SNOWBIRD, Utah – Denver freshman
Sara Rask picked up two podiums in her first collegiate races and earned her first victory on Thursday as the Westminster Invitational got underway with a pair of slalom events at Snowbird Resort.
The University of Denver Ski Team is in second place at the halfway point of the alpine-only meet with 181 points, one point behind leader Utah.
DU's women's squad combined for six top-10 finishes and had nine results in the top 15 in the two slaloms on the day. After placing second in the morning (1:37.99)—16-hundredths of a second behind winner Madison Hoffman of Utah—Rask earned her first NCAA win in the afternoon by finishing the downhill course in 1:34:49.
Junior
Nora Brand joined her DU teammate with a pair of top-five results—the first of her career—by placing fourth in each event, clocking in at 1:39:48 in the first race and 1:36:43 in the second.
Eleri Smart (morning) and
Galena Wardle (afternoon) both earned top-10 results as well. Wardle finished the first race in 12th, while Smart came in 18th in the second session.
Making their collegiate debuts along with Rask, freshman
Mia Hunt came in 14th in both races while fellow rookie
Jospehine Trueblood placed 26th and 24th, respectively.
Utah's Hoffman and Michelle Kerven joined Rask on both podiums, as Hoffman came in second in the second race while Kerven earned two bronze medals on the day.
UP NEXT: The alpine-only Westminster Invitational concludes on Friday with two men's slalom races at Snowbird Resort.
NOTES
- Freshmen Mia Hunt, Sara Rask and Josephine Trueblood all made their college debuts.
- Each of Rask's four runs on the day placed in the top three overall. She had fastest two runs in the second race after posting the fastest run in the first race (3rd in run 2 of race 1).
- Nora Brand (4th, run 2 of race 1; and 4th, run 1 of race 2) and Eleri Smart (5th, run 1 of race 2) both had top-five fastest run.
- Brand's pair of fourth-place results were career bests
- Galena Wardle picked up her 10th career top 10 and fifth in slalom.
- DU placed second behind Utah (93) in the first race with 89 points and won the second race with 92 points, besting UU by three points (89).
DENVER WOMEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2.
Sara Rask, 1:37.99 (47.73/50.26)
4.
Nora Brand, 1:39.48 (48.77/50.71)
10.
Eleri Smart, 1:40.16 (48.75/51.41)
12.
Galena Wardle, 1:40.88 (49.75/51.13)
14.
Mia Hunt, 1:41.36 (49.65/51.71)
26.
Josephine Trueblood, 1:43.63 (51.04/52.59)
DENVER MEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.
Sara Rask, 1:34.49 (44.75/49.74)
4.
Nora Brand, 1:36.43 (45.87/50.56)
10.
Galena Wardle, 1:39.97 (47.30/52.67)
14.
Mia Hunt, 1:40.59 (49.19/51.40)
18.
Eleri Smart, 1:40.83 (46.51/54.32)
24.
Josephine Trueblood, 1:42.49 (49.54/52.95)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-4 events): 1. Utah 182;
2. Denver 181; 3. Montana State 129; 4. Alaska Anchorage 127; 5. Westminster 111; 6. Colorado 109; 7. Nevada 58; 8. Colorado Mountain 29.
WOMEN'S SLALOM 1 TOP 10 (46 finishers): 1. Madison Hoffman, UU, 1:37.83;
2. Sara Rask, DU, 1:37.99; 3. Michelle Kerven, UU, 1:38.19;
4. Nora Brand, DU, 1:39.48; 5. Ella Bronee, UAA, 1:39.55; 6. Evelina Fredricsson, WMC, 1:39.81; 7. Kaitlyn Harsch, CU, 1:39.82; 8. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:39.92; 9. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:40.14;
10. Eleri Smart, DU, 1:40.16.
WOMEN'S SLALOM 2 TOP 10 (38 finishers): 1. Sara Rask, DU, 1:34.49; 2. Madison Hoffman, 1:35.92; 3. Michelle Kerven, UU, 1:36.00;
4. Nora Brand, DU, 1:36.43; 5. Justine LaMontagne, MSU, 1:37.43; 6. Ella Bronee, UAA, 1:38.26; 7. Kristine Bekkestad, MSU, 1:38.71; 8. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:39.20; 9. Ylva Falksete, MSU, 1:39.69;
10. Galena Wardle, DU, 1:39.97.
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