Utah Skiers Take Fourth At MSU Invitational

Sunday, January 15

Bozeman, Mont.

4th

University of Utah

Montana State Invitational (10/15 FS)

1/15/2006 12:00 AM | Skiing

Jan. 15, 2006

Complete Team Results in PDF Format
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Complete Nordic Results in PDF Format
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BOZEMAN & BIG SKY, Mont. -- The University of Utah ski team finished fourth overall in the final day of the Montana State Invitational. The Utes were unable to make up ground on the leaders, after skiing in the 10/15-km freestyle and slalom events.

The No. 1, Ski Racing Magazine coaches' poll, ranked Denver Pioneers (568) held on to a narrow lead over second place Colorado (565) to claim their second straight first-place finish. The Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage (521) had a great day in the alpine event and were able to take third, while Utah (476) remained in fourth. New Mexico (438) placed fifth to round out the top five team scores.

After racing in a fierce snow storm, the men's alpine team were able to pull out yet another great day of skiing. Freshman Scott Veenis piloted the Utes' downhill attack, finishing half a second behind New Mexico's Alex Mach to place second. Senior Will McDonald raced to 10th and All-American Ben Thornhill claimed 12th. Junior Gaspar Perricone had to hike during the second run, but managed to finish 47th. Freshman Kyle Kung crashed after a great first run and was unable to finish.

The women's downhill team was led by All-American Erika Hogan's 14th-place finish. Junior Lauren Lattimer had a great second run and managed to finish 22nd, while teammate Kim Stephens rallied to 25th.

"The men's team skied really well," said head alpine coach Jaka Korencan. "They are skiing very strong right now and we are happy with their results. The women's team is still having a difficult time, but we are looking at the positive results. We are going to try to put some things together in training and eliminate our mistakes."

The women's nordic team had an exceptional day in the 10-km FS, finishing with four skiers in the top 15. Junior Nicole Naef led the Ute pack with her third-place finish in 39:38.1 and freshman newcomer Sara Schweiger took 10th in 41:26.7. Senior Anna Sprague raced to 12th in 41:49.3, while fellow senior Ashley McQueen (41:50.3) trailed right behind Sprague to take 13th.

On the men's side, junior Fabian Figi managed to headline the Utes in the 15-km FS after falling at the beginning of the mass start and breaking a pole. The Betschwander, Switzerland native raced to 12th in 51:40.7 and teammate Jess Kiesel skated to 13th in 52:11.8. Junior Erik Gjomle finished Utah's scoring by placing 19th with a time of 52:56.6.

Next up, the Ute ski team will have a week off to prepare for the Colorado Invitational, Jan. 27-28 and Feb. 3-4. Events will be held in Steamboat, Colo. Race times are all day.

Montana State Team Scores: 1. Denver 568; 2. Colorado 565; 3. Alaska-Anchorage 521; 4. Utah 476; 5. New Mexico 438; 6. Nevada 344; 7. Montana State 316; 8. Western State 202, 9. Whitman 166; 10. Boise State 50; 11. Wyoming 44.