STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — UNM save it’s best for last. Kati Roivas stayed near the front of the pack in the women’s 15K classic race, never wavered, made a move late and then held off a charge to finish second, leading UNM’s women’s team that scored three top 10 marks, three All-America honors and helped UNM leapfrog Dartmouth as the Lobos finished in sixth place at the NCAA Championships.
Joining Roivas in the top 10 was Emilie Cedervärn who finished eighth and Eva Sever Rus who finished 10th, giving both their fourth career All-America honors. The trio became the first group to ever all score top 10 finishes in the same Nordic race for UNM at the NCAA Championships.
For Roivas, she opened up in 12th after the first 5K, but slowly and steadily moved up in the horrific conditions, as the temperature was never even at freezing the start the day. As the weather warmed up (the race started at 11 a.m. and the temperature hit almost 50 during the race), the course turned so sloppy and slushy that a lot of normal tactics regarding waxing went out the window. Instead it was a race of guts. UNM had that in bulk.
Roivas after the 10K mark was fourth, but on one of the brutal hills (the course is about 3K uphill and 2K downhill), Roivas raced into fourth, and then overtook Veronica Mayerhoffer for second and she stayed there, gaining ground on champion Linn Erickson of Denver, but not enough.
Roivas was still pumped, raising both arms in triumph as she crossed the finish line. That scored UNM 37 much needed points, and her teammates soon followed. Cedervärn was sixth at the 10K mark as she wavered between sixth and ninth for most of the race. She slide back to 10th just before the elevator shaft but a late kick saw her pass two in front of her for eighth. With Cedervärn tracking in front of her, that let Sever Rus gauge what she needed to do, and she moved up from 14th place all the way to 10th.
Cedervärn’s 23 points and Eva’s 21 gave UNM 81 for the event, and that was enough to make up a 63.5-point difference to finish sixth. UNM entered the NCAA Championships with seven rookies.
The women’s race came on the heels of a solid men’s race that saw a pair of top 20s with Niklas Rombock leading the way with a 17th place finish. Austin Huneck was right behind in 18th and Petteri Vaherkoski was 25th. Much like the women’s race, the Lobo group started back in the pack and after each 5K, moved up the leaderboard. Still, UNM was just outside the top 20 after the 15K mark, but Rombock and Huneck used each other well, pushing themselves and moving into the top 20. UNM’s men scored 33 points, which was enough to keep Vermont in striking distance for the women, which is exactly what happened.
Notes: New Mexico has had three All-Americans in a race at the NCAA before, in the 2004 men’s slalom and the 2010 women’s slalom … Sever Rus has earned All-America honors each of the last three years, and could join Kristina Standberg and Polina Ermoshina as the school’s only four-year Nordic All-America selections … Rombock led UNM in the classic despite being the late substitute for the school.
Men’s 20K Nordic Classical Team Scores
Denver 76, Colorado 74, Utah 74, Northern Michigan 60, Vermont 52, Dartmouth 47, Williams 34, New Mexico 33, New Hampshire 33, Alaska-Fairbanks 9, Middlebury 8, Alaska-Anchorage 5, Montana State 5, New Hampshire 5
Women’s 15K Nordic Classical Team Scores
Denver 86, New Mexico 81, Colorado 77, Alaska-Fairbanks 50, Utah 49, Colby 37, Northern Michigan 35, Dartmouth 31, Middlebury 22, Montana State 11, New Hampshire 11, Vermont 8, Bates 1
NCAA Standings (Final)
Denver 567.5, Colorado 491.5, Utah 485, Montana State 406, Dartmouth 335, New Mexico 317.5, Vermont 310, Northern Michigan 217, Alaska-Anchorage 174.5, New Hampshire 151, Middlebury 133, Colby 107, Alaska-Fairbanks 97, Williams 86, St. Michael’s 50, Plymouth State 27, Michigan Tech 19, St. Scholastica 6, Bates 1, Green Bay 0, Harvard 0.
All-American Ending as Women’s Nordic all finish Top 10
