BOZEMAN, Mont. – At long last, it was the start to a brand-new alpine season for the Utah ski team on Tuesday as the squad opened that half of the Montana State Invitational with giant slalom races at Bridger Bowl. With just the slalom remaining on Wednesday, Jan. 19, Utah continues to hold first place in the team standings for the meet, and now has 146 points of separation from second-place Denver.
Madison Hoffman began the college season with a third-place finish for Utah and was followed up right behind in fourth by
Katie Parker.
Claire Timmermann tabbed eighth for the Utes and
Kaja Norbye, making her collegiate debut, took 10
th.
Utah placed three in the top-10 in the men's GS, led in seventh by
Gustav Vøllo while
Joachim Lien and
Bjorn Brudevoll shared 10
th place.
"It was great to start off the season today," said head alpine coach
JJ Johnson. "From all the levels of racing our team has been doing, to get back into the college season, there's confidence as well as nerves with all that they're preparing for. It's always challenging here—there's such a different weather pattern. The snow seems to be different throughout the course. But the girls were ready to roll, and the guys were as well. It was fun to watch."
Hoffman used smart skiing en route to her result, managing course conditions well throughout both runs. Norbye bounced back nicely from a slower start in her first run, to ultimately win the second run and move up significantly on the results sheet.
Lien found his way to the top-10 despite racing his first giant slalom since December, battling back from injury. It also was a GS personal-best and great display of continued progress in the event for Brudevoll, long looked to within the Utes as the ace in slalom racing.
"Our team is firing pretty good," Johnson added. "It was a good test for day one, and a good start day to see where we're lining up. But we have a lot more in the tank and it should be fun."
Slalom racing on Wednesday, Jan. 19 will conclude the Montana State Invitational, and teams will remain at Bridger Bowl for another day of slalom action on Thursday, Jan. 20—the latter as part of the RMISA Invitational.
Follow Utah skiing on social media (@utahskiteam).