Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Olivia Butrymovich at olbu3713@colorado.edu.
The University of Colorado Ski Team moved into fourth place after day two of the NCAA Championships. After a tumultuous first day of competition, the Buffs had a successful day on the cross country slopes.
CU, the current NCAA defending champion, are playing host to the biggest event of the collegiate skiing world, right here in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
The Buffs currently have 214.5 points after 4 events, sitting behind Denver, Utah and Montana State, the last of whom, until this year, have never finished higher than seventh place.
It was a rough first day of competition for the Buffs downhill team. With the title on the line, CU’s team young and old felt the pressure in the first event of competition, giant slalom.
Freshman Ola Johansen was the team’s top male finisher for Colorado. Johansen finished his day tied for tenth place with a time of 1:52.53. The freshmen expressed disappointment but acknowledged it was the biggest event as a college racer.
Johansen’s teammate, senior Henrik Gunnarsson, was in thirteenth after his first run, but did not finish his second run, which resulted in a depressing final giant slalom finish.
On the women’s side, CU had a much better showing, after a third place, podium finish from freshman Tonje Trulsrud. Trulsrud finished her day with a combined time of 1:59.27, just a second and a half behind the leader.
Senior Thea Grosvold concluded her final collegiate giant slalom race with a sixteenth place finish, registering a time of 2:02.99.
The Buffs sat in fifth place after day one of racing. Montana State led the pack, sitting in front of Denver, Utah and Dartmouth. Colorado’s Nordic team had work to do if they wanted to defend their title.
As competition switched from Howelsen Hill to the Nordic course, there was more pressure than ever for the cross country team to pull out a strong performance.
Junior Mads Stroem delivered for the Buffs, winning the Men’s 10-Kilometer Freestyle race, his second personal title, and his first since his freshman year. Stroem crossed the finish line with a time of 22:06.8, nearly 11 seconds faster than the silver finisher.
The other men’s top finisher was freshman Petter Reistad, who in his first championships. He crossed the finish line in sixth place and with a time of 22:41.9.
The women also performed well in the 5-kilometer freestyle. Sophomore Petra Hyncicova finished second overall with a time of 13:14.0. Sophomore Ane Johnsen also had a fantastic ninth place finish with a time of 13:20.8.
The Nordic team’s dominance on day two of the championships was definitely enough to keep the Buffs in the running for their twenty-first national championship, and with two more days of competition, anything can happen.
Days three and four of the meet kickoff Friday and Saturday with the men’s and women’s slalom on Friday, and the women’s 15-kilometer and men’s 20-kilometer classic on Saturday.
