Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Monday, February 3
Bozeman, Mont. / Bridger Bowl
University of Utah
at
Giant Slalom
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Lafreniere and Herland Win GS in Bozeman, Three Podiums for Utes
2/3/2025 7:21 PM | Skiing
Utah Ski Team leads MSU Invitational entering final day
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Johs Braathen Herland and Kaila Lafreniere each recorded their first collegiate victories and Sindre Myklebust skied to silver in the men's giant slalom, as the Utah Ski Team raced on Monday at Bridger Bowl in the Montana State Invitational.
Due to course conditions, the women's race was cut short midway through the second run. Since not everyone completed two runs, RMISA rules state that the one women's run that was fully completed counts as an official college race. Therefore, it counts as an individual win for Lafreniere and for NCAA qualification purposes.
Utah leads the team standings heading into the final day of the Montana State Invitational. The Utes have 582 overall points, leading Colorado (466) by 116 points.
Head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "We have pushed the team hard this last month between training and Nor-Am races. And they responded. The whole team skied well today. Kaila skied so well on her first run, very mature skiing. She nailed it. Kaja is finding her setup again and that was cool to see. Obviously, it was so nice to have Tatum with us.
"On the guys side, they're cruising. Johs and Sindre and just so confident. The softer snow has been a bit of a challenge for Johs, but he's stayed calm and skied well. Everyone is pushing each other. It was a good start to a busy stretch of college racing. The speed of the whole team was so good today. It felt like everyone truly raced today."
Women's Race
Lafreniere came into the finish on her lone run with a time of 43.93 seconds, giving her a four-hundredths-seconds pad over Justine Lamontagne for her first win as a Ute.
Kaja Norbye took fourth (44.46 seconds) and freshman Tatum Grosdidier made her first start as a Ute, scoring key points with a fifth-place result (44.62 seconds).
"I was really looking forward to racing the second run," Lafreniere said. "But that's ski racing. I was so stoked for Johs and Sindre to be on the podium and am super proud of our team."
Men's Race
The Utah duo of Herland and Myklebust went 1-2 in a race that saw Myklebust earn his first podium of the season. In addition, Simen Strand was seventh.
Herland's win came with a combined time of 1:25.85 and Myklebust took silver after clocking 1:25.94. The duo swapped spots in the final results, after Myklebust had the fastest first run and Herland was second at flip time.
Other finishers for the Utes included Oliver Parazette (21st), Wilhelm Normannseth (27th) and Harry Hoffman (34th).
Next Up | Full Schedule
Tomorrow's slalom at Bridger Bowl will conclude the Montana State Invitational.
The Utah Nordic team will be back in action on Saturday, February 8 to begin the Denver Invitational. In that meet, the Utes are currently second in the team standings; the alpine races took place on January 7-8.
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!
Due to course conditions, the women's race was cut short midway through the second run. Since not everyone completed two runs, RMISA rules state that the one women's run that was fully completed counts as an official college race. Therefore, it counts as an individual win for Lafreniere and for NCAA qualification purposes.
Utah leads the team standings heading into the final day of the Montana State Invitational. The Utes have 582 overall points, leading Colorado (466) by 116 points.
Head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "We have pushed the team hard this last month between training and Nor-Am races. And they responded. The whole team skied well today. Kaila skied so well on her first run, very mature skiing. She nailed it. Kaja is finding her setup again and that was cool to see. Obviously, it was so nice to have Tatum with us.
"On the guys side, they're cruising. Johs and Sindre and just so confident. The softer snow has been a bit of a challenge for Johs, but he's stayed calm and skied well. Everyone is pushing each other. It was a good start to a busy stretch of college racing. The speed of the whole team was so good today. It felt like everyone truly raced today."
Women's Race
Lafreniere came into the finish on her lone run with a time of 43.93 seconds, giving her a four-hundredths-seconds pad over Justine Lamontagne for her first win as a Ute.
Kaja Norbye took fourth (44.46 seconds) and freshman Tatum Grosdidier made her first start as a Ute, scoring key points with a fifth-place result (44.62 seconds).
"I was really looking forward to racing the second run," Lafreniere said. "But that's ski racing. I was so stoked for Johs and Sindre to be on the podium and am super proud of our team."
Men's Race
The Utah duo of Herland and Myklebust went 1-2 in a race that saw Myklebust earn his first podium of the season. In addition, Simen Strand was seventh.
Herland's win came with a combined time of 1:25.85 and Myklebust took silver after clocking 1:25.94. The duo swapped spots in the final results, after Myklebust had the fastest first run and Herland was second at flip time.
Other finishers for the Utes included Oliver Parazette (21st), Wilhelm Normannseth (27th) and Harry Hoffman (34th).
Next Up | Full Schedule
Tomorrow's slalom at Bridger Bowl will conclude the Montana State Invitational.
The Utah Nordic team will be back in action on Saturday, February 8 to begin the Denver Invitational. In that meet, the Utes are currently second in the team standings; the alpine races took place on January 7-8.
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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