Monday, February 21
Keystone, Colo. / Keystone Resort
ALL DAY
University of Denver
vs
Slalom
Pioneers Have Momentum Heading into RMISA Championships after Five Finish in Top 10 at Denver Invitational
2/21/2022 10:36:00 PM | Skiing
DU skiing finished fourth at its own meet
KEYSTONE, Colo. – All five scorers of the University of Denver ski team placed in the top 10 on Monday as the annual Denver Invitational wrapped up with men's and women's slalom at Keystone Resort.
The Pioneers finished fourth in the team standings at the meet with 266 points, 66 behind winner Utah (332) in the alpine-only meet. Westminster (313) was second while Colorado was third with 288 points, 22 ahead of DU. The invitational began on Friday with giant slalom racing at Copper Mountain Resort.
Denver now travels to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to begin the 2022 RMISA Championships this week. Alpine events are scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday.
"I thought it was good meet," said Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen. "We had some really good performance and some upward trending performances, which is nice going into NCAAs and regionals here later this week. It's been really good to see the right people putting it together and overall as a team we're heading the right way."
Senior Simon Fournier led Denver in the men's slalom in third place, recording his ninth career podium and first of the season. Junior Cole Puckett posted a career high in fifth place and senior Tobias Kogler came in eighth to round out the men's scorers.
Fournier entered the afternoon run in fourth following at 58.49-second first run and put together a solid afternoon session (58.08) to move up into a podium position. It was his highest placement since coming in third in slalom at last year's NCAA Championships.
"I was really happy about today. For me, I had a little bit of a tougher start to the season so to get back on the podium here in one of our last races and in our home meet was great," Fournier said. "The snow conditions were quite nice. I wasn't sure this morning when I was inspecting it if the snow was going to hold up that good, but it was firm underneath.
"I'm a senior now, so it just felt really great to be back on the podium and bring that momentum into our next races and at the NCAAs in a couple weeks."
Puckett had an overall solid day, as he was tied for seventh following run 1 and produced his first career top-five with a 58.11 afternoon time. His previous collegiate best was eighth on three occasions in slalom during his freshman campaign in 2020.
"I started about 15th, which was probably the worst draw I could have had," Puckett said. "People could have been phased by that, but I didn't and went down and had a solid first run and then went down and did it again. I didn't really do anything special. I just skied like I knew how, and it worked out."
On the women's side, Eleri Smart finished seventh while junior Galena Wardle came in eighth. It was Smart's fourth top 10 of the year while Wardle has now finished in the top 10 in six races and in each of the last four.
"It was fun to see Galena continue to trend upwards and gaining some confidence and Eleri coming in and just being solid for us. Overall, a really good day," said Rasanen.
Smart moved up from her first to second run, as she produced the fourth-fastest time in the afternoon session after being ninth in the morning.
In addition, Tristan Lane finished 14th, Trey Seymour came in 21st and Cooper Cornelius was 30th on the men's side. Nora Brand didn't take a second run in the women's slalom after being disqualified from gate 65 from the morning.
UP NEXT: The RMISA Championships open on Wednesday with the alpine giant slalom at Steamboat Resort before the slalom on Thursday at Howelsen Hill. Nordic races start on Friday with the women's 5K and men's 10K classical at Howelsen Hill, and the regional championships conclude on Saturday with the women's 15K and 20K freestyle. The alpine squads will also have two more competitions in Steamboat with final RMISA Alpine Qualifier on Friday and a dual slalom exhibition on Saturday.
All RMISA Championship events will be live-streamed on CU's YouTube and Facebook pages, as the University of Colorado is this year's host.
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7. Eleri Smart, 1:54.06 (54.80/59.26)
8. Galena Wardle, 1:54.11 (54.49/59.62)
DQ: Nora Brand (Run 1, Gate 65),
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3. Simon Fournier, 1:56.57 (58.49/58.08)
5. Cole Puckett, 1:56.87 (58.76/58.11)
8. Tobias Kogler, 1:57.11 (59.31/57.80)
14. Tristan Lane, 1:58.79 (1:00.32/58.47)
21. Trey Seymour, 1:59.28 (1:00.65/58.63)
30. Cooper Cornelius, 2:02.02 (1:02.02/1:00.28)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 4-of-4 events): 1. Utah 332; 2. Westminster 313; 3. Colorado 288; 4. Denver 266; 5. Montana State 240; 6. Colorado Mountain College 190; 7. Alaska Anchorage 146
WOMEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (27 finishers): 1. Denise Dingsleder, WMC, 1:52.13; 2. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:52.91; 3. Eveline Fredricsson, WMC, 1:53.72; 4. Sona Moravcikova, UU, 1:53.96; 5. Katie Vesterstein, UU, 1:53.96; 6. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:54.02; 7. Eleri Smart, DU, 1:54.06; 8. Galena Wardle, DU, 1:54.11; 9. Hannah Saethereng, WMC, 1:54.32; 10. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:54.54.
MEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (35 finishers): 1. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:55.93; 2. Francesco Gori, WMC, 1:56.08; 3. Simon Fournier, DU, 1:56.57; 4. Jeremy Mathers, UU, 1:56.84; 5. Cole Puckett, DU, 1:56.87; 6. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:56.91; 7. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:56.96; 8. Tobias Kogler, DU, 1:57.11; 9. Filip Forejtek, CU, 1:57.14; 10. Gustav Vollo, UU, 1:57.16.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Masks are required at all indoor athletic events. For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Skiing on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Skiing on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Skiing on Instagram
The Pioneers finished fourth in the team standings at the meet with 266 points, 66 behind winner Utah (332) in the alpine-only meet. Westminster (313) was second while Colorado was third with 288 points, 22 ahead of DU. The invitational began on Friday with giant slalom racing at Copper Mountain Resort.
Denver now travels to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to begin the 2022 RMISA Championships this week. Alpine events are scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday.
"I thought it was good meet," said Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen. "We had some really good performance and some upward trending performances, which is nice going into NCAAs and regionals here later this week. It's been really good to see the right people putting it together and overall as a team we're heading the right way."
Senior Simon Fournier led Denver in the men's slalom in third place, recording his ninth career podium and first of the season. Junior Cole Puckett posted a career high in fifth place and senior Tobias Kogler came in eighth to round out the men's scorers.
Fournier entered the afternoon run in fourth following at 58.49-second first run and put together a solid afternoon session (58.08) to move up into a podium position. It was his highest placement since coming in third in slalom at last year's NCAA Championships.
"I was really happy about today. For me, I had a little bit of a tougher start to the season so to get back on the podium here in one of our last races and in our home meet was great," Fournier said. "The snow conditions were quite nice. I wasn't sure this morning when I was inspecting it if the snow was going to hold up that good, but it was firm underneath.
"I'm a senior now, so it just felt really great to be back on the podium and bring that momentum into our next races and at the NCAAs in a couple weeks."
Puckett had an overall solid day, as he was tied for seventh following run 1 and produced his first career top-five with a 58.11 afternoon time. His previous collegiate best was eighth on three occasions in slalom during his freshman campaign in 2020.
"I started about 15th, which was probably the worst draw I could have had," Puckett said. "People could have been phased by that, but I didn't and went down and had a solid first run and then went down and did it again. I didn't really do anything special. I just skied like I knew how, and it worked out."
On the women's side, Eleri Smart finished seventh while junior Galena Wardle came in eighth. It was Smart's fourth top 10 of the year while Wardle has now finished in the top 10 in six races and in each of the last four.
"It was fun to see Galena continue to trend upwards and gaining some confidence and Eleri coming in and just being solid for us. Overall, a really good day," said Rasanen.
Smart moved up from her first to second run, as she produced the fourth-fastest time in the afternoon session after being ninth in the morning.
In addition, Tristan Lane finished 14th, Trey Seymour came in 21st and Cooper Cornelius was 30th on the men's side. Nora Brand didn't take a second run in the women's slalom after being disqualified from gate 65 from the morning.
UP NEXT: The RMISA Championships open on Wednesday with the alpine giant slalom at Steamboat Resort before the slalom on Thursday at Howelsen Hill. Nordic races start on Friday with the women's 5K and men's 10K classical at Howelsen Hill, and the regional championships conclude on Saturday with the women's 15K and 20K freestyle. The alpine squads will also have two more competitions in Steamboat with final RMISA Alpine Qualifier on Friday and a dual slalom exhibition on Saturday.
All RMISA Championship events will be live-streamed on CU's YouTube and Facebook pages, as the University of Colorado is this year's host.
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7. Eleri Smart, 1:54.06 (54.80/59.26)
8. Galena Wardle, 1:54.11 (54.49/59.62)
DQ: Nora Brand (Run 1, Gate 65),
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3. Simon Fournier, 1:56.57 (58.49/58.08)
5. Cole Puckett, 1:56.87 (58.76/58.11)
8. Tobias Kogler, 1:57.11 (59.31/57.80)
14. Tristan Lane, 1:58.79 (1:00.32/58.47)
21. Trey Seymour, 1:59.28 (1:00.65/58.63)
30. Cooper Cornelius, 2:02.02 (1:02.02/1:00.28)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 4-of-4 events): 1. Utah 332; 2. Westminster 313; 3. Colorado 288; 4. Denver 266; 5. Montana State 240; 6. Colorado Mountain College 190; 7. Alaska Anchorage 146
WOMEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (27 finishers): 1. Denise Dingsleder, WMC, 1:52.13; 2. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:52.91; 3. Eveline Fredricsson, WMC, 1:53.72; 4. Sona Moravcikova, UU, 1:53.96; 5. Katie Vesterstein, UU, 1:53.96; 6. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:54.02; 7. Eleri Smart, DU, 1:54.06; 8. Galena Wardle, DU, 1:54.11; 9. Hannah Saethereng, WMC, 1:54.32; 10. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:54.54.
MEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (35 finishers): 1. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:55.93; 2. Francesco Gori, WMC, 1:56.08; 3. Simon Fournier, DU, 1:56.57; 4. Jeremy Mathers, UU, 1:56.84; 5. Cole Puckett, DU, 1:56.87; 6. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:56.91; 7. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:56.96; 8. Tobias Kogler, DU, 1:57.11; 9. Filip Forejtek, CU, 1:57.14; 10. Gustav Vollo, UU, 1:57.16.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: Masks are required at all indoor athletic events. For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Skiing on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Skiing on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Skiing on Instagram
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