RENO, Nev.— A strange day still set records Saturday at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, where fewer than half of the RMISA field finished both runs in a non-team-scored Alpine Qualifier ahead of the Nevada Invitational.
The men's race delivered a milestone performance for Colorado Mountain College, as Lucas Ellis earned the program's first-ever RMISA men's victory and just the second RMISA win in CMC history overall. Ellis, who posted the fastest first run in the field, held on through a chaotic second run marked by widespread attrition to secure the win. The only previous RMISA victory for CMC came in 2022, when Ainsley Proffitt claimed a women's race win before later transferring to Alaska Anchorage.
The difficulty of the course was underscored by the numbers, as just 20 of 44 RMISA men completed both runs. Utah's Johs Herland finished second, while multiple skiers sitting inside the top eight after the first run were eliminated during a stretch of consecutive DNFs in the second run.
On the women's side, Denver's Liv Moritz returned from World Cup competition and delivered a dominant performance, winning both runs and capturing the victory by nearly three seconds. Moritz controlled the race from start to finish on a day when only 19 of 39 RMISA women reached the final classification.
The RMISA slate continues Sunday at Mt. Rose with a scored slalom race as part of the Nevada Invitational, followed by giant slalom races on Monday and Tuesday.
WOMEN'S SLALOM: 1. Liv Moritz, Denver, 1:34.59; 2. Louison Accambray, Colorado, 1:37.46; 3. Melanie Dahlberg, Utah, 1:37.73; 4. Sara Rask, Denver, 1:37.83; 5. Erica Lynch, Nevada, 1:38.18; 6. Alexa Brownlie, Colorado, 1:38.63; 7. Cecilia Pizzinato, Denver, 1:38.69; 8. Paige DeHart, Colorado, 1:38.37; 9. Guro Hestad Vognild, Westminster, 1:40.40; 10. Maddie Welling, Colorado Mountain, 1:40.65. Did Not Finish: Cathinka Lunder, Colorado.
MEN'S SLALOM: 1. Lucas Ellis, Colorado Mountain, 1:34.16; 2. Johs Herland, Utah, 1:35.56; 3. Alejandro Puente Tasias, Westminster, 1:36.33; 4. Christian Soevik, Denver, 1:36.56; 5. Loic Spiegelberg, Montana State, 1:36.64; 6. Tommaso Olcese, Alaska Anchorage, 1:36.82; 7. Eirik Kveno, Denver, 1:36.87; 8. Dylan Timm, Alaska Anchorage, 1:37.31; 9. Samuel McDermott, Colorado Mountain, 1:37.48; 10. Peyton Wells, Nevada, 1:37.59.
| Date | Race |
|---|---|
| Jan. 31 | Women's Slalom |
| Jan. 31 | Men's Slalom |
| Feb. 2 | Women's Giant Slalom |
| Feb. 2 | Men's Giant Slalom |