Mayer Earns First Collegiate Podium on Day One in Steamboat

Friday, February 3

Steamboat Springs, Colo.

All Day

University of Utah

20K Classical

Results

Utah Ski Team at the Colorado Invitational on Feb. 3, 2023 in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Photo by: Tobias Albrigtsen

Mayer Earns First Collegiate Podium on Day One in Steamboat

2/3/2023 3:53 PM | Skiing

Results Gallery Photo Gallery

Celine Mayer and Samuel Hendry each won silver medals in the CU Invitational’s classic races

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Utah's Celine Mayer hit her first RMISA podium with a second-place finish (1:10:18.0) to highlight the men's and women's 20K classic races for the Utes on Friday at the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Colorado Invitational at Howelsen Hill.

Samuel Hendry matched Mayer's result in the men's race, skiing to his second podium of the season with a time of 1:00:01.9.

Entering Saturday's 5/10K freestyle races, Utah is second in the team standings. The Utes are 27 points back from the host Buffaloes and ahead of Denver in third place by eight points.

"I am super proud of this group today," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "Sam demonstrated his consistency once again, putting up a tough fight for that top spot. Walker has stepped up his classic skiing in a big way this year, so fourth place is a huge testament to his hard work throughout the Fall and Winter.

"The biggest breakthrough of the day, however, was certainly Celine, out-kicking some of the best sprinters in the country for her first collegiate podium! Ezra Smith threw down a great race as well, continuing to get stronger as the season goes on. We are looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow!"

Smith placed ninth (1:13:12.6) on a sunny day with nice conditions for classic skiing. Utah is a bit shorthanded this weekend, particularly on the women's side with just two athletes competing.

Said Mayer of the day, "I'm really, really, happy with my skiing today. Going into the race I was a bit worried how my body would handle the altitude since I haven't had a 20K race on such a high altitude before. But I think I skied smart and was able to save some energy on the first laps. Thanks to our really fast skies today, I was able to get out of the last downhill with a lot of speed and just tried my best to outsprint the girls around me."

Walker Hall placed fourth in the men's race (1:00:37.4) and Brian Bushey was seventh (1:02:19.7) to round out the Utah scorers on that side. Noel Keeffe also logged a top-15 finish, taking 13^th place (1:04:15.2).

FIS Nordic U23 World Championships Update
It was a great day up in British Columbia with the FIS Nordic U23 World Championships on the home stretch. Utah's Luke Jager, Sophia Laukli, Novie McCabe and Sydney Palmer-Leger are all at Whistler, representing the United States and racing against some of the best in the world.

Friday's race schedule included the women's 10K freestyle featuring top-nine results for Laukli (fifth), McCabe (seventh) and Palmer-Leger (ninth).

Among other highlights on the week so far, Palmer-Leger (eighth) and McCabe (14th) both were in action for Tuesday's women's 20K classic, while Jager took 12th in Tuesday's men's classic sprints.

Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.