Palmer-Leger Claims 10K Classic Title in Utah Invitational

Thursday, January 6

Midway, Utah

All Day

University of Utah

10/15K Classical (I)

Utah Invitational - Soldier Hollow, UT - 10/15K Interval Start - Jan. 6, 2022

Photo by: Forrest Gmitro

Palmer-Leger Claims 10K Classic Title in Utah Invitational

1/6/2022 6:24 PM | Skiing

Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

Utes battle through challenging course conditions on final Nordic day of Utah Invitational

MIDWAY, Utah – A busy stretch at Soldier Hollow continued Thursday for the Utah Nordic team as the squad concluded that portion of the Utah Invitational with classic distance racing, highlighted by a second straight collegiate victory for Sydney Palmer-Leger.

It was a 10 km (women's) and 15 km (men's) interval start on Thursday, and the Utes remain in the lead in the team standings at 346 points, though Alaska Anchorage closed in within 15 points after Thursday's action.

Warmer temperatures, coupled with rain overnight into Thursday morning, forced the entire field to battle through challenging course conditions – including those outside RMISA competition during the larger U.S. Nationals event.

"Obviously it rained all night, so the conditions were slow and soft," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "All in all, it was a tough day for us, but the women were quite strong. Sydney Palmer-Leger took home yet another collegiate win, though it was a tough day for the guys. But it was great practice in digging deep and really pushing all the way to the line."

Palmer-Leger's college triumph was also the top junior time and No. 6 in the overall Nationals field. In the college results, Abby Jarzin (fourth) and Julia Richter (fifth) solidified all three Utes in the women's collegiate top-five, as well as in the top-20 overall.

"It was a really good race, the first 10K of my season," said Palmer-Leger. "It was a really hard race, though. I kind of took the first lap a little too hard, just tried to stay relaxed. It's really nice being back to a hometown course and being here with my teammates is amazing. I don't think about the conditions—you're going to push hard no matter what."

Despite Alaska Anchorage sweeping the men's podium in the collegiate race, the Utes still were represented by Walker Hall on the junior podium, which saw Hall tab second in that group.

"It was pretty warm and soft on the course, so you had to get used to the skis," said Hall. "The skis were really good today, so a shout out to the coaches. I just had to make sure I paced it well. It's definitely a mental battle out there in the interval start races. When you have good skis, it makes a huge difference. If you're kicking well the whole way, you're going to be able to conserve more energy and be stronger throughout the race."

In addition on the men's side, Bjørn Riksaasen had a 16^th place college finish, while Noel Keeffe (18th) and Brian Bushey (20^th) closed out the lineup for the Utes.

Utah has one more day of racing at Soldier Hollow, coming up Friday, Jan. 7 for classic sprints in an extra RMISA qualifier.

Follow UtahUtes.com and @utahskiteam across social media for continuing coverage of the team.

Notes:

As has been the case this week, Thursday's Utah Invitational race took place and was scored separately within the larger U.S. Nationals event. As a result, SuperTour points were on the line.
Through Thursday, the Utes own both the Nos. 10 and 11 women's SuperTour spots in Abby Jarzin (101) and Sydney Palmer-Leger narrowly behind (100 points)
In the men's race, Walker Hall's 17^th place overall finish earned him points. Hall is now No. 23 in the men's standings (42 points). Noel Keeffe remains in the top-six.