Feb. 7, 2003

Crested Butte, Colo. - The three-time defending national champion University of Denver ski team finished the first day of the Western State College Invitational in third place today in Crested Butte. The Pioneers concluded action with 272 points, 37 points behind tournament leader Utah, who finished the day with 309. Coming in second was New Mexico with 287 points.

Local junior Chris Berg (Dillon, Colo.) led the men with a second-place finish in the giant slalom with a time of 2:01.40, which was .40 behind Utah's Pierre Olsson. Also showing Denver's depth in the Nordic events was sophomore Dominik Schweiger (Waengle, Austria) who came in .01 seconds behind seventh with a time of 2:02.51 and sophomore David Lamb (Waengle, Austria), who came in at 2:02.92 which earned him a tie for 12th.

Pacing the Pioneer's in the classical event was the freshman sensation Martin Bartnes (Bartnes, Norway) who took fifth with a time of 31:50.7. Sophomore Zach Hill (Anchorage, Alaska) came in 10th with a time of 32:54.2 and was followed closely by 11th place senior Dylan Prosser (Anchorage, Alaska) who came in seven seconds later (33:02.2) to round out the team's top-three.

The women contributed to the cause with three top-15 times in the giant slalom, headed up by sophomore standout Barbara Knor (Unhausen, Austria) who finished .39 seconds behind second to clinch fourth with a time of 2:07.84. Coming in 10th with a time of 2:08.90 was freshman Sophia Baeck (Saltsjoebaden, Sweden) and less then a second behind was junior Christina Metzger (Barrie, Ontario) who took 14th with 2:09.78 on the clock.

Denver's three skiers in the women's classical came in one after another to take ninth, 10th and 11th. Leading the pack was junior Karin Camenisch (Klosters, Switzerland) who recorded a time of 19:03.7. Next came sophomore Tara Hamilton (Anchorage, Alaska) and junior Nina Karvonen (Suomussalmi, Finland) who finished with times of 19:24.2 and 19.25.6, respectively.

The Western State College Invitational will conclude tomorrow with the slalom and freestyle events.

Top Denver Finishes:

Men's Giant Slalom- 2nd, Christopher Berg, 2:01.40; 8th, Dominik Schweiger, 2:02.51; t-12th, David lamb, 2:02.92.

Men's Classical- 5th, Martin Bartnes, 31:50.7; 10th, Zach Hill, 32:54.2; 11th, Dylan Prosser, 33:02.2.

Women's Giant Slalom- 4th, Barbara Knor, 2:07.84; 10th, Sophia Baeck, 2:08.90; 14th, Christina Metzger, 2:09.78.

Women's Classical- 9th, Karin Camenisch, 19:03.7; 10th, Tara Hamilton, 19:24.2; 11th, Nina Karvonen, 19:25.6.