Two more top 10s highlight RMISA GS Qualifier
RMISA Giant Slalom Qualifier #2
BOZEMAN, Mont. — While it wasn’t quite as good as yesterday, the Lobos will take it. Soňa Moravčíková and Vegard Busengdal both picked up top-10 finishes as the Lobos took a one-day sabbatical from the Montana State Invitational to compete in the second of two RMISA Giant Slalom qualifiers.
The Montana State Invitational resumes on Friday with the men’s and women’s slalom races, and the Nordic freestyle races. The RMISA hosts two extra giant slalom qualifiers during the season for NCAA qualification points since there are only three regular season GS races.
The Lobos, who are second in the MSU Invitational after yesterday’s giant slalom, saw a tough go early as four of six members of the women’s team skied out during the morning’s opening run. Katherine Irwin, Antonia Wearmouth, Rebecca Fiegl and Chloe Margue all couldn’t finish during a tricky morning course.
The two that did finish did well. Moravčíková was eighth after her opening run and was able to bump that up to seventh after the afternoon run, giving her a fourth top-10 mark of the season. Haley Cutler was the other Lobo to finish, sitting 15th after the first run and coming in 16th overall, despite not being 100%.
The men had a little more luck and traction on their course. Busengdal and Sandberg sat at the back-end of the top 10 after the morning run, and Busengdal eventually came in ninth to lead UNM. The Lobos were bunched up, with Sanderberg finishing 11th and then Alex Barounos continuing his hot skiing, coming in 13th. That tied high overall career-high finish, and it was his best giant slalom finish, topping the 14th place finish from yesterday.
Tyler Theis came in 18th for UNM, and Nick Veth just missed a second straight top-20 mark for himself, coming in 22nd.
There was no team scoring in the event. Had there been, UNM would have finished fourth on the men’s side and seventh on the women’s side. Yesterday UNM won the men’s giant slalom and the women were third.
NOTES: The men’s and women’s slalom races will be Saturday as a part of the Montana State Invitational … this season UNM’s men’s alpine team has raced four times, all giant slaloms. The team will have five of the final six regular season races as slaloms, starting on Friday … the Nordic teams will also open competition at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center (formerly Bohart Ranch) with the women’s 5K and men’s 10K freestyle races. The Interval start races will be at 10 for the women and 11 for the men.