University of Utah Classical Sprint Results | Montana State Invitational Giant Slalom Results
PARK CITY, Utah & BIG SKY, Mont. — University of New Mexico Head Ski Coach Fredrik Landstedt might want to tell rookie sophomore Krista Niiranen it’s not really this easy. Then again, it might not matter. Niiranen goes down in the history books for UNM and RMISA as the first winner of a sprint race, winning the classical sprint, headlining a solid day for the Lobos as the team picked up four top 10s, one in each of the four races on the day.
Along with the sprints in Utah as a part of the Utah Invitational, the Montana State Invitational began with the giant slalom. After the four Nordic races in the Utah Invitational, the Lobos are currently in fourth place with the alpine races set for next weekend. After the giant slaloms at the Montana State Invitational, the Lobos are currently in fifth place.
The sprints haven’t been run in the RMISA in nearly 30 years. For Utah Invitational scoring, the only times that were used were the qualifying runs. Niiranen was the only Lobo to advance to the quarterfinals, and she advanced all the way to the finals, where she came in sixth place.
Niiranen’s win was certainly the highlight, but it wasn’t the only nice mark, although it was UNM’s only podium on the day. In the men’s classical sprint, Petteri Vaherkoski came in sixth place, just one spot off of his best career finish. Kati Roivas finished in 17th place and Julia Devaux tied for 21st. Not scoring for UNM was Julie Ensrud in 29th and Brenna Egan in 31st. Eva Sever Rus did not race.
On the men’s side along with Vaherkoski, Arnaud Guyon finished 16th and Niklas Rombock finished 18th. Aljaž Pranzik finished 21st and Kyle Beling was 30th and both didn’t score.
The alpine squads also had top 10s to brag about. On the women’s side, Karoline Søvik Myklebust, who was in the running for a podium on Saturday before skiing out, finished eighth for her 14th career top-10 finish. Along with Myklebust, Sydney Staples finished 14th and Katharine Irwin finished 17th. Taylor Grauer didn’t score but finished 19th for her 12th career top-20 finish and Alexandra Sjöström came in 27th.
On the men’s side, Vegard Busengdal came in 10th place, followed by Rob Grieg in 15th and Alex Barounos in 18th place. For Barounos, it’s his second straight top-20 after not having one in 2016. Patrick Brancher finished 26th and Tyler Theis 31st. Nick Veth and Isak Klein didn’t finish.
The Montana State Invitational will continue tomorrow at Big Sky Resort with the slalom races, starting at 10 a.m. Fans can follow on www.live-timing.com, and updates will be on the official Ski Team Twitter, @UNMSkiing.