WILMINGTON, N.Y. – Freshman Sara Rask finished second in women's giant slalom and the University of Denver ski team is in second place after the first day of the 2023 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid.
The first of four days of competition began at nearby Whiteface Mountain Ski Area with the men's and women's giant slalom and saw the Pioneers earn All-American honors with three skiers in the top 10. Denver garnered 117.5 points on the day, 1.5 points more than third-place and defending national champion Utah and 22 points behind leader Colorado (139.5).
Overall, RMISA schools are in each of the top five positions in the team standings, with Montana State in fourth place with 108 points and Westminster College in fifth with 97 points.
"Good first day here in Lake Placid. The girls definitely held their own in the GS—had some nerves out there but put it together on the second run," said Denver Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen. "It was fun to have someone on the podium and Sara delivered today, and we finished with two All-Americans. That's a big day for the girls here. The boys kept their own and had a solid day. They definitely had more in the tank but a good first day for them. We battled hard overall, and we're very excited going into slalom on Friday. We're sitting in a good spot and looking forward to the rest of the week."
Third after the first run (1:06.20), Rask posted the fastest-second time in the afternoon at 1:05.70 to earn her first career medal at the NCAA Championships and her 10th podium of the season. Rask posted her fifth consecutive podium in GS and finished with a total time of 2:11.90, but the strong afternoon wasn't enough to overtake Madison Hoffman of Utah.
Hoffman, the sister of Denver alpine skier Thomas Hoffman, claimed the individual national championship with a total of 2:10.66, finishing an impressive 1.24 seconds ahead of Rask and recorded the second-fastest second run (1:05.88) behind the Pioneer rookie. Justine Lamontagne of Montana State was third at 2:12.49.
DU junior Nora Brand earned second-team All-American accolades by clocking in at 2:13.90 to place seventh overall, the same spot she held after the first run. Freshman Mia Hunt moved up three spots from her opening descent and came in 25th (2:18.22), garnering six points for the Pioneers. All three women's skiers were making their NCAA debut.
Denver was led in men's giant slalom with a pair of top-15 finishers with sophomore Cooper Cornelius in 10th and fifth-year senior Simon Fournier tied for 13th. Cornelius earned All-America accolades (second team) for the first time in his career.
Cornelius picked up 21 points by posting a time of 2:08.37 and Fournier earned 17.5 points after matching CU's Jacob Dilling with a mark of 2:08.62. Freshman Jack Bowers was DU's third scorer, as he moved up three positions following the first run to finish 20th in 2:09.27.
Colorado won the men's team event after placing two on the top of the stand. Filip Forejtek won the national title in 2:07.16 and teammate Louis Fausa was close behind in second in 2:08.54. Montana State's Riley Seger joined the Buffaloes' duo on the podium in third place at 2:07.61.
UP NEXT: The Nordic competition kicks off on Thursday with the women's 5K and men's 10K freestyle interval start at Mt. Van Hovenberg at the Olympic Sports Complex. The men's race begins at 8 a.m. MT, while the women start at 10 a.m. MT. Alpine wraps up its championships on Friday with slalom at Whiteface Mountain.
NOTES:
- Denver was second among team in women's giant slalom with 68 points, five behind Utah (73).
- The Pioneers finished fifth in the men's GS team standings with 49.5 points. CU won with 94.5 points.
- DU had All-Americans on Day 1, tied for the second-most among all schools: Sara Rask (First Team), Nora Brand (Second Team), Cooper Cornelius (Second Team).
- The Pios had someone place second in women's GS for the second straight season (2022, Katie Hensien) and has had at least one woman earn a podium in each of the last four championships (since 2020).
- Jack Bowers joined the three DU women in making his NCAA Championships debut.
- Bowers had the seventh-fastest time in the second run.
- Cooper Cornelius posted the fifth-fastest first run.
- Simon Fournier moved up from 17th after the first run with the fifth-fastest run 2.
- Sara Rask had the fastest second run after being third fastest in run 1.
- Nora Brand was seventh and sixth-fastest in run 1 and 2, respectively.
DENVER WOMEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2. Sara Rask, 2:11.90 (1:06.20/1:05.70)
7. Nora Brand, 2:13.90 (1:07.25/1:06.65)
25. Mia Hunt, 2:18.22 (1:10.36/1:07.86)
DENVER MEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
10. Cooper Cornelius, 2:08.37 (1:04.54/1:03.83)
T13. Simon Fournier, 2:08.62 (1:05.74/1:02.88)
20. Jack Bowers, 2:09.27 (1:06.24/1:03.03)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 139.5; 2. Denver 117.5; 3. Utah 115; 4. Montana State 108; 5. Westminster College 97; 6. St. Michael's College 95; 7. Vermont 67; 8. Dartmouth 61; 9. Middlebury 51; 10. Plymouth State 50; 11. New Hampshire 49; 12. Colby College 26; 13. Nevada 8; 14. Alaska Anchorage 7; 15. St. Lawrence 3; 16. Harvard 2
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (29 finishers): 1. Madison Hoffman, UU, 2:10.66; 3. Sara Rask, DU, 2:11.90; 3. Justine LaMontagne, MSU, 2:12.49; 4. Hannah Saethereng, WMC, 2:13.04; 5. Emma Hammergaard, CU, 2:13.42; 6. Allie Resnick, DAR, 2:13.74; 7. Nora Brand, DU 2:13.90; 8. Helene Kristoffersson, SMC, 2:13.96; 9. Lynda Riddel, CBC, 2:15.34; 10. Katie Parker, UU, 2:15.56.
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (29 finishers): 1. Filip Forejtek, CU, 2:07.16; 2. Louis Fausa, CU, 2:07.54; 3. Riley Seger, MSU, 2:07.61; 4. Joachim Lindstol, UVM, 2:08.07; 5. Oscar Zimmer, DAR, 2:08.11; 6. Simen Strand, SMC, 2:08.19; 7. Gustav Vollo, UU, 2:08:22; 8. Erik Kveno, SMC, 2:08.23; 9. Gray Flanagan, SMC, 2:08.31; 10. Cooper Cornelius, DU, 2:08.37.
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