Friday, January 13
Bozeman, Mont. (Crosscut Mountain Sports Center)
10 a.m.
University of Utah
vs
15K Classic
Photo by: Tobias Albrigtsen
McCabe Wins 15K Classic at Montana State Invitational
1/13/2023 3:07 PM | Skiing
Laukli places third in women’s race, Hendry third in men’s race as Utah leads team standings
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Novie McCabe had over four seconds of padding on the way to her 11th career RMISA victory, while both Sophia Laukli and Samuel Hendry made their collegiate season debuts with third-place finishes in the women's and men's events, as the Utah Ski Team began the Montana State Invitational with 15K classical races on Friday.
Utah (199 points) leads the team standings heading into Saturday's freestyle races, holding a 63-point cushion on Alaska Anchorage.
"It was a beautiful day for a classic mass start at Crosscut," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "Our men fought hard throughout the 4 laps. Samuel Hendry skied an impressive race, considering he is fresh off eight races and jet lag at the Tour de Ski. Also Brian Bushey had a great race, skiing to a career-best result!
Havlick continued, "The women's team came out charging as usual, with Novie McCabe skiing off the front of the lead group to claim the win! It was a great start to the MSU meet, and we will try to keep it rolling into the skate event tomorrow!"
McCabe (47:53.6) and Laukli (48:17.3) shared the women's podium alongside Colorado's Hanna Abrahamsson, the second-place finisher. For Utah, Sydney Palmer-Leger (48:55.8) came in fourth.
Laukli, who also is recently back from the Tour de Ski, has skied to the podium in all seven of her RMISA races. For Palmer-Leger it was her 17th career top-five finish and 13th in her last 15 RMISA competitions. Ezra Smith (54:33.6) placed 10th to wrap up the Utah quartet in the women's race; her second top-10 as a Ute.
Said Laukli, "I was a little worried going into today; I was definitely a bit tired from all the racing I did (at the Tour de Ski). But the race went as well as I could have hoped and a bit better than I thought actually! I still felt somewhat tired, but I was happy to hold on for most of the race and had a lot of fun racing with this group of girls again!"
In the men's race, Hendry (41:18.3) led a Utah trio claiming the 3-4-5 spots along with Brian Bushey (41:40.2) and Luke Jager (41:46.3). Walker Hall took the eighth spot with a time of 43:03.
Hendry earned his 17th RMISA podium; for Bushey it was his second top-five effort at Utah and highest finish as a Ute. Jager's top-five was his 12th such result.
Utah wraps the Nordic half of the Montana State Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14 with freestyle racing at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. The women's race will be a 5K beginning at 10 a.m. MT, with the 10K men's event to follow at 11 a.m. MT.
World University Games Update
The Utes are competing in Nordic races this weekend without three members of the team, who are instead at the World University Games in Lake Placid, New York. It includes Karianne Dengerud (Norway), Tom Mancini (France) and Celine Mayer (Germany), along with five members of the alpine squad.
All three Nordic athletes raced in Friday's mixed team sprint relay events. Dengerud helped her native Norway take a third-place finish, while Mancini and Team France took ninth.
Saturday's slate in Lake Placid is set to again feature the Utes. Alpine's Jeremy Mathers (United States) will race in the men's super-G and Claire Timmermann will reprsent Canada in the women's super-G.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
Utah (199 points) leads the team standings heading into Saturday's freestyle races, holding a 63-point cushion on Alaska Anchorage.
"It was a beautiful day for a classic mass start at Crosscut," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "Our men fought hard throughout the 4 laps. Samuel Hendry skied an impressive race, considering he is fresh off eight races and jet lag at the Tour de Ski. Also Brian Bushey had a great race, skiing to a career-best result!
Havlick continued, "The women's team came out charging as usual, with Novie McCabe skiing off the front of the lead group to claim the win! It was a great start to the MSU meet, and we will try to keep it rolling into the skate event tomorrow!"
McCabe (47:53.6) and Laukli (48:17.3) shared the women's podium alongside Colorado's Hanna Abrahamsson, the second-place finisher. For Utah, Sydney Palmer-Leger (48:55.8) came in fourth.
Laukli, who also is recently back from the Tour de Ski, has skied to the podium in all seven of her RMISA races. For Palmer-Leger it was her 17th career top-five finish and 13th in her last 15 RMISA competitions. Ezra Smith (54:33.6) placed 10th to wrap up the Utah quartet in the women's race; her second top-10 as a Ute.
Said Laukli, "I was a little worried going into today; I was definitely a bit tired from all the racing I did (at the Tour de Ski). But the race went as well as I could have hoped and a bit better than I thought actually! I still felt somewhat tired, but I was happy to hold on for most of the race and had a lot of fun racing with this group of girls again!"
In the men's race, Hendry (41:18.3) led a Utah trio claiming the 3-4-5 spots along with Brian Bushey (41:40.2) and Luke Jager (41:46.3). Walker Hall took the eighth spot with a time of 43:03.
Hendry earned his 17th RMISA podium; for Bushey it was his second top-five effort at Utah and highest finish as a Ute. Jager's top-five was his 12th such result.
Utah wraps the Nordic half of the Montana State Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14 with freestyle racing at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. The women's race will be a 5K beginning at 10 a.m. MT, with the 10K men's event to follow at 11 a.m. MT.
World University Games Update
The Utes are competing in Nordic races this weekend without three members of the team, who are instead at the World University Games in Lake Placid, New York. It includes Karianne Dengerud (Norway), Tom Mancini (France) and Celine Mayer (Germany), along with five members of the alpine squad.
All three Nordic athletes raced in Friday's mixed team sprint relay events. Dengerud helped her native Norway take a third-place finish, while Mancini and Team France took ninth.
Saturday's slate in Lake Placid is set to again feature the Utes. Alpine's Jeremy Mathers (United States) will race in the men's super-G and Claire Timmermann will reprsent Canada in the women's super-G.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
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