Utah Drops To Second At UAA Invite

Friday, January 14

Jackson, Wyo.

1st

University of Utah

Alaska-Anchorage Invite. (SL)

1/14/2005 12:00 AM | Skiing

Jan. 14, 2005

Results

Men's & Women's 10/5-km Classical Results in PDF Format
Nordic Team Results in PDF Format
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JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. -- The University of Utah ski team slipped from first-place to second after battling snowy weather conditions in the second day of the Alaska-Anchorage Invitational. The Utes were unable to hold its narrow lead on Denver as the Pioneers stormed back to take over the top-spot. The second day of the three-day event consisted of the men's and women's slalom and 10/5-km classical.

Currently, Denver (414.0) sits in first-place with a large lead over the second-place Utes (374.0). The Logos of New Mexico (353.5) took over third, while Colorado (350.0) dropped to fourth. Host Alaska-Anchorage (329.5) still remains in fifth, posting the top-five team scores through three of four events.

"We had a tough day, but there were some really great bright spots throughout the day," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "I'm very impressed with the alpine team's performance. They came out charging this weekend and skied exceptionally well. It was also great to see many of our skiers posting great results."

"We really came together as a team today," added Head Alpine Coach Aaron Atkins. "This was a great day for both teams and I'm really proud of all our skiers. This is only the start of what this team is capable of."

Both the men's and women's alpine teams came out strong once again, claiming an overall team victory after winning the slalom event. On the women's side, Utah posted five skiers into the top-20. Leading the way was senior Lina Johansson with her sixth-place finish in 1:32.53. Fellow senior April Mancuso skied eighth with a remarkable time of 1:32.98. Rowena Hyldahl garnered the Utes third score, skiing to a 16th-place performance in 1:34.40.

"We skied really solid as a team today," remarked senior Hyldahl. "There was some very tough competition, but I think we performed well under the pressure. This was a big improvement from yesterday. We didn't feel on top of it yesterday. We are starting to find our feel, even with the tough weather conditions."

Sophomore Lauren Lattimer skied to a 18th-place finish in 1:34.52, while freshman Kim Stephens slid into the top-20 finishing 20th in 1:34.88. Senior Elisha Stephens finished the day with a 29th-place performance in 1:40.13.

The men's squad were equally impressive, headlined by junior Will McDonald's exceptional skiing performance. The Aspen, Colo., native skied fifth with a time of 1:41.28. Sophomore Gaspar Perricone raced to ninth in 1:41.66, while senior Mark Heinrich-Wallace claimed 12th in 1:42.12. All-American Ben Thornhill finished a few tenths of a second behind teammate Heinrich-Wallace, skiing to 13th in 1:42.31.

The nordic team had a difficult time posting results in the opening day of cross country events, finishing fifth in both the men's and women's 10/5-km classical. Although Utah had a tough day on the nordic side, junior Magnus Carlsson made his college debut, skating to an eighth-place finish with a time of 33:33.0. Sophomore Daniel Sonntag (35:15.5) notched 17th and junior Jess Kiesel (36:18.5) placed 26th overall. Sophomore Casey Simons skied 31st in 36:47.1, while Tony Bozzio claimed 36th in 37:25.1.

"We had a tough day as a team," said Sweeney. "It was great to see Magnus lead the way with his first collegiate start at altitude. I'm looking forward to him scoring with big results in the upcoming meets."

Senior All-American Barbro Hatlevik piloted the women's squad, finishing fifth with a time of 19:50.6. Anna Sprague gave a valiant effort, skating to a 20th-place finish in 20:43.0, while sophomore Nicole Naef posted a 21st-place performance in 20:45.3. Junior Linda Pettersson (21:01.4) raced to 27th, while junior Ashley McQueen (21:12.8) followed right behind with a 28th-place finish."I think we can ski better," said Hatlevik. "This was an o.k. race, but we weren't strong at the end. We didn't do as well as we wanted, but I think the team has come together and I hope we can ski faster tomorrow."

"Overall, I don't think we were fired up to race today," added Sweeney. "We never found our form and I thought we could have performed much better. Our team is much better then our performance today. But we can't dwell on the past, we need to get ready for tomorrow's events. Our team is excited to charge tomorrow and do what we can to win the team title."

Tomorrow, Jan. 15, the cross country team will compete in the final day of the UAA Invite. The team will skate in both the men's and women's free-technique events. The races will be held at the Trail Creek Ranch.

UAA Invite Overall Team Results
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Overall Team Scores (Day Two)

Denver                  414.0Utah                    374.0New Mexico              353.5Colorado                350.0Alaska-Anchorage        329.5Nevada                  298.0Montana State           280.0Western State           195.0Boise State             103.0Whitman                  44.0