RMISA Championships Day 1 Results
ANCHORAGE, Ak. — For the first time in five freestyle races, Kornelius Grøv didn’t win, but he finished fourth and teammate Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier finished second pacing the Lobos to a second-place finish in the men’s 10K freestyle at the RMISA Championships in Palmer, Alaska. Overall, the Lobos are fourth through two events.
Grøv was attempting to break a tie with Jimmy Vika for most freestyle wins in a season by a Lobo, as Vika had four in 2003, and Grøv won each of his first four races this season. However, it was Izquierdo-Bernier that was in the lead through the first of two laps in the 10K race. Izquierdo-Bernier, who has a classic win on the season, finished second, 14.1 behind Colorado’s Erik Dengerud. For Izquierdo-Bernier, it marked his third second place finish in a freestyle event this season.
He scored 37 points, and Grøv wasn’t far behind, barely missing another podium by 2.9 seconds. Still, his fourth-place finish gained UNM 31 points. Johan Eirik Meland continued his strong season with a 16th place finish, giving him 17 points and giving UNM 85 points, good for second place behind Colorado.
Ben Berend was UNM’s non-scoring finisher, coming in 32nd place.
On the women’s side, the squad didn’t fare as well, as they team finishing in a bunch, with all four Lobos within five places of each other. However, all finished outside the top-20, with Savanna Fassio finishing 24th to lead UNM. She scored 13 points, and right behind her was Dariya Kuznetsova in 25th, scoring 12 points. Julie Spets was 26th for 11 points, and Brenna Egan was 28th. UNM’s 36 points placed UNM seventh in the race.
The RMISA Regional takes a day off before resuming with the women’s 15K classic and the men’s 20k classic on Friday at noon and 1:30 p.m. Mountain Time. The Lobo alpine squad will run the fifth and sixth events of the UAA Invitational tomorrow starting at noon Mountain Time, the giant slalom, at Alyeska Resort.