COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. – Senior
Tobias Kogler picked up his first victory of the season on Friday as he won the men's giant slalom on the first day of the Denver Invitational at Copper Mountain Resort.
Kogler, who finished second in the GS in Thursday's RMISA Alpine Qualifier race, earned his third podium of the season, all of which have come in giant slalom races. The Austrian native has placed in the top 10 in each of the seven races he's completed this year and picked up his first victory since winning last year's RMISA Championships in the discipline.
The win marked Kogler's 10th of his career, eight of which have been in the GS. He posted the second-fastest first run at 49.45 and was fifth-fastest in the afternoon (49.40) for a two-run total of 1:38.85, edging out second-place Jacob Dilling of Colorado (1:38.92) and third-place Mikkel Solbakken of Westminster (1:38.99).
As a team, the Pioneers are in fourth place following day 1 of their host meet with 132 points, but they are well within striking distance to take the team win heading into the final day of competition. They trail leader Utah (159) by just 27 points, while Colorado and Westminster are tied for second place with 150 points.
Freshman
Cooper Cornelius recorded his second straight 10th-place finish after posting the same result as he did in Thursday's qualifying race, and he has now placed in the top 10 in all five GS races this year. Senior
Simon Fournier was the third scorer for the Pioneers in 11th place, coming just six-hundredths of a second behind Cornelius at 1:40.09.
Tristan Lane finished 16th (tied) in the men's GS, while
Trey Seymour was 25th and
Cole Puckett came in 31st.
Junior
Galena Wardle continued her solid season in the women's giant slalom race by placing fourth—her third top-five and fifth top-10 result of the season. The fourth-place finish was her best ever in a college GS race and tied her career high after also placing fourth in slalom at the Utah Invitational on Jan. 25.
Sophomore
Nora Brand was the only other Pioneer women to compete, coming in 14th.
Montana State's Nellie Talbot won the women's GS, while Colorado Mountain College's Ainsley Proffitt was second and Utah's Kaja Norby was third.
UP NEXT: The Denver Invitational will pause over the weekend before concluding on Monday with the slalom portion of the alpine-only meet at nearby Keystone Resort. The DU Invite is the final regular-season meet before the RMISA Championships begin later next week.
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
4.
Galena Wardle, 1:42:30 (50.77/51.53)
14.
Nora Brand, 1:43.49 (52:46/50.68)
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.
Tobias Kogler, 1:38.85 (49.45/49.40)
10
Cooper Cornelius, 1:40.03 (50.10/49.93)
11.
Simon Fournier, 1:40.09 (50.27/49.82)
16.
Tristan Lane, 1:40.94 (51.34/49.60)
25.
Trey Seymour, 1:41.50 (51.21/50.29)
31:
Cole Puckett, 1:43.91 (52.45/51.46)
TEAM STANDINGS (Through 2-of 4-races): 1. Utah 159; T2. Colorado 15; T2. Westminster 150;
4. Denver 132; 5. Montana State 117; 6. Colorado Mountain 108; 7. Alaska Anchorage 72.
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (27 finishers): 1. Nellie Talbot, MSU, 1:41.40; 2. Ainsley Proffitt, CMC, 1:41.68; 3. Kaja Norbye, CMC, 1:41.89;
4. Galena Wardle, DU, 1:42.30; 5. Sona Moravcikova, UU, 1:42.54; 6. Julia Toiviainen, WMC, 1:42.55; 7. Hannah Saethereng, WMB, 1:42.64; 8. Lana Zbasnik, WMC, 1:42.83; 9. Katie Vesterstein, UU, 1:42.89; 10. Eveline Fredricsson, WMC, 1:42.90.
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (34 finishers): 1. Tobias Kogler, DU, 1:38.85; 2. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:38.92; 3. Mikkel Solbakken, WMC, 1:38.99; 4. Filip Forejtek, CU, 1:39.03; 5. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:39.34; 6. Gustav Voello, UU, 1:39.39; 7. Joachim Lein, UU, 1:39.42; 8. Joachim Mjelde, WMC, 1:39.75; 9. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:39.79;
10. Cooper Cornelius, DU, 1:40.03.
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