The CU ski team took care of business on Saturday.
The No. 2 Buffs cut a two-and-a-half point deficit against Utah to win the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships�in Park City, Utah.
The Buffs also qualified for the NCAA Championship set to take place March 9-12.
�It is a big deal,� said Colorado Head Coach�Richard Rokos.� �In the first place, it�s a good confidence builder and everybody put a great deal of effort. It�s honorable to win the regional championship, especially knowing the competition will be close to what it will be at the NCAA�s.�
The women’s giant slalom was cancelled due to poor visibility, and according to RMISA rules, the races counterpart, women’s slalom, would count for double.�This ruling benefitted the Buffs, who had outscored the Utes 103-78 in the slalom.
Junior�Eliska Hajkova became the first skier since 2008 to sweep the Nordic races at the championship.� She won the 15-kilometer race in 56:11.2, after being in third after the 5km split.
CU had two other scorers in the in the women’s race. Joanne Reid finished in 10th with a time of 58:40.4 and Alexa Turzian’s time of�58:43.0 was good enough for 11th.
In the men’s 20km classic, junior Ian Mallams finished in fourth (1:06:52.0), freshman Andreas Hoye finished in seventh with a time of 1:08:11.2,�and senior Patrick Neel came in 14th with a time of 1:10:01.5.
The Buffs also had some success in the Men’s slalom, with three top 10 finishes.� Senior Gabriel Rivas finished third, clocking in at 1:52.26.� Sophomore Max Lamb matched his best finish at CU, coming in fifth with a time 1:53.38. Freshman Andreas Haug, who was voted RMISA Alpine men’s MVP, came in ninth�with a time of 1:53.81.
The Buffs will train for a week before heading to Stowe, Vermont for the NCAA Championships.� They will look to capture their 18th national championship, and their first since 2006.
Contact Sports Editor Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu.