Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Friday, February 21
Girdwood, Alaska / Alyeska Resort
University of Utah
at
Slalom
Packed Race Day Nets Two Individual Regional Champs and Five Podiums
2/21/2025 9:00 PM | Skiing
Mayer records first collegiate victory and regional championship in 7.5K classic
GIRDWOOD, Alaska and ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Utah Ski Team had both nordic and alpine races taking place on Friday as part of the RMISA Championships and Alaska Anchorage Invitational.
Nordic raced a 7.5K classic interval start counted as part of the RMISA Championships, which also doubles as the NCAA West Regional. Celine Mayer and Zachary Jayne won their respective classic races at Kincaid Park, while alpine had Kaja Norbye and Johs Braathen Herland on the slalom podium to wrap up the UAA Invitational at Alyeska Resort.
In the team standings, Utah leads the RMISA Championships (359 points) with both slalom and freestyle races wrapping up the meet on Saturday.
For the UAA Invitational, Utah placed second with 642.5 points as the Utes were nipped by Colorado (664).
Nordic Recap
Mayer and Jayne Win Classics at Regionals
Celine Mayer picked up her first collegiate win while Zachary Jayne had his second victory of 2025 with the top time in the men's field. It was Jayne's second career regional championship; he was the 2023 Central region champion in 20K classic while racing for College of St. Scholastica
"These were incredible wins today by Celine and Zach," said director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "Celine started early and came out blazing from the start. She never fell below second and managed to finish strong. It is so fun for her to get a win in her final RMISA race and to be a regional champion. Zach chose to double pole today, as did most of the top-10. He was never more than six seconds from the lead and finished very strong for a commanding win. We are extremely proud of the team and had some great wins today."
Mayer—who was the third athlete out of the start gate—turned in a winning time of 22:23.4 with a 7.5-second advantage on Colorado's Tilde Baangman. Erica Lavén took bronze (22:42.9) and Neve Gerard finished 11th (23:45.2).
The trio of Mayer, Lavén and Colorado's Tilde Baangman composed the top-three for much of the race, though Mayer moved in front after the first lap and never looked back. Mayer and Lavén led the pack after one lap before Mayer went neck-and-neck with Baangman's time through the second lap. She kicked into high gear for the last 2.5K, ultimately taking the interval start victory by 7.5 seconds.
Selma Nevin and Nina Schamberger had the Nos. 15-16 spots for Utah to close out the women's lineup, which led the event with 94 points.
For the men, Jayne (20:17.6) was joined in the top-nine by Carl Rune (7th – 20:45.7) and Brian Bushey (9th – 20:50.9). Denver edged the Utes (87) by two points for the men's classic team victory.
Jayne trailed only Cole Flowers of UAF on the opening lap, having about three seconds to make up. He followed with a second lap time of 6:41.0 as he pulled atop the leaderboard in front of Denver's Andreas Kirkeng. Ultimately Jayne would finish nearly five seconds ahead of Kirkeng for the win.
Lucas Wilmot took 27th for Utah.
Alpine Recap
Herland and Norbye Take Bronze in Slalom
With a bronze medal, Johs Braathen Herland (1:29.67) recorded his team-leading fifth alpine podium of the season. Utah also had a top-seven performance from Wilhelm Normannseth (1:30.25) while Raphael Lessard was 10th (1:30.56).
Kaja Norbye was on the podium for the fourth time in her last five starts, placing third (1:35.15) as she continued a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes.
"All in all, I did think the day was pretty good," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "The girls really battled out there and it doesn't go unnoticed. Claire Timmermann battled out there. Kaja was not feeling her best today, but she came out and got a podium. I think the girls all came out firing pretty good today and will come out really good tomorrow. For the guys, Johs keeps doing his thing. And Raphael Lessard just keeps racing. He was a tenth of a second away from seventh place.
"We had some DNFs today but that happens sometimes in ski racing. I think everyone's really ready to go tomorrow for the Senior Day races up here. We couldn't be more proud of the group."
On the women's side, Claire Timmermann secured a 12th place result for the Utes (1:37.30).
Next Up | Full Schedule
Saturday will mark the final day of the RMISA Championships and NCAA West Regional. The alpine team will race a slalom at Alyeska Resort, while Nordic takes part in a 20K freestyle mass start at Kincaid Park.
It'll be a special day of racing particularly for the seniors throughout the entire field, who will be marking one final RMISA event. Utah's alpine seniors include Evelina Fredricsson, Kaja Norbye, Wilhelm Normannseth, Oliver Parazette, Simen Strand and Claire Timmermann. Celia Abad is also a senior with the Utes but is not competing this weekend due to injury.
