SNOWBIRD, Utah – Utah's
Madison Hoffman won the morning slalom race and took home the silver medal in the afternoon, while
Michelle Kervén recorded her first two collegiate podiums with a pair of third-place finishes as the Utes opened the Westminster Invitational on Thursday at Snowbird.
Although a little shorthanded with just four athletes racing today, Utah nevertheless has a one-point lead on Denver for the meet lead in the team standings. Teams will return to Snowbird on Friday for two men's slalom races to conclude the Westminster Invitational, with the first currently slated for a 9 a.m. start.
In the morning race, Hoffman was 10
th in the first run, before coming back and winning the second run (49.05 seconds) to climb to the top of the race. Kervén
was third in the first run before placing second in the second run to finish the race third overall.
Kaja Norbye and
Claire Timmermann each also made their respective college season debuts, placing 13
th and 28
th.
The athletes took a short break before heading back up for the second race, ending up with Hoffman and Kervén taking the No. 2 and 3 spots. Kervén and Hoffman each went into the lead at the time they finished their second runs, with the pair's second runs placing third (50.49 seconds) for Kervén and fifth (50.59 seconds) for Hoffman.
Hoffman now owns six career college podiums and two victories.
Fans headed to Snowbird on Friday should be prepared for traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon as well as the possibility of traction law going up in the morning, coming down after the races, or both. As an alternate, the Utah Transit Authority also runs its Ski Bus Route 994 up Little Cottonwood Canyon,
with a schedule available here.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.