Utes Take Home Second At CU Invitational

Saturday, February 1

Boulder, Colo.

TBA

University of Utah

Colorado Invitational (Alpine/C.C.)

2/1/2003 12:00 AM | Skiing

Feb. 1, 2003

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BOULDER, Colo. -- The University of Utah ski team manages to claim second-place, after finishing the final day of the Colorado Invitational. The Utes completed the invite. with a combine total of 565 points, while conference rival Colorado took first with a overwhelming 618 point total.

"Second-place is a respectable showing," remarked Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "Colorado is not a better team then us, but they did perform well in all disciplines. We made some mistakes that really hurt our scores, but sometimes that just happens. I know we can ski better as a team and I hope we can pull it together for the next meet."

Katrin Smigun and Sara Svendsen headlined the women's cross country team in the 5 km classical finishing first and second. Svendsen's time of 16:22.0 is her best-ever college finish this season. Sophomore Barbro Hatlevik skied seventh with a time of 16:40.6, while Anna Sprague finished with a 16th-place effort. Freshman Ashley McQueen came away skiing 21th.

"Katrin skied very strong once again and Sara came out with one of her best college results," stated Sweeney. "It was also good to see Zack ski to his potential."

The men's nordic team was led by senior Zack Simons and freshman Jess Kiesel. Simons spearheaded the Utes with a third-place effort, while Kiesel came in at sixth. Torin Koos was just out of the top-10, finishing 12th, followed by Ryan Quinn who skied 17th.

The women's squad skied well in the slalom event headed by Rowena Bright. Bright skied to an impressive third-place, while teammate Lina Johansson came home with a ninth-place finish. Park City native Elisha Stephens edged out a 17th-place effort, while Petra Svet nabbed 32nd.

"There were some good individual scores," said Sweeney. "It was great to see Lina and Rowena ski consistent for the alpine team."

The men's team was a little out of sync in the slalom event. Ute sophomore Josh Whitham led the way with his 15th-place finish, while Benjamin Thornhill skied 18th. Senior Jernej Bukovec ended the day skiing 32nd.

"We are looking forward to our next meet," remarked Sweeney. "Our focus is to get some rest and prepare ourselves mentally. I'm confident in this team, but I'm expecting the best out of them."

Next up, the Ute ski team will travel to Gunnison, Colo., to compete in the Western State Invitational. The invite. is scheduled to be skied Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8. Start times are TBA.