STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The rest apparently paid off. In a race that was close the entire way, Emilie Cedervärn, racing for the just the second time in the last five weeks, finished fifth in the 5K Freestyle, giving her a third First Team All-America honor and pacing the women’s team to fifth place in the race as UNM remained in sixth place overall after the midpoint o fhte 2016 NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Colorado in Steamboat Springs.
On a tough, brutal uphill Howelson Hill course, Cedervärn went off as the number four skier in the interval start and sat in second place through the first nine skiers. She eventually dropped three places to fifth, but not lower. She scored 29 points for UNM and took fifth a year after finishing third in the same event last season.
The freestyle races used an interval start in which 40 skiers left the starting gate in 30 second intervals, making for interesting finishes as no one knows how a race really was until their final results are posted.
Eva Sever Rus, who like Cedervärn hasn’t raced much lately due to an illness, came in 17th for UNM, scoring 14 points. Kati Roivas finished 31st, one spot outside of the scoring zone. Still, Sever Rus and Cedervärn’s combined 43 points were good for fifth in the race, UNM’s third straight event where they finished fifth. UNM at leapt over Dartmouth and into fifth place, but that wouldn’t hold after the men’s race, which saw Vermont score just enough points to finish the day in fifth, 14.5 points ahead of UNM.
In the men’s 10K race, only one Lobo scored as Austin Huneck put together a great race, finishing 15th and scoring all of UNM’s 16 points in the race. Austin was sitting 24th after his opening lap, but he was steady, with his second 5K just 13.7 seconds slower than the first (only five skiers were better than that from second leg to first). That steadiness allowed Huneck to zip past nine others and into 15th place. Huneck’s 15th place finish at the NCAAs was actually two spots better than his finish in the meet on the same course, as he was 15th back in January.
No other Lobo scored as UNM was hurt by the late scratch of Aljaž Praznik. Niklas Rombock was his late replacement (actually driving up to Steamboat Springs on Tuesday night with a UNM Assistant A.D.) and opened strong from the 40th position, and finished 36th. Petteri Vaherkoski was 27th but struggled a bit on the second leg and came in 38th.
UNM’s 16 points in the men’s race was good for 10th, but it kept UNM in the discussion of things, although the top four teams separated themselves from the back. For Cedervärn, she becomes UNM’s second All-America honoree of the championships, joining Rob Greig, who was second team All-America in the giant slalom.
Of course who knows what Friday Night Lights will bring as the championships go under the lights for the slalom on Friday. The night course on Howelson Hill will be utilized, with the women’s race starting at 6:30 and the men at 7:15 p.m. Second runs will be at 9 and 9:30 p.m., and can be watched live at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2016/03/11.
Notes: Cedervärn now has three First Team All-America wins in three career chances … a camera crew from UNM University Communications and Marketing was at the race and the championships to film a video feature on Cedervärn … Rombock’s streak of scoring ended at four races … UNM’s better events are left in the championships, as the Lobos are considered better in the slalom for alpine and the classical for Nordic.
Women’s 5K Freestyle Team Scores
Montana State 89, Utah 81, Colorado 59, Denver 54, New Mexico 43, Alaska Fairbanks 38, Northern Michigan 32, Middlebury 30, Vermont 29, Alaska Anchorage 25, New Hampshire 12, Dartmouth 7, Bates 0, Colby 0, Harvard 0, Michigan Tech 0, St. Scholastica 0
Men’s 10K Freestyle Team Scores
Northern Michigan 90, Denver 71, Colorado 67, Utah 60, Vermont 49, Montana State 45, Alaska Anchorage 31, Dartmouth 27, Michigan Tech 19, New Mexico 16, Williams 10, St. Scholastica 6, Colby 5, Middlebury 3, Alaska Fairbanks 0, Green Bay 0, New Hampshire 0
NCAA Standings (through 4 of 8 events)
Montana State 282, Utah 264, Denver 263, Colorado 214.5, Vermont 154, New Mexico 139.5, Dartmouth 126, Alaska Anchorage 124, Northern Michigan 122, Middlebury 81, New Hampshire 75, Alaska-Fairbanks 38, Colby 30, St. Michael’s 23, Williams 21, Michigan Tech 19, Plymouth State 8, St. Scholastica 6, Bates 0, Green Bay 0, Harvard 0.
Cedervärn Earns All-America as Lobos stay in Sixth
