Skiin' Utes take Utah Invitational

Saturday, January 12

Park City, Utah

All Day

University of Utah

Utah Invitational

1/12/2008 12:00 AM | Skiing

Jan. 12, 2008

Photo Gallery

Final Results in PDF Format

PARK CITY, Utah - The University of Utah finished first in the team standings for the first time in nearly five years. The Utes had strong showings all weekend long and finished with 585.5 points, well ahead of second-place Denver, which finished with 550.

"We are excited about the results, yet we know we have room for improvement," said Director of Skiing, Eli Brown. "We have a great period with great conditions in Park City to get everything dialed in and are focused on each individual race."

Highlighting Saturday's events was sophomore Snorri Einarsson and freshman Eva Huckova, who both turned in first-place finishes. Einarsson has battled the flu this weekend but put together a strong race Saturday, overtaking rival Rene Reisshauer of Denver University on the final stretch of the 15K Freestyle.

"Snorri was disappointed with yesterday's results and felt he had something to prove today," Brown said. "He races with his heart and I hope he can recover from his illness to get us going next week."

On the women's side, Kjersti Boe added to her impressive finish Friday with a fourth-place finish in the 10K Freestyle. Annelies Cook finished fourth, Sara Schweiger finished ninth and Zoe Roy placed 10th, giving the team four skiers in the top 10.

In alpine, Eva Huckova won the GS going away, recording her first collegiate victory. Chirine Njeim finished fifth and Mikaela Grassl placed sixth.

"Eva dominated today," said head alpine coach, Jaka Korencan. "We all knew she was capable of it, but she's proved to herself today that she's the best athlete on the circuit."

The Utes head into the Nordic portion of the CU Invitational feeling optimistic.

"We are seeing the results of the work we have put in and have realized that the goals we have are within reach, which is very exciting," Brown said. "We have the energy to continue on and we are pushing hard to get to that next level."