Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Friday, March 12
Francona, NH
All Day
University of Utah
vs
Slalom
Photo by: Clarkson Creative Photography
Two Utes Earn All-America Honors as Team Retains Lead at NCAA Championships
3/12/2021 1:19 PM | Skiing
Lien, Vøllo and Vesterstein Place in Top 10 in Slalom on Day 3 Friday
FRANCONIA, N.H.—Two Utah skiers notched top-10 finishes in Friday's slalom to earn All-America honors and maintain the Utes' position atop the team standings on Day 3 of the NCAA Championships at Cannon Mountain. Utah will enter the final day on Saturday with a 24.5-point lead over second-place Colorado, with Nordic racing set to finish the four-day Championships.
Utah scored a combined 79 points today in the men's and women's slalom to raise its team total to 398 points after three days of competition.
Senior Joachim Lien placed fourth in the men's slalom with a total time of 1:29.99 to earn his second All-America award in this year's Championships, and third of his career.
"It was some warmer weather today, so the course got pretty beat up in both runs," Lien said. "Personally, I skied too safe and didn't let it go in the first run. On my second run I let it go despite the tough conditions."
All three of Utah's women's competitors scored points in today's slalom, led by junior Katie Vesterstein, who earned her first All-America honor with a 10th place finish (1:42.59). Junior Katie Parker finished in 15th (1:43.84) on the strength of clocking the fifth-best time in the day's second run (49.65), and junior Sona Moravcikova placed 20th (1:46.41) to give the Utes a solid, consistent performance that added valuable points to the team's total.
"My mindset for today was to just try and ski like I have been in training, and make it to the finish line," Vesterstein said. "I was skiing more conservative than I normally do, but today was more than just skiing for myself. It was for the team and my goal was to make it down in a solid position for the Nordics tomorrow."
In the first three days of competition, Utah has claimed 12 All-America honors by 11 student-athletes
"It was a really tough day for the slalom with the surface and breaking through that top layer," said Utah's Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "It's difficult with a team like ours (contending for the team title) because the mindset for the alpine team is that they have to finish and score some points so we can keep the lead, and I thought they did a great job of that. Joachim skied great and scored really well for us, and Katie V. of course being All-American, that's very good for her, and the other girls solidly getting down.
Sophomore Gustav Vøllo and freshman Wilhelm Normannseth rounded out today's Utah competitors in the men's slalom. Vøllo initially finished in sixth place (1:30.12) to provide a major boost to Utah's team point total, but was later disqualified because of straddling a gate on his second run. Normansseth completed his first run in 59.55, but did not take part in the second run, giving the Utes only one scorer in the men's slalom.
"It's been a difficult year so I'm just humble and happy to be back," Lien added. "With Willy straddling in the first run, Gustav and I decided that we had to go for it. We both attacked and pulled off two solid runs in difficult conditions. Unfortunately Gustav straddled the third-to-last gate, but that happens in ski racing. I'm proud of him for the way he skied. Both Gus and Wilhelm did their first NCAA slalom today and that's a difficult thing to pull off. The girls did their job, and defended our lead. If Gustav and Wilhelm finished it would have been awesome, however we maintained our lead and I have a lot of faith in our Nordic. Fingers crossed and I'm super proud of the team!"
The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday with men's and women's Nordic racing at the Jackson Nordic Center. The women's 15K Freestyle will begin at 8 a.m. MT, with the men's 20K Freestyle to follow at 10 a.m. MT. Watch live and follow results at NCAA.com.
TEAM TOTALS (through 3 days)
1. Utah, 398.0
2. Colorado, 373.5
3. Denver, 346.0
4. Montana State, 314.5
5. Vermont, 299.0
Men's Slalom Team Scoring
1. Montana St., 69.0
2. Denver, 65.0
3. Vermont, 63.0
4. Colorado, 57.0
----
9. Utah, 31.0
Women's Slalom Team Scoring
1. Denver, 88.0
2. Vermont, 85.0
3. Colorado, 64.0
4. Westminster, 51.0
5. Utah, 48.0
Utah scored a combined 79 points today in the men's and women's slalom to raise its team total to 398 points after three days of competition.
