Colorado Wraps Up Denver Invitational Title

Sunday, February 8, 2026 • by Curtis Snyder

FRISCO, Colo.— Colorado closed out the Nordic portion of the Denver Invitational on Sunday with a women's race win and an overall meet victory, while Denver captured the men's 7.5K freestyle to tighten the team race in the final Nordic event at the Frisco Nordic Center.

In the men's race, Denver's Yannick Zellweger earned the individual win as the Pioneers also won the team scoring with 94 points. Colorado's Storm Pedersen finished second, while Montana State's Simon Chappaz placed third to round out the podium. Denver's strong men's result trimmed Colorado's overall lead from 67 points to 48 heading into the women's race.

The women followed with Colorado responding emphatically behind Tilde Baangman's race victory. Baangman and teammate Astri Lunde finished 1-2 as the Buffs won the women's race with 98 points. Utah's Sofia Pedersen placed third, while Utah finished second in the team scoring with 84 points and Denver took third with 70.

With the final-day results, Colorado secured the Denver Invitational title with 714 points, finishing 76 ahead of Denver (638). Utah placed third at 499.5, with Montana State (480) and Alaska Anchorage (457) rounding out the top five.

AGATE

Final Team Scores: 1. Colorado, 714; 2. Denver, 638; 3. Utah, 499.5; 4. Montana State, 480; 5. Alaska Anchorage, 457; 6. Alaska Fairbanks, 226; 7. Nevada, 195.5; 8. Colorado Mountain, 163; 9. Westminster, 119.

Men's 7.5K Freestyle: 1. Yannick Zellweger, Denver, 18:39.4; 2. Storm Pedersen, Colorado, 18:49.6; 3. Simon Chappaz, Montana State, 18:55.5; 4. Eemil Juntunen, Denver, 19:06.2; 5. Gavin Galyardt, Montana State, 19:09.2; 6. Gabriele Rigaudo, Alaska Fairbanks, 19:11.8; 7. Philipp Moosmayer, Alaska Fairbanks, 19:13.3; 8. Krystof Zatloukal, Denver, 19:20.4; 9. Sondre Oestervold, Denver, 19:21.8; 10. Johannes Flaaten, Colorado, 19:22.9.

Women's 7.5K Freestyle: 1. Tilde Baangman, Colorado, 20:56.4; 2. Astri Lunde, Colorado, 21:31.0; 3. Sofia Pedersen, Utah, 21:51.1; 4. Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, Denver, 22:07.9; 5. Marit Flora, Alaska Anchorage, 22:22.5; 6. Witta Walcher, Utah, 22:29.1; 7. Felicie Chappaz, Montana State, 22:32.9; 8. Ally Wheeler, Utah, 22:34.6; 9. Katey Houser, Montana State, 22:38.4; 10. Selma Nevin, Colorado, 22:40.6.