Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Saturday, February 4
Steamboat Springs, Colo.
All Day
University of Utah
vs
5/10K Freestyle
Photo by: Tobias Albrigtsen
Hendry Wins 10K Freestyle to Close Nordic Half of CU Invite
2/4/2023 2:02 PM | Skiing
Three Utes in top-five of men’s race; Mayer and Smith finish top-eight in women’s 5K
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Utah's Samuel Hendry picked up his fifth collegiate win and first since the 2021 season, while Walker Hall joined him on the podium in third place, as the Utah Ski Team wrapped the Nordic portion of the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Colorado Invitational on Saturday at Howelsen Hill.
With alpine races still to come at the CU Invitational, Utah sits second in the team standings for the meet. The Utes (303 points) are 57 back from Colorado (360) for the lead and remain ahead of third-place Denver (276) by 27 points.
"Today was a great day for us and we couldn't have asked for more out of everyone this weekend," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "Sam fought hard for that top spot of the podium today and it was cool that he could drag Walker along for a podium as well. I am excited to keep this momentum rolling into next weekend!"
Director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt added, "Another great day in Steamboat with a cold morning, but nice and sunny. The men skied great today and showed that they can be the best team even with Tom and Luke missing. Super exciting for Sam to get a win and Walker continues to impress. Brian is consistently placing around fifth, so another great race by him. Celine and Ezra had their best skate races of the season."
Hendry finished the interval start with a winning time of 25:52.3 and Hall skied to the podium in 26:21.2. Brian Bushey rounded out the men's scoring for Utah, racing to fifth place (26:39.8).
"Good effort this weekend," Hendry said after his win. "Nice step on the way to NCAA's. Walker and I skied both races together this weekend and were able to push each other super hard to some good results."
It is Hall's second straight freestyle podium, coming off a runner-up result in the 10K event on January 14 at the Montana State Invitational. Hall added, "It was a super nice day out there, and the coaches made sure we had great skis. Sam and I got to ski most of the race together, which was a lot of fun!"
In the women's race, Celine Mayer (16:07.9) and Ezra Smith (16:08.8) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, securing key points for Utah on a weekend where the Utes were limited to two athletes in the women's races.
The alpine portion of the CU Invitational takes place on Thursday and Friday, February 9-10. Both days will be host to giant slalom races at Eldora Mountain Resort in Nederland, Colorado.
Nordic action resumes with the Denver Invitational on Friday, February 10 (5K freestyle) and Saturday, February 11 (10K classic) at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colorado.
FIS Nordic U23 World Championships Update
The Utes were without Luke Jager, Sophia Laukli, Novie McCabe and Sydney Palmer-Leger at CU this weekend, while the quartet represents the United States at the FIS Nordic U23 World Championships featuring some of the top skiers in the world.
Palmer-Leger (first leg) and Laukli (third leg) were part of the United States' 4x5km mixed relay team that finished seventh on Saturday. It follows Friday's slate of events, which featured top-nine finishes in the women's 10K freestyle for Laukli (fifth), McCabe (seventh) and Palmer-Leger (ninth).
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
With alpine races still to come at the CU Invitational, Utah sits second in the team standings for the meet. The Utes (303 points) are 57 back from Colorado (360) for the lead and remain ahead of third-place Denver (276) by 27 points.
"Today was a great day for us and we couldn't have asked for more out of everyone this weekend," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "Sam fought hard for that top spot of the podium today and it was cool that he could drag Walker along for a podium as well. I am excited to keep this momentum rolling into next weekend!"
Director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt added, "Another great day in Steamboat with a cold morning, but nice and sunny. The men skied great today and showed that they can be the best team even with Tom and Luke missing. Super exciting for Sam to get a win and Walker continues to impress. Brian is consistently placing around fifth, so another great race by him. Celine and Ezra had their best skate races of the season."
Hendry finished the interval start with a winning time of 25:52.3 and Hall skied to the podium in 26:21.2. Brian Bushey rounded out the men's scoring for Utah, racing to fifth place (26:39.8).
"Good effort this weekend," Hendry said after his win. "Nice step on the way to NCAA's. Walker and I skied both races together this weekend and were able to push each other super hard to some good results."
It is Hall's second straight freestyle podium, coming off a runner-up result in the 10K event on January 14 at the Montana State Invitational. Hall added, "It was a super nice day out there, and the coaches made sure we had great skis. Sam and I got to ski most of the race together, which was a lot of fun!"
In the women's race, Celine Mayer (16:07.9) and Ezra Smith (16:08.8) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, securing key points for Utah on a weekend where the Utes were limited to two athletes in the women's races.
The alpine portion of the CU Invitational takes place on Thursday and Friday, February 9-10. Both days will be host to giant slalom races at Eldora Mountain Resort in Nederland, Colorado.
Nordic action resumes with the Denver Invitational on Friday, February 10 (5K freestyle) and Saturday, February 11 (10K classic) at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colorado.
FIS Nordic U23 World Championships Update
The Utes were without Luke Jager, Sophia Laukli, Novie McCabe and Sydney Palmer-Leger at CU this weekend, while the quartet represents the United States at the FIS Nordic U23 World Championships featuring some of the top skiers in the world.
Palmer-Leger (first leg) and Laukli (third leg) were part of the United States' 4x5km mixed relay team that finished seventh on Saturday. It follows Friday's slate of events, which featured top-nine finishes in the women's 10K freestyle for Laukli (fifth), McCabe (seventh) and Palmer-Leger (ninth).
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam.
Players Mentioned
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Nordic
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