Senior Joachim Lien placed fourth in the men's slalom with a total time of 1:29.99 to earn his second All-America award in this year's Championships, and third of his career.
"It was some warmer weather today, so the course got pretty beat up in both runs," Lien said. "Personally, I skied too safe and didn't let it go in the first run. On my second run I let it go despite the tough conditions."
All three of Utah's women's competitors scored points in today's slalom, led by junior Katie Vesterstein, who earned her first All-America honor with a 10th place finish (1:42.59). Junior Katie Parker finished in 15th (1:43.84) on the strength of clocking the fifth-best time in the day's second run (49.65), and junior Sona Moravcikova placed 20th (1:46.41) to give the Utes a solid, consistent performance that added valuable points to the team's total.
"My mindset for today was to just try and ski like I have been in training, and make it to the finish line," Vesterstein said. "I was skiing more conservative than I normally do, but today was more than just skiing for myself. It was for the team and my goal was to make it down in a solid position for the Nordics tomorrow."
In the first three days of competition, Utah has claimed 12 All-America honors by 11 student-athletes
"It was a really tough day for the slalom with the surface and breaking through that top layer," said Utah's Director of Skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "It's difficult with a team like ours (contending for the team title) because the mindset for the alpine team is that they have to finish and score some points so we can keep the lead, and I thought they did a great job of that. Joachim skied great and scored really well for us, and Katie V. of course being All-American, that's very good for her, and the other girls solidly getting down.
Sophomore Gustav Vøllo and freshman Wilhelm Normannseth rounded out today's Utah competitors in the men's slalom. Vøllo initially finished in sixth place (1:30.12) to provide a major boost to Utah's team point total, but was later disqualified because of straddling a gate on his second run. Normansseth completed his first run in 59.55, but did not take part in the second run, giving the Utes only one scorer in the men's slalom.
"It's been a difficult year so I'm just humble and happy to be back," Lien added. "With Willy straddling in the first run, Gustav and I decided that we had to go for it. We both attacked and pulled off two solid runs in difficult conditions. Unfortunately Gustav straddled the third-to-last gate, but that happens in ski racing. I'm proud of him for the way he skied. Both Gus and Wilhelm did their first NCAA slalom today and that's a difficult thing to pull off. The girls did their job, and defended our lead. If Gustav and Wilhelm finished it would have been awesome, however we maintained our lead and I have a lot of faith in our Nordic. Fingers crossed and I'm super proud of the team!"
The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday with men's and women's Nordic racing at the Jackson Nordic Center. The women's 15K Freestyle will begin at 8 a.m. MT, with the men's 20K Freestyle to follow at 10 a.m. MT. Watch live and follow results at NCAA.com.
TEAM TOTALS (through 3 days)
1. Utah, 398.0
2. Colorado, 373.5
3. Denver, 346.0
4. Montana State, 314.5
5. Vermont, 299.0
Men's Slalom Team Scoring
1. Montana St., 69.0
2. Denver, 65.0
3. Vermont, 63.0
4. Colorado, 57.0
----
9. Utah, 31.0
Women's Slalom Team Scoring
1. Denver, 88.0
2. Vermont, 85.0
3. Colorado, 64.0
4. Westminster, 51.0
5. Utah, 48.0
Players Mentioned
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ Skiing
Alpine
/ SkiingSeven New Inductees to Join Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2025
Monday, July 28
University of Utah Athletics - A Storied History
Friday, August 02
Last weekend, Sydney Palmer-Leger won the 7.5K freestyle earning her THIRD national title! 🏆 🏆 🏆
Wednesday, March 13
Utah Skiing National Championship 2023!!
Friday, May 26