Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Tuesday, January 2
Midway, UT
All Day
University of Utah
vs
10K Classic
Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics
Three Utah Podiums as Utes Lead at Start of Westminster Invitational
1/2/2024 3:35 PM | Skiing
Palmer-Leger and Dengerud finish 2-3 in women’s 10K classic
MIDWAY, Utah – Sydney Palmer-Leger and Karianne Dengerud were second and third, respectively, in the women's 10K classic, while Joe Davies claimed silver in the men's race as the Utah Ski Team began the 2024 collegiate season on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. The races marked the beginning of the Westminster Invitational and were held within the larger U.S. Cross Country National Championships.
In the standings for the Westminster Invitational, Utah leads with 183 team points and has a 25-point pad on Denver for second place.
"It was a beautiful day here at Soldier Hollow," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "They've done an amazing job with the minimal snow we've had so far this year. Conditions were spectacular. It was a great classic day; the women started off with a great tone for the day. Sydney skied a really impressive race and so did Karianne and Nina. We really wanted to focus on pacing today and I think they did a brilliant job. Really happy for the women.
Havlick continued, "On the guys' side, it was a very competitive field and very tough. Joe came out charging and alternating first, second, third the whole race. Brian and Walker skied great as well. Joe is a very talented athlete so we're psyched to have him. We've seen what he's capable of all Fall. It's good to have him back (after racing in Europe), get some good training and racing in. Hopefully up and up from here."
Palmer-Leger was across the finish line in 27:32.5 as the top Ute in the women's race, with Dengerud earning bronze after clocking 27:54.7. Making her first RMISA start, Nina Schamberger clocked a sixth-place time of 28:23.0. Celine Mayer (18th; 29:42.7) and Witta Walcher (21st; 30:00.3) also raced for Utah, with Walcher's start being her first as a Ute.
In addition to her college result, in the larger U.S. Nationals race both Palmer-Leger (1st) and Schamberger (3rd) earned spots on the U.S. podium as well as Schamberger atop the junior podium.
Said Schamberger, "It was really fun. I was super glad to be here. I was one of the first starters, so I didn't have a great idea of how I was doing relative to everyone else. But when I was getting splits, it sounded like Karianne and Sydney were both doing really well and that we were in the same ballpark. I'm really happy with the race. We've been training as a team almost every day for the entire Fall and beginning of Winter. It's really cool to have a family around you while you're skiing. It's an individual sport, but we're able to work together really, really well."
Palmer-Leger remained near the front of the pack throughout the entire 10K, sitting third of the entire U.S. Nationals field after the first split before climbing into second place—both in the college and overall results. Dengerud also had a nice ascent as the race went on, reading sixth through one lap and moving up to ultimately take bronze.
On the men's side, Davies (23:53.1) was less than three seconds behind Denver's Andreas Kirkeng to earn silver. Brian Bushey (24:28.8) finished sixth and Walker Hall (24:59.8) ensured all of Utah's scoring came in the top-10. Zachary Jayne (17th; 25:59) and Max Kluck (32nd; 28:04.7) made their first Utah starts as well. The Utes were without Tom Mancini in Tuesday's race, but hope to have him back in action as the week goes on.
"I've been racing abroad for a bit, so it was nice to get back into the swing of college racing," Davies said post-race. "It's always super fun. I take it pretty chill, there's always so many friends and people to see. I felt OK in the warm-up, tried to pace it pretty well and it worked out. The conditions were changing, but Fredrik and Miles were on top of that. The skis were insanely good. It was a good day."
Next Up
The Utes will return to race action on Thursday, January 4, with freestyle sprints at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. The day's action will begin with qualifier races at 9 a.m., and as with today's Westminster Invitational races, will also be part of the U.S. Cross Country National Championships.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
In the standings for the Westminster Invitational, Utah leads with 183 team points and has a 25-point pad on Denver for second place.
"It was a beautiful day here at Soldier Hollow," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "They've done an amazing job with the minimal snow we've had so far this year. Conditions were spectacular. It was a great classic day; the women started off with a great tone for the day. Sydney skied a really impressive race and so did Karianne and Nina. We really wanted to focus on pacing today and I think they did a brilliant job. Really happy for the women.
Havlick continued, "On the guys' side, it was a very competitive field and very tough. Joe came out charging and alternating first, second, third the whole race. Brian and Walker skied great as well. Joe is a very talented athlete so we're psyched to have him. We've seen what he's capable of all Fall. It's good to have him back (after racing in Europe), get some good training and racing in. Hopefully up and up from here."
Palmer-Leger was across the finish line in 27:32.5 as the top Ute in the women's race, with Dengerud earning bronze after clocking 27:54.7. Making her first RMISA start, Nina Schamberger clocked a sixth-place time of 28:23.0. Celine Mayer (18th; 29:42.7) and Witta Walcher (21st; 30:00.3) also raced for Utah, with Walcher's start being her first as a Ute.
In addition to her college result, in the larger U.S. Nationals race both Palmer-Leger (1st) and Schamberger (3rd) earned spots on the U.S. podium as well as Schamberger atop the junior podium.
Said Schamberger, "It was really fun. I was super glad to be here. I was one of the first starters, so I didn't have a great idea of how I was doing relative to everyone else. But when I was getting splits, it sounded like Karianne and Sydney were both doing really well and that we were in the same ballpark. I'm really happy with the race. We've been training as a team almost every day for the entire Fall and beginning of Winter. It's really cool to have a family around you while you're skiing. It's an individual sport, but we're able to work together really, really well."
Palmer-Leger remained near the front of the pack throughout the entire 10K, sitting third of the entire U.S. Nationals field after the first split before climbing into second place—both in the college and overall results. Dengerud also had a nice ascent as the race went on, reading sixth through one lap and moving up to ultimately take bronze.
On the men's side, Davies (23:53.1) was less than three seconds behind Denver's Andreas Kirkeng to earn silver. Brian Bushey (24:28.8) finished sixth and Walker Hall (24:59.8) ensured all of Utah's scoring came in the top-10. Zachary Jayne (17th; 25:59) and Max Kluck (32nd; 28:04.7) made their first Utah starts as well. The Utes were without Tom Mancini in Tuesday's race, but hope to have him back in action as the week goes on.
"I've been racing abroad for a bit, so it was nice to get back into the swing of college racing," Davies said post-race. "It's always super fun. I take it pretty chill, there's always so many friends and people to see. I felt OK in the warm-up, tried to pace it pretty well and it worked out. The conditions were changing, but Fredrik and Miles were on top of that. The skis were insanely good. It was a good day."
Next Up
The Utes will return to race action on Thursday, January 4, with freestyle sprints at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. The day's action will begin with qualifier races at 9 a.m., and as with today's Westminster Invitational races, will also be part of the U.S. Cross Country National Championships.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
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