Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Thursday, March 10
Midway, Utah
All Day
University of Utah
vs
5/10K Classic (I)
Photo by: Steve Fuller/flyingpointroad.com
McCabe Wins 5K Classic as Utah Leads NCAA Championships at Halfway Point
3/10/2022 8:45 PM | Skiing
Seven Utes collect All-America accolades in giant slalom and classical races
PARK CITY, Utah and MIDWAY, Utah – Sophomore Novie McCabe won the individual national championship in the women's 5K classical, the 79th all-time individual title for a Ute and powering the Utah ski team to the lead at the halfway point of the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Utes, with 286.5 points overall, hold a 24.5-point lead on Colorado, which sits second in the team standings.
Thursday consisted of giant slalom, at Park City Mountain Resort, as well as 5/10K classical races with the latter being staged at Soldier Hollow. The 2022 NCAA Championships continue on Friday, March 11 with the slalom at Park City. First runs are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. MT.
Seven Utes earned All-America accolades on Thursday, led by McCabe garnering First Team for the third time in her career. Teammate and fellow Olympian, junior Sophia Laukli shared second place in the 5K classical to earn All-America First Team, and sophomore Sydney Palmer-Leger took sixth to collect Second Team. It was Palmer-Leger's third such accolade, and Laukli's second.
On the alpine side it was senior Katie Parker (third place), freshman Kaja Norbye (fifth), junior Gustav Vøllo (second) and senior Joachim Lien (sixth) leading the way in giant slalom for All-America nods. It's Parker's third career All-America nod and the first for the rookie Norbye. Lien tabbed All-America for the fourth time and Vøllo for the second time at Utah.
5/10K Classical Interval Start – Midway, Utah (Soldier Hollow)
It was a particularly strong day for the Utah trio of Laukli, McCabe and Palmer-Leger, who made the Utes the only team to place three skiers in the top six of any race today.
"It's really not surprising out of them," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "I think Novie really carried her form from regionals. Just looked so sharp, especially up the last climb. She really paced it out well. Sophia was just a few seconds off. Very solid out of Sophia and those two have just been incredible all year. Sydney was just a few seconds behind them. Very solid day for her and I'm sure she's going to be hungry for more on Saturday."
McCabe and Laukli each remained in the top-five throughout the race, including Laukli steady in second place from the halfway point of the race all the way to the finish line. McCabe dipped from third to fourth between the 1.1km and 2.5km marks, before digging in on the home stretch and cruising to victory by more than 13 seconds. Palmer-Leger climbed the ranks nicely after sitting 13th at the 1.1km mark.
"Everyone has their own way of skiing because it is your own race," said McCabe. "I tried to take it out not really conservative, but just tried to relax and ski smooth and have something left for the last lap. I think it went well for me. Sometimes you are just dialed in and it was good day for me. I'm super proud of everyone. We've worked hard together so it's fun to see everyone succeed. We're just stoked for the next race."
It was admittedly a tougher day for the men in the 10K classic race, though the Utes still secured crucial points in the team standings. Junior Luke Jager took 12th place in the interval start, graduate Bjørn Riksaasen was 17th and junior Samuel Hendry rounded out the trio in 18th place on the day.
"We gambled a little bit and went light on the kick so their skis would be a little faster," Havlick added. "Maybe that wasn't the best move, but they fought hard all the way to the line and they were very solid. We'll be looking for more out of them on Saturday. I think mass starts suit us better as a team."
Jager added, "It's nice that we have [Friday] for recovery. I'm going to get my body back to where it needs to be Saturday. For the guys, we need to mentally recoup a bit. We were hoping [for a different outcome] on our home course. But they say the happiest animal on Earth is a goldfish, because it has the shortest memory. We'll forget about today and get ready for Saturday."
Giant Slalom – Park City, Utah (Park City Mountain Resort)
The giant slalom was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but postponed due to slope conditions at Park City Mountain Resort.
"The crew just keeps doing it," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "We approach the race the same as any other race. But everyone knows what's out there, and that it's such a different thing when you're not just racing for yourself. For Gustav and Katie, it was heck of a time to have their first GS podium of the year. [Gustav's] second run was something special. Same with Katie—she is such a good skier. When she skis and she is balanced, it looks like she is free skiing. It was fun to watch."
Vøllo began the day in sixth place at the conclusion of his first run, then came back in the afternoon clocking 56.49 seconds, which was second-best of the field and vaulted him up four places. Lien had a strong start to the day in fourth, but fell to sixth after his second run. Wilhelm Normannseth closed out the Utah men finishing 20th.
"It's a team sport and that's what I love about it," said Vøllo. "Getting points for your team is such a good feeling. It's more than just the personal achievement today and I'm really happy I could score that for the team. I'm also happy for my teammates who did a great job to carry us into the lead now, halfway, so I think it will be fun to get into the last part."
For the women it was a somewhat similar story, as Parker boosted a fifth-place morning run by taking fourth in the afternoon with a time of 59 seconds. Norbye was 10th for the second run, but had a great opener in which Norbye placed second, keeping her in the top-five overall for the day. The Utes also saw Sona Moravcikova start, but Moravcikova was unable to finish and will be back in action for Friday's slalom.
"The snow was honestly really good on both runs, but the courses were quite different," Parker said. "It was a lot more of a straighter course on the second run, so I had to really send it, and I had a lot of nerves today, so I'm glad that I could manage them. I'm so happy I could help the team. And Kaja Norbye, Gustav Vøllo, Joachim Lien, Wilhelm Normannseth and Sona Moravcikova all did their best. We have a really great team. I'm really proud of everybody."
