Utah Sits In Second-Place At Nevada Invite

Thursday, January 15

Auburn Ski Club, Calif/Sugar Bowl, Calif.

TBA

University of Utah

Nevada Invitational

1/15/2004 12:00 AM | Skiing

Jan. 15, 2004

Complete Nordic Results

DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. - The defending NCAA champion University of Utah skied to a second-place finish in the opening day of the Nevada Invitational, Thursday, Jan. 15. Utah (259) finished behind Denver (303), followed by Colorado (244) and New Mexico (240). Alaska-Anchorage (212) holds on to fifth, while host Nevada (210) rounded out sixth.

The men's cross country team headlined the pack tying for first with the Buffs of Colorado in the 10-km freestyle. The Ute squad finished the day with a 77 point total. Junior Henning Dybendal finished second in 23:59.5, while the newest addition to the team, Daniel Sonntag skied to a fourth-place finish with a time of 24:03.3. Newcomer Benjamin Sonntag placing 10th with a two-run time of 24:57.2.

"We opened up strong," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "I'm very satisfied with the cross country team, especially the newcomers opening up. Henning, Daniel and Ben skied great and I was very impressed by their performances."

The women's team opened strong, skiing to a third-place finish in the 5-km freestyle with a 62 point total. Freshman Sandra Gredig edged out the competition finishing fifth in 13:43.3. Sophomore Jenny Hansson skied into the top-10 placing 10th with a time of 14:04.7. Junior and 2003 NCAA competitor Barbro Hatlevik completed the scoring participation skiing in 16th in 14:20.3.

"This is a really tight race," remarked Sweeney. "We had an awesome showing by the women's team. Sandra gave a great effort. Jenny and Barbro skied very well for the team."

In the women's GS, junior Rowena Hyldahl finished third with a two-run time of 2:04.17. Teammate April Mancuso skied fifth with a time of 2:04.73, while freshman Lauren Lattimer scored a 14th-place finish.

In the men's GS, the Utes were led by junior Ben Thornhill skiing sixth in 1:56.31, followed by Will McDonald placing 18th with a time of 1:59.97. Utah's Gaspar Perricone completed the scoring, placing 21th.

Tomorrow, Utah's cross country team is scheduled to race in the men's 20-km classical at 9:00 a.m. at Auburn Ski Club followed by the women's 15-km classical at 11:00 a.m. The alpine squad includes the men's slalom at 9:30 a.m. followed by the women at 10:45 a.m. with the second runs at 12:30 p.m. for the men and 1:45 p.m. for the women, at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.

Nevada Invitational Results:

1. Denver               303.02. Utah                 259.03. Colorado             244.04. New Mexico           240.05. Alaska Anchorage     213.06. Nevada               210.07. Montana State        128.08. Western State        112.09. Whitman College       88.010. Boise State          20.0