forward to seeing what we can do in Alaska [where the team competes next month].”
Also competing in the meet were Alaska Anchorage, New Mexico, Westminster College, Montana State and Colorado Mountain College.
During Saturday’s portion of the meet, Utah swept the giant slalom with victories from Nick Cohee and Tii-Maria Romar. The Pioneers sat in 4th place after Saturday’s events but were able to edge out Alaska Anchorage on Sunday.
Westminster College’s Petter Brenna edged Philp out for the second consecutive slalom race on Sunday. Utah’s Julie Bodeau won the women’s race.
The outcome of the DU Invitational will be decided next weekend, when the points are combined with those acquired by the Nordic team at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, Colo., on Friday and Saturday. The alpine team returns to action in early February at the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational.