Follow the Utah ski team on social media (@utahskiteam).
Thursday consisted of giant slalom, at Park City Mountain Resort, as well as 5/10K classical races with the latter being staged at Soldier Hollow. The 2022 NCAA Championships continue on Friday, March 11 with the slalom at Park City. First runs are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. MT.
Seven Utes earned All-America accolades on Thursday, led by McCabe garnering First Team for the third time in her career. Teammate and fellow Olympian, junior Sophia Laukli shared second place in the 5K classical to earn All-America First Team, and sophomore Sydney Palmer-Leger took sixth to collect Second Team. It was Palmer-Leger's third such accolade, and Laukli's second.
On the alpine side it was senior Katie Parker (third place), freshman Kaja Norbye (fifth), junior Gustav Vøllo (second) and senior Joachim Lien (sixth) leading the way in giant slalom for All-America nods. It's Parker's third career All-America nod and the first for the rookie Norbye. Lien tabbed All-America for the fourth time and Vøllo for the second time at Utah.
5/10K Classical Interval Start – Midway, Utah (Soldier Hollow)
It was a particularly strong day for the Utah trio of Laukli, McCabe and Palmer-Leger, who made the Utes the only team to place three skiers in the top six of any race today.
"It's really not surprising out of them," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "I think Novie really carried her form from regionals. Just looked so sharp, especially up the last climb. She really paced it out well. Sophia was just a few seconds off. Very solid out of Sophia and those two have just been incredible all year. Sydney was just a few seconds behind them. Very solid day for her and I'm sure she's going to be hungry for more on Saturday."
McCabe and Laukli each remained in the top-five throughout the race, including Laukli steady in second place from the halfway point of the race all the way to the finish line. McCabe dipped from third to fourth between the 1.1km and 2.5km marks, before digging in on the home stretch and cruising to victory by more than 13 seconds. Palmer-Leger climbed the ranks nicely after sitting 13th at the 1.1km mark.
"Everyone has their own way of skiing because it is your own race," said McCabe. "I tried to take it out not really conservative, but just tried to relax and ski smooth and have something left for the last lap. I think it went well for me. Sometimes you are just dialed in and it was good day for me. I'm super proud of everyone. We've worked hard together so it's fun to see everyone succeed. We're just stoked for the next race."
It was admittedly a tougher day for the men in the 10K classic race, though the Utes still secured crucial points in the team standings. Junior Luke Jager took 12th place in the interval start, graduate Bjørn Riksaasen was 17th and junior Samuel Hendry rounded out the trio in 18th place on the day.
"We gambled a little bit and went light on the kick so their skis would be a little faster," Havlick added. "Maybe that wasn't the best move, but they fought hard all the way to the line and they were very solid. We'll be looking for more out of them on Saturday. I think mass starts suit us better as a team."
Jager added, "It's nice that we have [Friday] for recovery. I'm going to get my body back to where it needs to be Saturday. For the guys, we need to mentally recoup a bit. We were hoping [for a different outcome] on our home course. But they say the happiest animal on Earth is a goldfish, because it has the shortest memory. We'll forget about today and get ready for Saturday."
Giant Slalom – Park City, Utah (Park City Mountain Resort)
The giant slalom was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but postponed due to slope conditions at Park City Mountain Resort.
"The crew just keeps doing it," said head alpine coach JJ Johnson. "We approach the race the same as any other race. But everyone knows what's out there, and that it's such a different thing when you're not just racing for yourself. For Gustav and Katie, it was heck of a time to have their first GS podium of the year. [Gustav's] second run was something special. Same with Katie—she is such a good skier. When she skis and she is balanced, it looks like she is free skiing. It was fun to watch."
Vøllo began the day in sixth place at the conclusion of his first run, then came back in the afternoon clocking 56.49 seconds, which was second-best of the field and vaulted him up four places. Lien had a strong start to the day in fourth, but fell to sixth after his second run. Wilhelm Normannseth closed out the Utah men finishing 20th.
"It's a team sport and that's what I love about it," said Vøllo. "Getting points for your team is such a good feeling. It's more than just the personal achievement today and I'm really happy I could score that for the team. I'm also happy for my teammates who did a great job to carry us into the lead now, halfway, so I think it will be fun to get into the last part."
For the women it was a somewhat similar story, as Parker boosted a fifth-place morning run by taking fourth in the afternoon with a time of 59 seconds. Norbye was 10th for the second run, but had a great opener in which Norbye placed second, keeping her in the top-five overall for the day. The Utes also saw Sona Moravcikova start, but Moravcikova was unable to finish and will be back in action for Friday's slalom.
"The snow was honestly really good on both runs, but the courses were quite different," Parker said. "It was a lot more of a straighter course on the second run, so I had to really send it, and I had a lot of nerves today, so I'm glad that I could manage them. I'm so happy I could help the team. And Kaja Norbye, Gustav Vøllo, Joachim Lien, Wilhelm Normannseth and Sona Moravcikova all did their best. We have a really great team. I'm really proud of everybody."
Follow the Utah ski team on social media (@utahskiteam).
Players Mentioned
Nordic
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Nordic
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Nordic
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Alpine
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Nordic
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Alpine
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Alpine
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Alpine
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