Persson, Mayerhofer on Freestyle Podiums at Seawolf Invitational

Monday, February 23

Anchorage, Alaska (Girdwood)

All Day

University of Utah

Freestyle (5K/10K)

Persson, Mayerhofer on Freestyle Podiums at Seawolf Invitational

2/23/2015 12:00 AM | Skiing

Feb. 23, 2015

Complete Results in PDF Format

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Five Utah skiers finished in the top six in the Nordic freestyle races as the Utes led after the first day of the Seawolf Invitational, hosted by Alaska-Anchorage.

All five of the women's skiers finished in the top 10, led by Veronika Mayerhofer's second-place finish, her sixth podium finish of the season. Sloan Storey finished fifth for her fifth top-five of the year while Anna-Lena Heynen finished sixth, tying her best finish of the year. Natalia Muller placed ninth for her fourth top-10 finish of the season, while Josefin Nilsson was 10th for her third top-10 finish of the year.

The men's team was led by Niklas Persson, who finished third for his second podium finish of the season. Kevin Bolger had his fifth top-10 finish of the year, crossing the line sixth. Nick Hendrickson placed 13th followed by Oscar Ivars (18), Tucker McCrerey (19) and Noé Bellet (23).

"A bit tricky conditions at today's race at Hillside in Anchorage with wet and icy conditions, but once again we showed how good of a team we have and how professional we are at what we do," Persson said. "Skiing at sea level for the first time of the year can be quite a challenge, but I think we manage it well. The guys 3rd, 6th and 13th is a good result, but I know we can do even better. We are super stoked for the next coming races."

The Utes earned 172 points and lead after day one, followed by Colorado (164), New Mexico (151), Alaska-Anchorage (130), Montana State (119) and Denver (93).

"The Utes skied very well today," Nordic head coach Abi Holt said. "With five out of six of our scorers placing in the top six positions, I certainly don't have much to complain about. The team has maintained good conditioning through the last training period, and we are definitely looking to finish the season strong. Right now, we're looking forward to the remaining races and we're just hoping the snow will stick around Anchorage long enough to get in these final starts."

Several changes have been made to the schedule. The classical races scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 24, have tentatively been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26, due to standing water on the track. In addition, the slalom races will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with the giant slalom races on Thursday.