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The University of Utah Athletics
Thursday, January 18
Park City, UT
All Day
University of Utah
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Slalom
Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics
Utes Lead Both Westminster and Utah Invitationals After Slalom
1/18/2024 5:00 PM | Skiing
Norbye wins Thursday’s slalom for second podium in two days
PARK CITY, Utah – For the second straight day in slalom, Kaja Norbye of the Utah Ski Team skied to the podium—but on Thursday she stood atop the field with a first-place finish at the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park.
Thursday's slalom was scored as part of the Utah Invitational, as the Utes remained first in the team standings for the meet. Through three races, Utah has tallied 533 points, 117 ahead of Denver in second place. Colorado is third, 136 points behind the Utes.
Utah head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "Everyone has been so excited going into the race days on this new hill. Yesterday was challenging because of the snow during the race. But you could see the awe that our team and the other teams have had when seeing this hill. It's pretty cool and it's been fun so far this week."
It was Norbye's first collegiate slalom win, second overall as a Ute and ninth podium. It was highlighted by Norbye's winning first run time of 46.83 seconds—more than a full second ahead of the next-closest skier. Her second run ranked 17th, but some shuffling throughout the rest of the field kept Norbye atop the results with a total time of 1:32.75.
"From the day Kaja came back to campus in the Fall, you could tell she was happy and refreshed," Johnson added. "She was able to train all Fall and had more strength and power. She worked through some final little things coming off injury, and now you can tell she's just been taking off. Her comeback is one of the best things I've seen in my years at Utah."
Michelle Kervén finished seventh (1:35.28), while Melanie Dahlberg also scored key points for the Utes placing 18th (1:37.15).
All of Utah's scoring on the men's side came in the top-10, including Oliver Parazette (5th; 1:30.08), Raphael Lessard (8th; 1:30.28) and Gustav Vøllo (10th; 1:30.50). Mikkel Solbakken's first run time of 44.83 seconds placed into the top-four, but Solbakken was unable to finish the second run.
Next Up
Friday will mark the third of four straight days of RMISA competition at the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park. The focus now turns to giant slalom, with tomorrow's race scored as the final day of the Westminster Invitational. Action is scheduled for a 9:15 a.m. start.
Saturday will then cap off a busy alpine week for the Utes and the RMISA, with another GS day counting as the final event of the Utah Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
Thursday's slalom was scored as part of the Utah Invitational, as the Utes remained first in the team standings for the meet. Through three races, Utah has tallied 533 points, 117 ahead of Denver in second place. Colorado is third, 136 points behind the Utes.
Utah head alpine coach JJ Johnson said, "Everyone has been so excited going into the race days on this new hill. Yesterday was challenging because of the snow during the race. But you could see the awe that our team and the other teams have had when seeing this hill. It's pretty cool and it's been fun so far this week."
It was Norbye's first collegiate slalom win, second overall as a Ute and ninth podium. It was highlighted by Norbye's winning first run time of 46.83 seconds—more than a full second ahead of the next-closest skier. Her second run ranked 17th, but some shuffling throughout the rest of the field kept Norbye atop the results with a total time of 1:32.75.
"From the day Kaja came back to campus in the Fall, you could tell she was happy and refreshed," Johnson added. "She was able to train all Fall and had more strength and power. She worked through some final little things coming off injury, and now you can tell she's just been taking off. Her comeback is one of the best things I've seen in my years at Utah."
Michelle Kervén finished seventh (1:35.28), while Melanie Dahlberg also scored key points for the Utes placing 18th (1:37.15).
All of Utah's scoring on the men's side came in the top-10, including Oliver Parazette (5th; 1:30.08), Raphael Lessard (8th; 1:30.28) and Gustav Vøllo (10th; 1:30.50). Mikkel Solbakken's first run time of 44.83 seconds placed into the top-four, but Solbakken was unable to finish the second run.
Next Up
Friday will mark the third of four straight days of RMISA competition at the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park. The focus now turns to giant slalom, with tomorrow's race scored as the final day of the Westminster Invitational. Action is scheduled for a 9:15 a.m. start.
Saturday will then cap off a busy alpine week for the Utes and the RMISA, with another GS day counting as the final event of the Utah Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
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