Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Friday, February 14
Midway, UT
All Day
University of Utah
vs
5/10K Freestyle (I)
Three Podium in Freestyle and Skiing Leads after First Day of Utah Invite
2/14/2020 4:37 PM | Skiing
MIDWAY, Utah – Samuel Hendry, Guro Jordheim and Mariah Bredal all finished on the podium in the freestyle races to highlight a strong first day of competition for the Utah ski team at the Utah Invitational.
Utah holds a 29-point lead after day one with 190 points, topping second-place Alaska Anchorage (161). Denver is third with 148.5 points.
The men placed six skiers in the top 10 of their 10-km race for a race-high 92 points. Hendry finished third for his third podium in as many collegiate races. Luke Jager placed fourth for his fourth top-five finish of the season. Maximilian Bie finished sixth for his fourth top-10 finish of the year and Logan Diekmann continued his streak of finishing in the top 10 in every race with a seventh-place finish. Bjørn Riksaasen placed ninth for his third top-10 finish of the season.
"It was really fun today," Hendry said. "Since it's the home meet it's a little bit more important and it's so fun to have all of our fans and supporters out here. I felt a bit tired at the start of the race and just tried to be consistent and plug away throughout the course and give it everything I had, and I'm super happy with third place today."
Utah was also the top team in the women's 5-km race with 98 points. Jordheim finished second for her sixth podium finish of the season and 26th of her career. Bredal finished third for her third podium of the year and fourth of her career. Karianne Moe finished sixth, her sixth top-10 finish of the year. Julia Richter placed eighth for her third-straight top-10 finish. Leah Lange finished 16th.
"Solider Hollow showed its best side today!" Jordheim said. "Sunny, perfect conditions, friends, support and what an atmosphere. Due to very fast conditions the race was intense from start to finish. Hermodes Hill was a pain cave as usual. Denver's Eveliina Piippo was strong today as well, but I'm psyched to have Mariah with me on the podium and I'm super proud of the whole team for having such great races on our home course. Great skis so far this season from our coaches. Go Utes!"
"Perfect day today, we couldn't ask for better conditions," head Nordic coach Miles Havlick said. "The groomers really buffed out the courses – it was super hard and fast. It was really good for our team. Amazing skiing by Guro once again and Mariah really charged up the hill the final time and had a really good second lap. The guys had a good day in a hard-fought race. The times were really tight. They really had to push hard and fight to the line and I think we are really good at that. All-in-all, a really good day for the Utes once again."
"Another great day at Soldier Hollow," Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. "Perfect conditions, great tracks, and both the men and the women skied incredibly well. Some had super races and a few struggled but overall as a team I think it was as good as we can do. Tomorrow's mass start will be fun."
The races were combined with a super junior qualifier with two signees for next year skiing strong races. Sydney-Palmer Leger finished third overall in the senior women's race and Novie McCabe was eighth overall, the top two non-collegiate skiers in the race.
"It's really cool to have a combined event with all these junior skiers and cool to see the future of western skiing out here today," Havlick said. "Novie and Sydney had great performances and we're looking forward to having them join the team next year."
Day two of the Utah Invitational goes off on Saturday, Feb. 15, with the mass start 10-km classic races beginning with the women at 9:00 a.m. at Soldier Hollow.
Utah holds a 29-point lead after day one with 190 points, topping second-place Alaska Anchorage (161). Denver is third with 148.5 points.
The men placed six skiers in the top 10 of their 10-km race for a race-high 92 points. Hendry finished third for his third podium in as many collegiate races. Luke Jager placed fourth for his fourth top-five finish of the season. Maximilian Bie finished sixth for his fourth top-10 finish of the year and Logan Diekmann continued his streak of finishing in the top 10 in every race with a seventh-place finish. Bjørn Riksaasen placed ninth for his third top-10 finish of the season.
"It was really fun today," Hendry said. "Since it's the home meet it's a little bit more important and it's so fun to have all of our fans and supporters out here. I felt a bit tired at the start of the race and just tried to be consistent and plug away throughout the course and give it everything I had, and I'm super happy with third place today."
Utah was also the top team in the women's 5-km race with 98 points. Jordheim finished second for her sixth podium finish of the season and 26th of her career. Bredal finished third for her third podium of the year and fourth of her career. Karianne Moe finished sixth, her sixth top-10 finish of the year. Julia Richter placed eighth for her third-straight top-10 finish. Leah Lange finished 16th.
"Solider Hollow showed its best side today!" Jordheim said. "Sunny, perfect conditions, friends, support and what an atmosphere. Due to very fast conditions the race was intense from start to finish. Hermodes Hill was a pain cave as usual. Denver's Eveliina Piippo was strong today as well, but I'm psyched to have Mariah with me on the podium and I'm super proud of the whole team for having such great races on our home course. Great skis so far this season from our coaches. Go Utes!"
"Perfect day today, we couldn't ask for better conditions," head Nordic coach Miles Havlick said. "The groomers really buffed out the courses – it was super hard and fast. It was really good for our team. Amazing skiing by Guro once again and Mariah really charged up the hill the final time and had a really good second lap. The guys had a good day in a hard-fought race. The times were really tight. They really had to push hard and fight to the line and I think we are really good at that. All-in-all, a really good day for the Utes once again."
"Another great day at Soldier Hollow," Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt said. "Perfect conditions, great tracks, and both the men and the women skied incredibly well. Some had super races and a few struggled but overall as a team I think it was as good as we can do. Tomorrow's mass start will be fun."
The races were combined with a super junior qualifier with two signees for next year skiing strong races. Sydney-Palmer Leger finished third overall in the senior women's race and Novie McCabe was eighth overall, the top two non-collegiate skiers in the race.
"It's really cool to have a combined event with all these junior skiers and cool to see the future of western skiing out here today," Havlick said. "Novie and Sydney had great performances and we're looking forward to having them join the team next year."
Day two of the Utah Invitational goes off on Saturday, Feb. 15, with the mass start 10-km classic races beginning with the women at 9:00 a.m. at Soldier Hollow.
Players Mentioned
Nordic
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