MIDWAY, Utah—Utah's Kevin Bolger won the sprint classic at the U.S. Cross Country Championships on Sunday afternoon, while Bolger and New Mexico's Krista Niiranen came away with wins in the RMISA sprint classic collegiate races.
Using results pulled from the sprint classic qualifier, Bolger was the top RMISA finisher in the men's race for his first career win and second career podium. Colorado's Petter Reistad finished second for his fourth career podium finish while Denver's Moritz Madlener placed third for his second-straight podium. Denver newcomer Eivind Kvaale placed fourth for his best career finish while Alaska-Anchorage's Zackarias Toresson had a season-best fifth-place finish. New Mexico's Petteri Vaherkoski placed sixth. Alaska-Fairbanks's Michael Fehrenbach and Jan Cech placed seventh and eighth while Montana State's Martin Muan and Karsten Hokanson were ninth and 10th.
Following the qualifier and RMISA races, several skiers continued through the quarterfinal and semifinal brackets with three RMISA skiers reaching the final - Bolger, Madlener and Reistad. Bolger came away with the victory with Madlener in second and Reistad in fifth. Reaching the quarterfinal round was Kvaale.
For the women, New Mexico newcomer Krista Niiranen picked up her first career win and second-straight podium. Colorado's Petra Hyncicova also earned her second-straight podium after winning yesterday's race. CU took two of the three podium spots with Christian Rolandsen placing third, and had three total skiers in the top 10 with Anne Siri Lervik placing seventh. Alaska-Fairbanks also had three skiers in the top 10 - Nichole Bathe in sixth, Ann-Cathrin Uhl in eighth and Sarissa Lammers in 10th. Also in the top 10 was Alaska Anchorage's Casey Wright in fourth, Denver's Jasmi Joensuu in fifth and Montana State's Anika Miller in ninth.
Hyncicova and Joensuu both reached the semifinal round of the U.S. national sprint races.
Several skiers also raced in the junior sprint classic heats. Denver's Taeler McCrerey placed second in the women's race with Utah's Leah Lange fifth. Alaska-Anchorage's Hailey Swirbul reached the semifinals and UAA's Hannah Rudd was in the quarterfinals. Utah's Logan Diekmann finished fifth overall in the junior races for the men.
The sprints haven’t been run in the RMISA in nearly 30 years.
| Date | Race |
|---|---|
| Jan. 7 | Women's 10K Freestyle |
| Jan. 7 | Men's 15K Freestyle |
| Jan. 8 | Women's Classic Sprints |
| Jan. 8 | Men's Classic Sprints |
| Jan. 12 | Women's Giant Slalom |
| Jan. 13 | Men's Giant Slalom |
| Jan. 14 | Women's Slalom |
| Jan. 14 | Men's Slalom |