MIDWAY, Utah – At long last, a new year is finally here for Utah skiing with the Utes' Nordic team scheduled to compete at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at Soldier Hollow beginning Sunday, Jan. 2. The Utes will race in the freestyle sprints, with the event also serving as the opener of the Utah Invitational.
Complete details, including full start lists, results and live timing will be
available by clicking here.
"The team is excited to get this season going and very excited to start the competitions on Utah snow at our home venue," said director of skiing
Fredrik Landstedt.
Coming off of the program's 14
th national championship in 2021, the Utes return every Nordic skier who competed at NCAAs last season, highlighted in part on the women's side by Park City, Utah, native
Sydney Palmer-Leger. Palmer-Leger pulled in All-America accolades in 2021 as just a freshman, winning the individual NCAA titles in both the 5K Classic and 15K Freestyle.
Junior
Abby Jarzin (Green Bay, Wisconsin) will also be in action and sits in a tie for eighth in the SuperTour standings (53 points). She earned points at four races throughout December, including a fourth-place finish in th 15km skate mass start.
Among the Utes expected to start on the men's side Sunday is
Noel Keeffe (Steamboat Springs, Colorado). Keeffe kicks off the collegiate circuit as the top-ranked Ute (No. 6) in the men's SuperTour standings, with a runner-up performance at the freestyle sprints (Dec. 4 in Duluth, Minnesota) as well as a sixth-place effort in Cable in the classical sprints included in December.
Following Sunday's action, the Utes will return to Soldier Hollow on Thursday, Jan. 6 for classical distance races. This will continue U.S. Nationals while also concluding the Nordic portion of the Utah Invitational. Alpine races at the Utah Invitational are scheduled for Jan. 24 (GS) and Jan. 25 (slalom) at Park City Mountain Resort.
For a full season preview of both the Utah alpine and Nordic teams,
click here.
Follow UtahUtes.com and @utahskiteam across social media for continuing coverage of the team.