Ski Team Finishes Fourth At WSU Invitational

Saturday, February 11

Crested Butte, Colo.

All Day

University of Utah

Western State Invitational (5/10 CL)

2/11/2006 12:00 AM | Skiing

Feb. 11, 2006

Complete Team Results in PDF Format
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Complete Alpine Results in PDF Format
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Complete Nordic Results in PDF Format
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CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. -- The University of Utah ski team takes home its second fourth-place finish of the season at the Western State Invitational.

Colorado racked up its second consecutive Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association win by edging out second place Denver. Top-ranked New Mexico remained in third, while Utah grabbed fourth. Nevada jumped a spot to take fifth, beating out Montana State.

The men's alpine team tied for the win with rival Nevada in the giant slalom, placing two skiers in the top six. The Ute attack was spearheaded by senior Will McDonald and freshman Scott Veenis. McDonald raced to a season-best fourth-place performance with a two-run time of 2:28.80, while Veenis raced to sixth in 2:29.09. Two-time NCAA GS champion Ben Thornhill notched 12th with a time of 2:30.01. Junior Gaspar Perricone contributed with a 16th-place finish.

The women's downhill squad had an almost equally impressive day on the slopes, tallying two skiers in the top eight. Freshman Mikaela Grassl had a breakout day in the slalom, posting a season-best seventh-place finish in 1:18.82. Senior All-American Erika Hogan also added a season-best eighth-place mark in 1:18.97. Freshman Chelsea Laswell garnered 21st with a time of 1:21.44, while teammate Lauren Lattimer skied 28th.

With the men's cross country team shorthanded to only two racers, the Utes were put in a tight position with the loss of junior Jess Kiesel due to illness. Utah's Fabian Figi led the way with a season-best seven-place finish in the 10-km classical with a time of 30:46.7. Erik Gjomle rallied to 18th with an overall time of 32:29.9.

"Fabian's finish was the highlight of today's events," said assistant cross country coach Josh Smullin. "He was able to get with the lead pack early and stayed with them. Eric started with the pack, but had to slow down half way through to finish."

The women's cross country team ran into troubles early with a mass start crash that limited the Utes' ability to get out front. Junior Nicole Naef ended the day 12th in the 5-km CL with a time of 19:15.8. Senior Ashley McQueen took 17th in 19:54.8, followed by freshman Sara Schweiger placing 19th with a time of 20:04.8. Seniors Anna Sprague and Linda Pettersson contributed by finishing 21st and 26th respectively.

"Nicole was our top finisher and skied really well today," added Smullin. "The crash at the beginning of the mass start hurt us and we spend a lot of energy getting back into the race."

Next up, Utah will have some time off before competing in the 2006 NCAA West Regionals in Auburn, Calif. on Feb. 23-24. The University of Nevada will be hosting this year's events and race times are scheduled all day.

Western State Invitational Team Results: 1. Colorado, 600; 2. Denver, 556; 3. New Mexico, 527; 4. Utah, 450; 5. Nevada, 412; 6. Montana State, 344; 7. Western State, 296; 8. Alaska-Anchorage, 205; 9. Whitman, 173; 10. Boise State, 62.