Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Friday, January 11
Park City, Utah
All Day
University of Utah
vs
Utah Invitational
Utes lead in Park City after first day
1/11/2008 12:00 AM | Skiing
Jan. 11, 2008
For alpine results please click here.
The University of Utah made the most of their opportunity to ski on home snow Friday. The Utes currently lead their invitational with 297 points, while Denver University is second with 282 points.
"We were psyched to get the season going and raced hard," said Utah Director of Skiing, Eli Brown.
In the alpine races Kyle Kung led the Ute men with a seventh-place finish, and Scott Veenis finished eighth. Newcomer Hermann Lager turned in a solid 12th-place finish. The Utah women had three skiers place within the top six. Newcomer Eva Huckova continued her impressive skiing, finishing third. Juniors Chirine Njeim and Mikaela Grassl placed fifth and sixth, respectively.
"We got strong racing again from Scott, Kyle, and Herman," Brown said. "The women raced slalom on a tight, fast and wild course. It was great to see our strong women's alpine team continue to race hard and finish well."
Skiers battled snowy and unpredictable conditions, including poor visibility, during Day One of competition. The morning events got off to a somber start as University of Denver downhiller and Park City native Adam Cole suffered a serious injury during his first run.
"Adam is a great guy, and strong contender for the US Ski Team," Brown said."We were all disappointed to see that happen."
Brown added that the alpine team plans to visit Cole in the hospital to wish him well and show support for the Park City native.
The Nordic contingent also fought through less-than-ideal weather and snow conditions Friday to post impressive point totals.
Snorri Einarsson finished seventh in the 20K Classic despite a nasty case of the stomach flu. Even Sletten finished tenth, while Ben Fick placed 16th.
"The men raced smart and hard today," Brown said. "Although they didn't have their best results, they were still solid."
Brown also added that Einarsson had a good rest Friday afternoon and could race in Saturday's 10K Freestyle event.
The women's team was especially impressive Friday, posting four top-10 finishes. Kjersti Boe posted a second-place finish, while Sara Schweiger was third. Zoe Roy finished fifth and Annelies Cook placed tenth.
"Women's cross country was exciting," Brown said. "To have four (skiers) in the top-10 was awesome."
The Utah Invitational concludes Saturday with the men's slalom, women's GS, men's 10K Freestyle and women's 5K Freestyle.
Players Mentioned
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