NEDERLAND, Colo. – No one was better in women's giant slalom on Thursday than Sara Rask, as the freshman on the University of Denver ski team won the event in dominant fashion at Eldora Mountain Resort on the third day of the Spencer James Nelson Memorial Colorado Invitational.
 
Rask posted the fastest mark in both runs and won the GS by nearly a second. Clocking in with a total time of 1:44.92, she bettered second-place Madison Hoffman of Utah by 93-hundredths of a second (1:45.85) and third-place Evelina Fredricsson of Westminster by 1.4 seconds (1:46.32). Hoffman posted the second fastest run in each interval.
 
It was the Stockholm, Sweden, native's first GS win and second career victory on the RMISA circuit after picking up her first in the second slalom event at the Westminster Invitational on Jan. 26 in Snowbird, Utah.
 
Thursday marked the first full giant slalom race of the season, as the event at the Montana State Invite on Jan. 31 was called official after the first run due to weather and course conditions. Rask was sixth at the time.
 
Junior Nora Brand also earned a top 10 in sixth place for the Pioneers with a time of 1:46.84, while freshman Mia Hunt also scored for the squad in 13th place (1:47.68). Denver finished tied with Utah for the team win in the women's race with 85 points apiece.
 
Galena Wardle finished 18th, Eleri Smart came in 22nd and freshman Josephine Trueblood placed 34th.
 
The men had a tougher day, as only three of the seven skiers were able to complete both runs. Senior Simon Fournier led the Pios with a seventh-place result, clocking in with a two-run total of 1:40.14. He used the fifth-fastest second run (50.44) to move up six spots after placing 13th following his first descent.
 
Trey Seymour was DU's other scorer in 25th, while Cole Puckett placed 38th. Cooper Cornelius (Run 1), Jack Bowers (Run 2), Thomas Hoffman (Run 2) and Adrian Minde Hunshammer (Run 2) all posted DNFs.
 
The CU Buffs led the men's giant slalom with Filip Forejtek placing first and Jacob Dilling coming in second. Utah's Gustav Vollo joined the Boulder duo on the stand in third and had teammate Wilhelm Normannseth close behind in fourth place.
 
In the overall meet standings, Denver didn't make up any ground on leader Colorado. The Pioneers entered the alpine races in third place and remained in that position heading into the last day of the invite, trailing leader CU by 124 points and second-place Utah by 74 points. Denver is 27 points up on Montana State in fourth (371).
 
UP NEXT: The Colorado Invitational concludes on Friday with the second day of giant slalom racing at Eldora Mountain Resort. The DU Invite also starts on Friday with the Nordic 5K freestyle at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colorado. The 10K classic events are set for Saturday, which is also the first of two days of slalom races at Loveland Ski Area in the Pioneers-hosted meet.
 
 
NOTES

• Sara Rask posted the fastest in both runs, while while Nora Brand was the sixth-fastest collegiate in each interval.
• Nora Brand's sixth place finish marked her fourth career top 10 and third of the season. It was her first in GS, as the sixth marked a career-best finish for her.
• Freshman Mia Hunt scored for the Pioneer women for the first in her career.
• Simon Fournier earned his fifth career top 10 in giant slalom. He placed eighth in the discipline on Wednesday in the RMISA Alpine Qualifiers at Eldora.
• The Denver men finished seventh in the men's team event on the day with 37 points.
• Overall, DU recorded the fifth-most alpine points on the day with 122.

 
DENVER WOMEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Sara Rask, 1:44.92 (51.61/53.31)
6. Nora Brand, 1:46.73 (52.49/54.35)
13. Mia Hunt, 1:47.68 (53.15/54.33)
18. Galena Wardle, 1:48.04 (52.93/55.11)
22. Eleri Smart, 1:49.52) (54.22/55.30)
34. Josephine Trueblood, 1:51.85 (54.93/56.92)
 
DENVER MEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
7. Simon Fournier, 1:40.14 (49.70/50.44)
25. Trey Seymour, 1:42.34 (50.61/51.73)
38. Cole Puckett, 1:48.12 (50.16/57.96) – designated as non-team scorer
DNF: Cooper Cornelius (Run 1), Jack Bowers (49.59/DNF Run 2), Thomas Hoffman (50.19/DNF Run 2), Adrian Minde Hunshammer (50.23/DNF Run2)
 
TEAM STANDINGS (through 6-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 522; 2. Utah 472; 3. Denver 398; 4. Montana State 371. 5. Alaska Anchorage 280; 6. Alaska Fairbanks 231; 7. Westminster 131; 8. Nevada 58; 9. Colorado Mountain College 51; 10. Wyoming 30
 
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (39 finishers): 1. Sara Rask, DU, 1:44.92; 2. Madison Hoffman, UU, 1:45.85; 3. Evelina Fredricsson, WMC, 1:46.32; 4. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 1:46.34; 5. Claire Timmermann, UU, 1:46.73; 6. Nora Brand, DU, 1:46.73; 7. Ashleigh Alexander, UAA, 1:47.03; 8. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:47.04; 9. Ainsley Proffit, UAA,1:47.23; 10. Denise Dingsleder, WMC, 1:47.31.
 
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (38 finishers): 1. Filip Forejtek, CU, 1:38.90; 2. Jacob Dilling, CU, 1:39.40; 3. Gustav Vollo, UU, 1:39.50; 4. Wilhelm Normannseth, UU, 1:39.68; 5. Riley Seger, MSU, 1:39.75; 6. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:40.13; 7. Simon Fournier, DU, 1:40.14; 8. Mikkel Solbakken, WMC, 1:40.14; 9. Matthew Macaluso, CMC, 1:40.42; 10. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:40.44

 
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