There was little rest for the Buff skiers returning from the World University Games.
Thursday, the CU ski team, along with several of the athletes fresh from the WUG, placed in first overall for the men’s team and second overall for the women’s squad in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Alpine Qualifier in Winter Park, Colo.
The top 10 in the men and women’s slalom included six Buff skiers. The qualifier is the first day of a four-day qualifier between the seven member schools of the RMISA.
“In general, today was about skiing as fast as possible,” said CU head coach Richard Rokos in a news release. “Today was just qualifying, no team scoring, so everybody was on their own. Given the conditions and the fact we don’t train on this hill, it was a good performance.”
Senior Gabriel Rivas placed in third in the men’s race with a time of 1:55.05, followed by freshman Andreas Haug in sixth place.
Junior Eric Davis was the third skier to place in the top 10 for the men, finishing in ninth overall.
“In the first run, bib 1 (Utah’s Ryan Wilson) won the first run too, so it helped being the first one down the hill,” Davis said in a news release. “I definitely pushed a lot harder the second run. It felt good to get that. It’ll help me tomorrow knowing I can ski as fast as anybody here and it should help my seeding tomorrow so that will help, too.”
In the women’s races it was sophomore star skier Erika Ghent who finished as the Buffs top performer, anchoring the women’s team with a third-place finish.
Ghent was one of the skiers who only two days prior to Thursday had arrived from competing in the WUG in Turkey.
“We’re all fighting off sickness and travel and our bodies are out of synch right now,” Ghent said in a news release. “We’re just trying to stay hydrated. We knew the turnaround would be tough, so we were preparing mentally for it. The snow was soft, the second run was a little big tough, but I think it was for everybody.”
Colorado will split between Winter Park and Aspen, Colo., for the DU Invitational in the following three days. Friday’s events will include the giant slalom and slalom, followed by the classical and freestyle on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Esteban L. Hernandez at Esteban.hernandez@colorado.edu.
