Upcoming Event: Skiing versus Giant Slalom on February 22, 2026
Skiing
vs Giant Slalom
The University of Utah Athletics
Saturday, February 14
Steamboat Springs, Colo. / Howelsen Hill
9:30 a.m.
University of Utah
at
7.5K Classic (I)
Photo by: Jackson Bilawa/Utah Athletics
Lavén Skis to Classic Gold as Colorado Invitational Concludes
2/14/2026 3:40 PM | Skiing
Utah finishes the meet third in team standings
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Erica Lavén won her sixth race in six collegiate starts this season to highlight the Utah Ski Team on the final day of the Colorado Invitational, as the meet concluded on Saturday with 7.5K classic interval start races at Howelsen Hill.
Zachary Jayne added a podium on the men's side with a silver medal while Sofia Pedersen and Witta Walcher took the Nos. 5-6 spots, respectively, in the women's competition.
For the meet overall, Utah finished in third place with 619 points—Colorado won its home meet with 689 points and Denver (623) was the runner-up in the team standings.
Director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt said, "It was another really impressive win by Erica, as well as strong skiing from Sofia and Witta. Zach also had a very good race but just fell short on the last lap. We're looking forward to getting back home and getting ready for regionals and NCAAs."
Women's Race
Erica Lavén has won all six of her starts this season after a gold medal performance that saw Lavén clock a 22:41.7 during today's interval start. It helped Utah (96) edge Colorado (94) for the team victory in the women's classic.
Sofia Pedersen continued a strong freshman season with the Utes, placing fifth (24:19.2) to extend her top-five streak to eight straight starts. Witta Walcher capped off the scoring for Utah in sixth place (24:39.2) as Walcher was in the top-seven or better for the fifth straight race.
Neve Gerard tabbed ninth for Utah, with Ally Wheeler (16th) and Selma Andersen (17th) adding depth to the women's lineup.
Men's Race
Zachary Jayne netted his fifth podium of the collegiate season with a runner-up performance (21:13.1) on Saturday.
Lucas Wilmot (15th – 22:05.5) and Max Kluck (17th – 22:08.3) added crucial points on the men's side for Utah.
Next Up
The RMISA schedule now shifts back to alpine racing and Utah's home meet. Races will take place on Sunday through Tuesday, Feb. 22-24, with action slated for the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park.
Giant slalom will go down on Sunday and Monday with slalom to follow on Tuesday. Monday's GS will be hosted by Utah, but is an RMISA qualifier race—in other words, results from that day will not count toward team scores for the meet but individual results can qualify the athletes for the NCAA Championships.
The Utes currently are in second place at the halfway point of the Utah Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam. Download the Utah 360 app here.
Zachary Jayne added a podium on the men's side with a silver medal while Sofia Pedersen and Witta Walcher took the Nos. 5-6 spots, respectively, in the women's competition.
For the meet overall, Utah finished in third place with 619 points—Colorado won its home meet with 689 points and Denver (623) was the runner-up in the team standings.
Director of skiing Fredrik Landstedt said, "It was another really impressive win by Erica, as well as strong skiing from Sofia and Witta. Zach also had a very good race but just fell short on the last lap. We're looking forward to getting back home and getting ready for regionals and NCAAs."
Women's Race
Erica Lavén has won all six of her starts this season after a gold medal performance that saw Lavén clock a 22:41.7 during today's interval start. It helped Utah (96) edge Colorado (94) for the team victory in the women's classic.
Sofia Pedersen continued a strong freshman season with the Utes, placing fifth (24:19.2) to extend her top-five streak to eight straight starts. Witta Walcher capped off the scoring for Utah in sixth place (24:39.2) as Walcher was in the top-seven or better for the fifth straight race.
Neve Gerard tabbed ninth for Utah, with Ally Wheeler (16th) and Selma Andersen (17th) adding depth to the women's lineup.
Men's Race
Zachary Jayne netted his fifth podium of the collegiate season with a runner-up performance (21:13.1) on Saturday.
Lucas Wilmot (15th – 22:05.5) and Max Kluck (17th – 22:08.3) added crucial points on the men's side for Utah.
Next Up
The RMISA schedule now shifts back to alpine racing and Utah's home meet. Races will take place on Sunday through Tuesday, Feb. 22-24, with action slated for the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center at the Utah Olympic Park.
Giant slalom will go down on Sunday and Monday with slalom to follow on Tuesday. Monday's GS will be hosted by Utah, but is an RMISA qualifier race—in other words, results from that day will not count toward team scores for the meet but individual results can qualify the athletes for the NCAA Championships.
The Utes currently are in second place at the halfway point of the Utah Invitational.
Follow the Utah Ski Team on social media @utahskiteam. Download the Utah 360 app here.
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