The Pioneers ski team had an impressive weekend at the Utah Invitational, finishing the event in third overall on Sunday in Park City, Utah.

DU’s overall score of 522 was behind only tournament winner University of Colorado and second place finisher University of Utah.

The Pioneers were led by very strong performances from their women’s alpine team, winning their giant slalom race on Sunday, and men’s Nordic skier Rene Reisshauer, who finished second in the 15K freestyle on Sunday, one day after winning the 10K freestyle.

In Saturday’s action, the Pioneer men’s alpine team took first place in the giant slalom event, led by sophomore Fransesco Ghedina, whose time of 1:55.87 was good for fourth place.

Fellow sophomore John Buchar came in sixth for the Pioneers, while senior Ian Dunlop and freshman Adam Cole finished 16th and 21st, respectively.

The women’s alpine came up with a third place finish in the slalom Saturday, after sophomore Claire Abbe came in fourth at 1:30.63. Teammate Molly Ryan came in 11th.

The men’s Nordic team also had a successful day, winning the 10K freestyle as a team, behind Reisshauer’s individual victory, while the women’s Nordic team finished up in sixth place after the 5K race.

Sunday’s races saw the Pioneers garner even more success.

The women’s alpine team won the giant slalom event, with Jennifer Tank leading the way with a fifth place finish. Junior Karine Falck-Pederson collected a seventh place finish, while Lindsay McClure came in 10th.

The men’s Nordic team also had an impressive run on Sunday, as it finished first in the 15K freestyle. For the second straight day, Reisshauer was the top Pioneer finisher, coming in second place, only five seconds behind winner Matthew Gelso of CU.

Reisshauer’s teammates Mike Hinckley and Taylor Sheldon also finished in the top ten as they came in seventh and ninth place, respectively.

The women’s alpine helped DU finish first overall in the alpine events, after finishing third in their 10K freestyle event. Annelise Baily led the Pioneer women with a fourth-place finish.

Last weekend’s third-place finish is a strong start to the Pioneers’ season, as it is the first tournament completed this year.

The Pioneers Nordic team will be traveling to Bohart Ranch, Mont., to finish up the Montana State Invitational. DU is currently in second place in the event, having completed the slalom portions two weeks ago.

DU’s alpine team will next be in action on Feb. 2-3, when they host the University of Denver Invitational in Winter Park, Colo.