Spencer James Nelson/Colorado Invitational Day One Results
Alpine Showcases Solid Effort at CU Invitational
Steamboat Springs, Colo. — At the site of the 2016 NCAA Championships, the Lobo alpine team turned in its best showing of the season, and hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. The women’s alpine squad picked up three top 10 finishes to come in second with 70 points, and the men had their best slalom race of the season with 47 points, bolstered by the return of top skier Carl-Johan Öster.
The men raced five, the women six, and all 11 completed their runs, a first for UNM this season. The race was also the first one to take place under the lights, as both second runs came after sunset. That will mirror the NCAA Championship format. UNM certainly looked comfortable.
It was Rob Greig that turned in UNM’s top finish, coming in 15th place, but the emotional lift was supplied by Öster, who returned after a pulled abdominal muscle that prevented him from finishing any race in Utah, and even attempting a race in Montana.
But he gave it a go, and it certainly seemed like after a conservative first run that saw him 31st overall, he knew he was ready to let one rip.
Rip he did.
Öster tore down the night course in a swift 43:12, the second-best time over anyone, collegiate or not, and that pushed him all the way to 16th place, just 0.24 behind his teammate Greig. UNM picked up a third top 20 when Tyler Theis sliced and diced his way to 18th place, giving UNM 47 points, easily their most in the slalom this season.
Nick Veth finished 23rd, Patrick Brachner 24th and Alex Barounos 30th to round out the Lobo men’s contingent.
Not to be outdone, the women’s side had their best night as well, finishing in second place with 70 points, led by a career-best sixth place finish for Sara Ottosson, who had a bit of a bobble but still managed to stay in sixth place after a 13th place run in the second go.
She was followed by Karoline Søvik Myklebust, who picked up her third top 10 finish of the season and 12th of her career, coming in ninth place. Right behind her was Sydney Staples in 10th place, giving UNM three in the top 10 and 70 coveted points.
Courtney Altringer didn’t score but had another top 20 finish at 18th, Katarine Irwin was 28th and Taylor Grauer 29th.
The Spencer James Nelson Colorado Invitational resumes tomorrow with the giant slalom on the alpine side, and the Nordic freestyle races as well. It will mark the first time this season that both alpine and Nordic will compete on the same day.
NOTES: New Mexico is in sixth place tie after the first two events, but just four points from third … Greig’s finish was his first top 20 finish of his career … with Öster’s points, all seven men have no scored for the Lobos.
Overall Standings (Final): Denver 165, Colorado 150, Westminster 121, Montana State 120, Utah 119, New Mexico 117, Alaska-Anchorage 115, Colorado Mountain 27.
Women’s Slalom Scores: DU 94, UNM 70, UU 66, CU 64, MSU 60, UAA 54, WMC 46, CMC 9
Men’s Slalom Scores: CU 86, WMC 75, DU 71, UAA 61, MSU 60, UU 53, UNM 47, CMC 18.