Friday, February 9
Minturn, CO
All Day
University of Utah
vs
10K Classic
Photo by: Hunter Dyke/Utah Athletics
Mancini and Walcher Lead Utes as Nordic Races Begin at DU Invitational
2/9/2024 3:27 PM | Skiing
Walcher records first collegiate podium in 10K classic; Palmer-Leger finishes top-25 at Canmore World Cup
MINTURN, Colo. – Despite being shorthanded for this weekend's Nordic races at the Denver Invitational, the Utah Ski Team had a pair of individual podium results on Friday as Tom Mancini and Witta Walcher took silver and bronze, respectively, in 10K classic races at Maloit Park.
Walcher's bronze (30:38.2) marked her first collegiate podium, while Mancini gave Denver's Andreas Kirkeng a great battle on the home stretch of the mass start en route to Mancini's second-place finish (25:57.4).
The Utes are currently without six athletes on the Nordic side due to participation in the FIS World Cup circuit as well as the U-23 and World Junior Championships. Sydney Palmer-Leger had a top-25 finish in the Canmore World Cup 15K freestyle earlier Friday; five other current Utes are in Slovenia for the U-23 and World Junior Championships. It includes Brian Bushey, Joe Davies, Walker Hall, Zachary Jayne and Nina Schamberger.
"We had some exciting races in Minturn today," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "The courses here are quite technically challenging, with difficult corners and many hills. It's really cool to see Tom's form coming around and watching him dictate the pace and lead for much of the race today. Witta had a breakthrough day, skiing into the podium for the first time here at Utah. She is super tough and fights hard every day, so to see her ski onto the podium was fantastic.
"A big shout out to Sydney Palmer-Leger and our many alumni racing on the World Cup in Canmore today making us proud!"
Key team points in the DU Invitational for Utah also came on Friday from Celine Mayer and Max Kluck. Mayer tabbed 17th (32:30) in the women's 10K classic while Kluck had a time of 28:49.9 to place 19th.
Utah now sits third in the team standings for the Denver Invitational with 452 points in the meet. The host Pioneers pulled into the lead following today's classic races (482 points) and have a 30-point advantage on the Utes. Colorado is just ahead in second place (458 points).
Next Up
The Denver Invitational wraps up on Saturday as teams will race a 5K freestyle at Maloit Park.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
Walcher's bronze (30:38.2) marked her first collegiate podium, while Mancini gave Denver's Andreas Kirkeng a great battle on the home stretch of the mass start en route to Mancini's second-place finish (25:57.4).
The Utes are currently without six athletes on the Nordic side due to participation in the FIS World Cup circuit as well as the U-23 and World Junior Championships. Sydney Palmer-Leger had a top-25 finish in the Canmore World Cup 15K freestyle earlier Friday; five other current Utes are in Slovenia for the U-23 and World Junior Championships. It includes Brian Bushey, Joe Davies, Walker Hall, Zachary Jayne and Nina Schamberger.
"We had some exciting races in Minturn today," said head Nordic coach Miles Havlick. "The courses here are quite technically challenging, with difficult corners and many hills. It's really cool to see Tom's form coming around and watching him dictate the pace and lead for much of the race today. Witta had a breakthrough day, skiing into the podium for the first time here at Utah. She is super tough and fights hard every day, so to see her ski onto the podium was fantastic.
"A big shout out to Sydney Palmer-Leger and our many alumni racing on the World Cup in Canmore today making us proud!"
Key team points in the DU Invitational for Utah also came on Friday from Celine Mayer and Max Kluck. Mayer tabbed 17th (32:30) in the women's 10K classic while Kluck had a time of 28:49.9 to place 19th.
Utah now sits third in the team standings for the Denver Invitational with 452 points in the meet. The host Pioneers pulled into the lead following today's classic races (482 points) and have a 30-point advantage on the Utes. Colorado is just ahead in second place (458 points).
Next Up
The Denver Invitational wraps up on Saturday as teams will race a 5K freestyle at Maloit Park.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media (@utahskiteam).
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