Ski Team In Fifth At RMISA Championships

Thursday, February 23

Auburn, Calif.

All Day

University of Utah

RMISA Regional Championships (5/10 CL)

2/24/2006 12:00 AM | Skiing

Feb. 24, 2006

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DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. -- In the opening day of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association championships, the University of Utah ski team raced to fifth place after competing in the giant slalom and classical events.

This event is also serving as the NCAA West Regionals, hosted by Nevada University. Colorado is coming in as the regular season RMISA point champion and continues to push forward, finishing with the top team score in today's events. The defending NCAA champion Denver perch in second and New Mexico sits in third. The Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage outskied the Utes for the fourth-place finish, while Utah claimed fifth.

"The competition is pretty fierce with everyone gearing up for the NCAA Championships," said head coach Eli Brown. "The conditions were less than ideal, but we are optimistic for tomorrow."

Freshman Scott Veenis (1:53.25) is making a name for himself in his first season at the U., skiing to another runner-up finish in the GS. The Massanutten, Virginia native was tenths of a second behind New Mexico's Tor Fodnesbergene (1:52.80) for the top spot. Senior Will McDonald garnered fifth with a time of 1:53.63, marking his fourth top 10 finish this season. Junior Gaspar Perricone notched 18th with an overall time of 1:55.13. Senior Ben Thornhill contributed with a 36th-place performance.

On the women's downhilll side, senior All-American Erika Hogan led the way with a season-best seventh-place finish with a two-run time of 2:03.64 in the GS. Park City, Utah native Chelsea Laswell skied 12th in 2:04.24, while teammate Mikaela Grassl placed 15th with a time of 2:04.73. Sophomore Kim Stephens added a 19th-place finish.

Freshman Sara Schweiger

In an event dominated by the Buffs of Colorado, the Ute cross country team fared well in the men's and women's CL. Freshman Sara Schweiger and junior Nicole Naef were the top finishers in the 5-km CL, placing 16th and 17th respectively. Senior Ashley McQueen clinched Utah's final team score with her 22nd-place mark.

Senior Linda Pettersson contributed with a 23rd-place performance, while fellow senior Anna Sprague strided to a 35th-place finish.

Junior Fabian Figi headlined the men's nordic pack in the 10-km CL, finishing with an overall mark of 16th. Teammate Erik Gjomle rallied to 22nd, while fellow junior Jess Kiesel grabbed 25th.

"It was a rough day for the cross country team," said Brown. "We are putting today behind us and looking to turn things around tomorrow in the skating races. We had a difficult time waxing our skies, knowing it was 60-degrees and sunny. A few of our skiers suffered from dehydration and others had bad skis. But everyone raced hard and we are proud of that."

Tomorrow, Utah will continue to battle for a podium finish in the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals. The ski team will compete in the slalom event at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, while the nordic freestyle races will be held at the Auburn Ski Club. Race times are scheduled all day.

RMISA CHAMPIONSHIPS/NCAA WEST REGIONAL TEAM SCORES - 1. Colorado, 284; 2. Denver, 274; 3. New Mexico, 265.5; 4. Alaska-Anchorage, 225.5; 5. Utah, 213; 6. Montana State, 188; 7. Nevada, 149.5; 8. Western State, 123.5; 9. Whitman, 96; 10. Boise State, 28.