Utes Ski To Third-Place At Utah Invitational

Friday, January 23

Soldier Hollow, Utah

TBA

University of Utah

Utah Invitational (CC)

1/23/2004 12:00 AM | Skiing

Jan. 23, 2004

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SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah - The University of Utah ski team rebounds from a fourth-place finish at the Nevada Invitational and skies to third, after the first day of the nordic events of the Utah Invitational in Soldier Hollow, Utah.

With day three of this four day event wrapped up, New Mexico and Denver are seeded in first- and second-place, while Utah is a close third. The Buffs of Colorado snagged fourth and Alaska-Anchorage sits in fifth.

"We skied really fantastic as a team today," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "The alpine team really set us up in a good position. I was really impressed with the team coming out and they skied really hard on a very demanding Olympic course. We are a young team with a lot of composure."

The men's cross country team finished the day tied for first with Denver in the 10-km classical event, with a combined score of 73.0 points. It was junior Henning Dybendal's time of 27:43.7 that earned him a first-place finish. Dybendal was last week's RMISA Skier of the Week.

Utah was also led by Daniel Sonntag, who skied to fifth with a time of 29:01.6. Freshman Casey Simons broke into the scoring to place 15th with a two-run time of 29:53.8. Junior Benjamin Sonntag was seconds behind Simons finishing 17th with a time of 29:59.4.

"Henning has demonstrated that he could be the best classical skier on the college circuit today," remarked Sweeney. "Daniel's fifth-place finish shows he is a contender and Casey has come in as a freshmen and produced great results."

The women's nordic squad pulled out another great day of skiing, placing second in the 5-km classical race with a 71.0 point total. Junior Jenny Hansson spearheaded the Utes attack, skiing to a fifth-place finish with a time of 16:19.0. Freshman Sandra Gredig made her mark placing seventh with a time of 16:34.4 and junior Barbro Hatlevik skied 12th with a two-run time of 16:55.6.

"Jenny's top five scoring shows that she has great consistency," said Sweeney. "It was good to see Sandra score in the top 10 and Barbro had a very good race at the beginning, but couldn't hold on at the end."

Tomorrow, the No. 1 ranked Utes will host the final day of the Utah Invitational in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Utah will compete in the 10/15-km freestyle races and these events will be conducted as a mass start.

"With the stage set and us in the hunt, this event might be one of the best collegiate races on an Olympic track this year," adds Sweeney.

Live updates and times for tomorrow's freestyle events can be accessed from the link below. Live stats brought to you by Summit Systems.

Life Statistics

Utah Invitational Results:

1. New Mexico           429.02. Denver               416.03. Utah                 412.04. Colorado             332.55. Alaska Anchorage     278.56. Montana State        223.57. Nevada               221.08. Western State        171.59. Whitman              136.010. Boise State         106.5