HUNTSVILLE, Utah & BOZEMAN, Mont.— The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit continues this weekend with the alpine portion of the Utah Invitational from Jan. 12-14 at Snowbasin while the Nordic teams travel to the Montana State Invitational, competing at Bohart Ranch from Jan. 14-15.
The Utah Invite gets underway on Thursday, Jan. 12, with the women's giant slalom, followed by the men's giant slalom on Friday. The men's and women's slalom races will be held on Saturday, Jan. 14.
Utah is also hosting a men's and women's slalom RMISA qualifier race on Sunday, Jan. 15. The RMISA qualifier races do not count towards any team scoring, but are used as an extra opportunity for skiers to earn qualification points for the NCAA Championships at the end of the season.
All eight races will be held at Snowbasin, which is a new competition venue for the Utes. The run is Wildflower Downhill (used for the Olympics) to City Hill. Live timing will be available at USSALiveTiming.com.
Colorado leads the Utah Invitational going into the alpine races with 303.5 points, followed by Denver (295) and Utah (277) with New Mexico (259.5) in fourth and Alaska-Fairbanks in fifth (252). Alaska-Fairbanks does not field an alpine team.
At Bohart Ranch for the Montana State Invitational, action kicks off with the freestyle races (women's 5-km, men's 10-km) on Saturday, Jan. 14, and follows with the classical (women's 15-km, men's 20-km) on Sunday, Jan. 15.
The Buffs also lead the MSU Invite with 334 points with Denver (308) and Utah (286.5) in second and third. Montana State is fourth (270.5) and Westminster (246) in fifth. Westminster does not field a Nordic team.
Colorado’s David Ketterer led the men’s alpine skiers during the first weekend with a win in the slalom and a pair of top-six finishes in the giant slalom. The Buffs’ Max Luukku podiumed in both giant slalom races. Utah’s Sam Dupratt picked up his first career win in the giant slalom and also podiumed in the RMISA GS qualifier. The Utes’ Endre Bjertness and New Mexico’s Vegard Busengdal was in the top 10 in every race over the first weekend. Colorado’s Ola Johansen earned a win in the RMISA giant slalom qualifier and finished second in the MSU Invite GS. Montana State’s Garret Driller and Denver’s Nick Santaniello were both on the podium in the slalom.
In women’s alpine, Westminster’s Ann-Kathrin Breuning earned two wins in the giant slalom with a second-place finish in the slalom. Colorado’s Tonje Trulsrud podiumed in all three races while Denver’s Monica Huebner earned a win in the slalom race. Utah’s Chloe Fausa was fourth in both giant slalom races and the Utes’ Roni Remme was second in the RMISA qualifier giant slalom and sixth in the slalom. Denver’s Kristine Aasberg was in the top 10 in every race with a podium in the giant slalom. Colorado’s Nora Christensen was also in the top 10 in all three races last weekend. Montana State’s Kari Hole earned a pair of top-six finishes in the giant slalom races.
On the Nordic side, Utah’s Kevin Bolger led the men at the Utah Invitational with a win in the sprint classic and second-place finish in the 15-km freestyle. Denver’s Moritz Madlener also earned a win in the 15-km freestyle with third place in the sprint classic. Peter Reistad of Colorado placed second in the freestyle with a top-six finish in the classic. Denver’s Eivind Kvaale placed in the top five in both races while Jan Cech of Alaska-Fairbanks was in the top 10 in both races. New Mexico’s Arnaud Guyon also had a podium with a third-place finish in the freestyle. Notably not competing last weekend was Colorado’s Mads Stroem, who was out with illness.
For the women’s Nordic, Colorado’s Petra Hyncicova and New Mexico’s Krista Niiranen each earned a win and a second-place finish during the first weekend with Hyncicova winning the 10-km freestyle and Niiranen the sprint classic. Colorado’s Christina Rolandson earned a podium in the classic and finished sixth in the freestyle while Utah’s Guro Jordheim was on the podium in the freestyle race. Alaska-Fairbanks Nichole Bathe also earned a top-10 finish in both races.