Utah Finishes Second Overall At NCAAs

Saturday, March 13

Reno, Nev.

TBA

University of Utah

NCAA Championships (CC)

3/13/2004 12:00 AM | Skiing

March 13, 2004

DONNER'S SUMMIT, Calf. -- The University of Utah ski team finished second overall at the 2004 NCAA Championships at Auburn Ski Club on Saturday. Utah skied to a 581 overall point total, behind only New Mexico. This marked the Lobos first NCAA skiing championship.

"We are very ecstatic about finishing second," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "Both teams fought tooth and nail for the title and I'm extremely proud of each and every one of our skiers. With everything that has happened to us over the season, we should have finished fourth or fifth, but we have continued to battle all season. The effort all season is why we were in contention this year. No one on the team gave up and that is really great to see as a coach."

New Mexico pulled away with the win, marking Head Coach George Brooks with his first title in 34 years of coaching. The defending champions Utah held on to second, while Denver remained in third. Colorado made a great comeback to finish fourth and Vermont dropped a spot to take fifth, rounding out the top five team scores at this year's NCAAs.

The Lobos took control of the championships on Friday, skiing past Denver and Utah in the alpine slalom events. The Utes made a strong run at New Mexico, but fell out of reach as the Lobos finished 42 points ahead of Utah to claim the championship. Overall, Utah qualified six All-American honorees this season.

First-year nordic sensation Henning Dybendal won yet another NCAA title, this time taking home the men's 20-km classical with a time of 53:21.6. The junior took the first-place podium spot after beating out Colorado's Tor Erik Schjellerud and New Mexico's Geir-endre Rogn.

Dybendal becomes the only men's dual NCAA champion this season, winning both cross country events. This first-team All-American has dominated each of these disciplines, winning four separate events within the regular season.

"Henning being a duel winner this season was awesome," added Sweeney. "He has skied great all year and he is very deserving of this honor. He has led the nordic squad all season and we are happy to have him on the team."

"This was a great weekend," commented Dybendal. "We are really excited about finishing second. The team struggled with injuries all season, but it just feels great to end the season on a high note."

Utah skiers Daniel Sonntag and Benjamin Sonntag both finished in the top 25. Freshman D. Sonntag finished 13th overall with a two-run time of 54:17.5. Junior B. Sonntag skied to a 23th-place finish with a time of 57:29.4.

Sophomore Jenny Hansson spearheaded the women's cross country team, finishing with another 10th-place finish in 53:56.8. Freshman Sandra Gredig rebounded from a 26-place finish in the freestyle to take 13th in the 15-km classical race with a time of 54:31.2. Junior Barbro Hatlevik finished the Utes' scoring, skiing to 24th in 55:47.8.

"The women skied great," remarked Sweeney. "Jenny finishing tenth with All-American honors was awesome. Sandra really skied big today and Barbro performed well."

"I'm so happy to be on this team," said Hansson. "It was good to place second and we had a lot of fun this weekend. It was great!"

Utah fared well this year, knowing the Utes had been plagued with injuries and illness during the duration of the season. Ute skiers Lauren Lattimer, Jess Kiesel and Elisha Stephens have all battled injuries this year. Lattimer did participate at the NCAAs, but wasn't' at full strength, while Kiesel and Stephens were out for the season with various injuries.

This was the third NCAA Skiing Championship hosted by Nevada University, who finished ninth this year. In addition to this year's events, the Wolf Pack hosted the first NCAA Championship in 1954 at Slide Mountain and Sky Tavern.

NCAA Championship Final Results:1. New Mexico              623.02. Utah                    581.03. Denver                  568.04. Colorado                564.05. Vermont                 533.56. Alaska-Anchorage        504.07. Middlebury              495.58. Dartmouth               391.09. Nevada                  383.010. Alaska-Fairbanks       219.011. Colby                  210.512. Northern Michigan      198.513. Williams               178.014. New Hampshire          149.015. Montana State          127.016. Western State          110.017. Boise State             67.018. Whitman                 62.019. Harvard                 40.020. Bates                   27.021. Michigan Tech           11.022. Wisconsin-Green Bay      1.0