For Nordic, the seniors include Brian Bushey, Joe Davies, Walker Hall and Celine Mayer.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media @utahskiteam.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Nordic raced a 7.5K classic interval start counted as part of the RMISA Championships, which also doubles as the NCAA West Regional. Celine Mayer and Zachary Jayne won their respective classic races at Kincaid Park, while alpine had Kaja Norbye and Johs Braathen Herland on the slalom podium to wrap up the UAA Invitational at Alyeska Resort.
In the team standings, Utah leads the RMISA Championships (359 points) with both slalom and freestyle races wrapping up the meet on Saturday.
For the UAA Invitational, Utah placed second with 642.5 points as the Utes were nipped by Colorado (664).
Nordic Recap
Mayer and Jayne Win Classics at Regionals
Celine Mayer picked up her first collegiate win while Zachary Jayne had his second victory of 2025 with the top time in the men's field. It was Jayne's second career regional championship; he was the 2023 Central region champion in 20K classic while racing for College of St. Scholastica
"These were incredible wins today by Celine and Zach," said director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "Celine started early and came out blazing from the start. She never fell below second and managed to finish strong. It is so fun for her to get a win in her final RMISA race and to be a regional champion. Zach chose to double pole today, as did most of the top-10. He was never more than six seconds from the lead and finished very strong for a commanding win. We are extremely proud of the team and had some great wins today."
Mayer—who was the third athlete out of the start gate—turned in a winning time of 22:23.4 with a 7.5-second advantage on Colorado's Tilde Baangman. Erica Lavén took bronze (22:42.9) and Neve Gerard finished 11th (23:45.2).
The trio of Mayer, Lavén and Colorado's Tilde Baangman composed the top-three for much of the race, though Mayer moved in front after the first lap and never looked back. Mayer and Lavén led the pack after one lap before Mayer went neck-and-neck with Baangman's time through the second lap. She kicked into high gear for the last 2.5K, ultimately taking the interval start victory by 7.5 seconds.
Selma Nevin and Nina Schamberger had the Nos. 15-16 spots for Utah to close out the women's lineup, which led the event with 94 points.
For the men, Jayne (20:17.6) was joined in the top-nine by Carl Rune (7th – 20:45.7) and Brian Bushey (9th – 20:50.9). Denver edged the Utes (87) by two points for the men's classic team victory.
Jayne trailed only Cole Flowers of UAF on the opening lap, having about three seconds to make up. He followed with a second lap time of 6:41.0 as he pulled atop the leaderboard in front of Denver's Andreas Kirkeng. Ultimately Jayne would finish nearly five seconds ahead of Kirkeng for the win.
Lucas Wilmot took 27th for Utah.
Alpine Recap
Herland and Norbye Take Bronze in Slalom
With a bronze medal, Johs Braathen Herland (1:29.67) recorded his team-leading fifth alpine podium of the season. Utah also had a top-seven performance from Wilhelm Normannseth (1:30.25) while Raphael Lessard was 10th (1:30.56).
Kaja Norbye was on the podium for the fourth time in her last five starts, placing third (1:35.15) as she continued a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes.
"All in all, I did think the day was pretty good," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "The girls really battled out there and it doesn't go unnoticed. Claire Timmermann battled out there. Kaja was not feeling her best today, but she came out and got a podium. I think the girls all came out firing pretty good today and will come out really good tomorrow. For the guys, Johs keeps doing his thing. And Raphael Lessard just keeps racing. He was a tenth of a second away from seventh place.
"We had some DNFs today but that happens sometimes in ski racing. I think everyone's really ready to go tomorrow for the Senior Day races up here. We couldn't be more proud of the group."
On the women's side, Claire Timmermann secured a 12th place result for the Utes (1:37.30).
Next Up | Full Schedule
Saturday will mark the final day of the RMISA Championships and NCAA West Regional. The alpine team will race a slalom at Alyeska Resort, while Nordic takes part in a 20K freestyle mass start at Kincaid Park.
It'll be a special day of racing particularly for the seniors throughout the entire field, who will be marking one final RMISA event. Utah's alpine seniors include Evelina Fredricsson, Kaja Norbye, Wilhelm Normannseth, Oliver Parazette, Simen Strand and Claire Timmermann. Celia Abad is also a senior with the Utes but is not competing this weekend due to injury.
For Nordic, the seniors include Brian Bushey, Joe Davies, Walker Hall and Celine Mayer.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media @utahskiteam.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
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