Mohagen Wins NCAA Women's Slalom Championship

Friday, March 11

Steamboat Springs, Colo. (Howelsen Hill)

All Day

University of Utah

Men's/Women's Slalom (night race)

3/11/2016 12:00 AM | Skiing

March 11, 2016

Complete Results in PDF Format

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. - Julie Mohagen won the NCAA title in the women's slalom on Friday evening as the Utah ski team continued at the NCAA Championships. On the men's side, Endre Bjertness earned All-America honors with a 10th-place finish. After three days of competition, the Utes stand third overall.

Mohagen laid down the fastest first run of the women's slalom and that lead powered her to the win after she bobbled on her second run. It was her fourth slalom win of the season. She also earned All-America honors in the giant slalom with a 10th-place run on Wednesday.

"It feels amazing, for sure," Mohagen said. "It was cool to come down. I thought that I lost it. I went on my side ski and got my hip to the ground and came into all the loose snow and got really late and lost my speed. I thought I blew that one but then my teammates came up to me and were like 'no, you won it' and it was the best feeling ever."

Utah's last winner in the women's slalom was Lina Johansson in 2003. Mohagen is the sixth Utah skier who has won a women's slalom national title.

Also in the women's slalom was Roni Remme, who was sixth after her first run, but struggled on her second run to finish 20th. Chloe Fausa finished 25th.

On the men's side, Endre Bjertness finished 10th to earn All-America honors for the second time during the championships. He also won the giant slalom title on Wednesday and is a three-time All-American.

Joergen Brath placed 11th for the Utes in the men's slalom, while Dominic Demschar had to hike on the lower third of the hill on his first run and finished 31st.

"This is one of the most intense and most exciting slalom events that I have been a part of in NCAA competition," Utah Director of Skiing Kevin Sweeney said. 'It was just electrifying. The Utes charged tonight. We made a couple of mistakes and came up short, but we threw down and really went for it. They went for the team score and I am very pleased with that. Julie really had a successful second half of the season, and she was tremendous tonight. Her win is very motivating for the entire team. Huge congratulations to her.

"It is exciting how many different schools have had skiers in the top 10 in the individual results. It just shows how competitive it is right now. There were some exciting point swings that went on after the women completed their race. We are excited for tomorrow's Nordic classical mass start race. I think it could be one of the most exciting closing days of competition in a long time. I am cautiously optimistic - we have a great Nordic squad, and under [Utah Nordic head coach] Abi [Holt's] leadership I think we are ready to charge."

In the team scoring, Utah is third overall behind Denver (405.5) and Montana State (390) with 362 points. Colorado ranks fourth with 340.5 points with Dartmouth ranking fifth (257).

The ski championships conclude on Saturday, March 12, with the Nordic classical races at Howelsen Hill. The men's 20-km race will begin at 9:00 a.m. while the women's 15-km will begin at 11:00 a.m.