Completed Event: Skiing versus 20K Freestyle (M) on March 8, 2025 , , 1st
Final Score
Skiing
1st
vs 20K Freestyle (M)
Saturday, January 18
Midway, Utah / Soldier Hollow Nordic Center
9 a.m.
University of Utah
vs
7.5K Classic (I)
Photo by: Davis Kuhn/Utah Athletics
Lavén and Hall Win Classic Races at Utah Invitational
1/18/2025 12:19 PM | Skiing
First collegiate victories for both Utes on a solid day all-around for Utah
MIDWAY, Utah – The Utah Ski Team had individual victories from both Erica Lavén and Walker Hall as the Utes raced in a 7.5K classic on Saturday morning at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
Utah leads its home meet with a total tally of 195 points, a 33-point pad on Colorado in second place. The Utah Invitational continues on Sunday with 15K freestyle mass start races beginning at 9 a.m.
All told, the Utes registered four women in the top-eight, while four men placed in the top-seven as well. The team racked up 94 women's points and 101 in the men's competition—both the most for any team in the RMISA field.
"It was a great day today," said director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "Little bit of tricky conditions; it snowed a little bit this morning and the wind picked up. So we had some fresh snow in the tracks. It was tricky to find the right wax—but I think we hit it right on.
"It's a great start to the season for us for sure. The women did incredible today—Erica got her first college win today and it was a great day for the women. The guys also had a very good race. Walker keeps getting better and better, and got his first win in classic."
Women's Race
The day's action began just after 9 a.m. with the women's interval start, ending with another strong performance from Erica Lavén that netted her first collegiate victory. She led at the first split and briefly fell to third during the second lap, but charged back coming into the finish with a winning time of 22:54.1. It put her more than 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Celine Mayer had a season-best fifth place finish (23:41.1), with Neve Gerard rounding out the scoring in seventh (23:53.0). Fellow freshman Selma Nevin added a top-eight result as well.
In addition, Witta Walcher made her season debut placing in the top-20 and Nina Schamberger closed out the Utah lineup in 21st place.
Mayer had the second-best time in the field for the opening lap.
Gerard and Schamberger stood 1-2 on the junior podium.
Men's Race
Walker Hall continued his strong start to the 2025 season, sitting second after one lap and making a push on the final lap to come away with his first win (19:45.9).
After missing the Alaska races due to some brief sickness, Joe Davies made his season debut and skied to the podium in third place (19:57.7). Brian Bushey was sixth (20:22.2) and Zachary Jayne had his top finish as a Ute, placing seventh.
"It was super fun to check out this new course and I think it was well-received," Davies said. "I was a little uncertain coming into today; I've only been back (from illness) for about a week now. But I'm pretty happy with the result, and overall, the team was just great. Everybody is super stoked—it was great to see Erica on top of the podium for the women and Walker on top of the podium for the men. I think all around, the team is super happy."
Lucas Wilmot raced on home snow for the first time at Utah and placed 12th in the RMISA field, and separately had the top junior result in the overall race field.
Next Up | Full Schedule
Utah will be back at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center on Sunday, January 19 for 15K freestyle mass start races. Events begin at 9 a.m., with the men set to race first followed up by the women.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media @utahskiteam.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
Utah leads its home meet with a total tally of 195 points, a 33-point pad on Colorado in second place. The Utah Invitational continues on Sunday with 15K freestyle mass start races beginning at 9 a.m.
All told, the Utes registered four women in the top-eight, while four men placed in the top-seven as well. The team racked up 94 women's points and 101 in the men's competition—both the most for any team in the RMISA field.
"It was a great day today," said director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt. "Little bit of tricky conditions; it snowed a little bit this morning and the wind picked up. So we had some fresh snow in the tracks. It was tricky to find the right wax—but I think we hit it right on.
"It's a great start to the season for us for sure. The women did incredible today—Erica got her first college win today and it was a great day for the women. The guys also had a very good race. Walker keeps getting better and better, and got his first win in classic."
Women's Race
The day's action began just after 9 a.m. with the women's interval start, ending with another strong performance from Erica Lavén that netted her first collegiate victory. She led at the first split and briefly fell to third during the second lap, but charged back coming into the finish with a winning time of 22:54.1. It put her more than 17 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Celine Mayer had a season-best fifth place finish (23:41.1), with Neve Gerard rounding out the scoring in seventh (23:53.0). Fellow freshman Selma Nevin added a top-eight result as well.
In addition, Witta Walcher made her season debut placing in the top-20 and Nina Schamberger closed out the Utah lineup in 21st place.
Mayer had the second-best time in the field for the opening lap.
Gerard and Schamberger stood 1-2 on the junior podium.
Men's Race
Walker Hall continued his strong start to the 2025 season, sitting second after one lap and making a push on the final lap to come away with his first win (19:45.9).
After missing the Alaska races due to some brief sickness, Joe Davies made his season debut and skied to the podium in third place (19:57.7). Brian Bushey was sixth (20:22.2) and Zachary Jayne had his top finish as a Ute, placing seventh.
"It was super fun to check out this new course and I think it was well-received," Davies said. "I was a little uncertain coming into today; I've only been back (from illness) for about a week now. But I'm pretty happy with the result, and overall, the team was just great. Everybody is super stoked—it was great to see Erica on top of the podium for the women and Walker on top of the podium for the men. I think all around, the team is super happy."
Lucas Wilmot raced on home snow for the first time at Utah and placed 12th in the RMISA field, and separately had the top junior result in the overall race field.
Next Up | Full Schedule
Utah will be back at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center on Sunday, January 19 for 15K freestyle mass start races. Events begin at 9 a.m., with the men set to race first followed up by the women.
Follow the Utah Ski Team
Follow the Utes on social media @utahskiteam.
Official Mobile App of Utah Athletics – Utah 360
The official mobile app of Utah Athletics is Utah 360. Download it today for access to news and information, schedules, rosters, stats and behind-the-scenes videos directly from your mobile device. The app is available in both the Apple Store (download) and Google Play (download). Add it today, access your game tickets and download them to your smartphone's wallet to make yourself game-day ready!
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