Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Sunday, January 7
Midway, UT
All Day
University of Utah
vs
Classic Sprints
Mancini, Dengerud Win Classic Sprints as Utes Claim College Cup at Soldier Hollow
1/7/2024 4:46 PM | Skiing
First collegiate victory for Mancini, while Dengerud wins her second race in four days
MIDWAY, Utah – Three RMISA podium performances for the Utah Ski Team on Sunday included classic sprints victories for Tom Mancini and Karianne Dengerud, while Sydney Palmer-Leger claimed bronze in the women's event as the Utes concluded a busy week of competition at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
Sunday's classic sprints were not part of an RMISA meet—so no team scores were kept—but individual results count toward qualification for the 2024 NCAA Championships. Results were calcuated from the larger U.S. SuperTour sprints race, coming off a host of events earlier this week in the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships.
Celine Mayer was fifth in the women's competition, while Walker Hall took fifth on the men's side, Brian Bushey was eighth and Zachary Jayne took 12th to also claim the men's junior title.
"It's been a long week and I think everyone's feeling the week," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "But it was really fun to end on a high note. We had some really strong performances across the board. It was nice to end Nationals with some strong results. Now we'll recover this week and prepare for the Utah Invitational.
"Tom Mancini is such a strong racer and so tactically wise. He skied brilliantly throughout the heats. I think he was starting to feel it by the final. But to pull it out and finish second (in the overall race) is amazing."
In addition to the individual performances, Utah received both the overall and women's College Cup awards. The honor is presented to the top performing collegiate programs throughout U.S. Nationals. Denver received the men's College Cup.
Utah placed four men and three women into the top-30 during the morning qualifying races, with the men's side seeing Bushey, Hall and Mancini all in the top-10 in addition to Jayne's 25th-place qualifier. Women's qualifying included a ninth-place effort for Dengerud and Palmer-Leger in 13th, while Mayer tabbed 27th to reach quarterfinal heats.
As the focus turned to quarterfinals, Dengerud, Mayer and Palmer-Leger all won their respective heats. In men's action, Mancini won a tight heat with the top three finishers just 44-hundredths-seconds apart. Hall was second in his group and Bushey was third, moving onto the semifinals as a lucky loser.
Dengerud and Palmer-Leger were then paired together in the same semifinal heat and went 1-2 to place into the final. Mancini was third in his semifinal, but pushed into the final after his 3:52.29 time would have won the other heat.
The Utah trio of Dengerud, Palmer-Leger and Mancini were quickly back to the start lines for their respective finals. Dengerud's final time of 4:37.14 easily won the RMISA race, but she did a fantastic job withstanding a late charge in the larger field from Alayna Sonnesyn and Merle Richter. Palmer-Leger was across the line in 4:44.08 to ski onto the podium.
In the men's final, Mancini had an RMISA-best time of 3:49.91 to secure his first college win. He was topped in the overall field only by Utah Ski Team alumnus Luke Jager.
Said Mancini of the day, "Today was great and energy-wise was pretty good. I just tried to do my best and knew we had amazing skis. During the final, I tried to make a good move at the right time. In a sprint race, you're always trying to find the right balance between securing a spot for the next round while trying to save some energy as well."
Next Up
The Utes now turn their attention to the Utah Invitational, with the Nordic portion of the meet being hosted at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. Competition begins on Friday, January 12 with men's and women's 7.5K freestyle races. It'll be an interval start with the men's race going off at 10 a.m. and the women following at 11:15 a.m.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
Sunday's classic sprints were not part of an RMISA meet—so no team scores were kept—but individual results count toward qualification for the 2024 NCAA Championships. Results were calcuated from the larger U.S. SuperTour sprints race, coming off a host of events earlier this week in the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships.
Celine Mayer was fifth in the women's competition, while Walker Hall took fifth on the men's side, Brian Bushey was eighth and Zachary Jayne took 12th to also claim the men's junior title.
"It's been a long week and I think everyone's feeling the week," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "But it was really fun to end on a high note. We had some really strong performances across the board. It was nice to end Nationals with some strong results. Now we'll recover this week and prepare for the Utah Invitational.
"Tom Mancini is such a strong racer and so tactically wise. He skied brilliantly throughout the heats. I think he was starting to feel it by the final. But to pull it out and finish second (in the overall race) is amazing."
In addition to the individual performances, Utah received both the overall and women's College Cup awards. The honor is presented to the top performing collegiate programs throughout U.S. Nationals. Denver received the men's College Cup.
Utah placed four men and three women into the top-30 during the morning qualifying races, with the men's side seeing Bushey, Hall and Mancini all in the top-10 in addition to Jayne's 25th-place qualifier. Women's qualifying included a ninth-place effort for Dengerud and Palmer-Leger in 13th, while Mayer tabbed 27th to reach quarterfinal heats.
As the focus turned to quarterfinals, Dengerud, Mayer and Palmer-Leger all won their respective heats. In men's action, Mancini won a tight heat with the top three finishers just 44-hundredths-seconds apart. Hall was second in his group and Bushey was third, moving onto the semifinals as a lucky loser.
Dengerud and Palmer-Leger were then paired together in the same semifinal heat and went 1-2 to place into the final. Mancini was third in his semifinal, but pushed into the final after his 3:52.29 time would have won the other heat.
The Utah trio of Dengerud, Palmer-Leger and Mancini were quickly back to the start lines for their respective finals. Dengerud's final time of 4:37.14 easily won the RMISA race, but she did a fantastic job withstanding a late charge in the larger field from Alayna Sonnesyn and Merle Richter. Palmer-Leger was across the line in 4:44.08 to ski onto the podium.
In the men's final, Mancini had an RMISA-best time of 3:49.91 to secure his first college win. He was topped in the overall field only by Utah Ski Team alumnus Luke Jager.
Said Mancini of the day, "Today was great and energy-wise was pretty good. I just tried to do my best and knew we had amazing skis. During the final, I tried to make a good move at the right time. In a sprint race, you're always trying to find the right balance between securing a spot for the next round while trying to save some energy as well."
Next Up
The Utes now turn their attention to the Utah Invitational, with the Nordic portion of the meet being hosted at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. Competition begins on Friday, January 12 with men's and women's 7.5K freestyle races. It'll be an interval start with the men's race going off at 10 a.m. and the women following at 11:15 a.m.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
Players Mentioned
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ Skiing
Nordic
/ SkiingSeven New Inductees to Join Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2025
Monday, July 28
University of Utah Athletics - A Storied History
Friday, August 02
Last weekend, Sydney Palmer-Leger won the 7.5K freestyle earning her THIRD national title! 🏆 🏆 🏆
Wednesday, March 13
Utah Skiing National Championship 2023!!
Friday, May 26