LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Senior Bernhard Flaschberger and sophomore Andreas Kirkeng posted top-five finishes in the men's Nordic 10-kilometer freestyle on Thursday morning, and the Denver Pioneers ski team is just 49 points out of the lead at the halfway point of the 2023 NCAA Championships.
 
"Great start for the Nordic squad here. The big story of the day is the men and just the dominant performance they did as a team," said Denver Nordic Head Coach Rogan Brown. "Looking for a little bit more from the women for their individual performances, but they gained some valuable points for us in the team standings and they're looking forward to the long-distance classic races."
 
The Nordic portion of this year's championships got underway at Mt. Van Hoevenberg at the Olympic Sports Complex, and the Pioneers picked up 113 points on the second day competition—one of four teams to eclipse the century mark on with the opening cross country events.
 
Denver is in third place overall with 230.5 points and is just 32.5 points behind second-place Utah (263) and 49 behind Colorado (279.5), which held onto its lead following alpine giant slalom on Thursday.
 
Flaschberger finished the 10K interval start race in third place with a time of 23:03.5, and Kirkeng was 17.2 seconds behind his teammate in with a 23:20.7 mark. Sophomore Elijah Weenig also had a solid race and came in 13th for his fourth top-15 result in freestyle this season.
 
"I'm specifically proud of Elijah for coming in and getting that 13th spot and getting those team points for us," Brown said. "Berni was third and Andreas fourth and right there in the fight for the top three of the podium. It came down to the last 5K there. It was really tight, but Berni is supper happy with that one and same with Andreas. "
 
For Flaschberger, he picks up his fifth podium finish of the season and his second career spot on the stand at the national championships. He also placed third in the 10K freestyle as a freshman in 2020.
 
Kirkeng joined Flaschberger in earning All-American honors, bettering his 11th-place finish in the 20K freestyle at last year's championships. It is his second career top five at nationals, as he won silver in the 10K classic in 2022.
 
Alaska Fairbanks' Joe Davies won the individual national championship in the freestyle by completing his 10K in 22:33.2. John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth joined Davies and Flaschberger on the podium in second (22:58.2).
 
In the women's 5K freestyle, junior Hanna Ray led the Pioneers in 12th and freshman Selma Andersen placed 20th. Ray clocked in at 13:31.1 for her best-ever result in the discipline at the NCAA Championships. Andersen finished in 13:57.6 in her debut at nationals.
 
Utah's Novie McCabe won her second career individual national championship by completing the course in 12:46.3. Jasmine Lyons of New Hampshire was second in 12:59.2 and Anna-Maria Dietze of Colorado was also on the podium with a time of 13:01.6.
 
Alaska Fairbanks was the biggest winner of the day as the Nanooks led the field with 150 total points, while Utah recorded the second-most with 148 points.
 
UP NEXT: The second half of his year's championships begins on Friday with the final alpine events in the men's and women's slalom at nearby Whiteface Mountain Resort. The first runs start at 7 a.m. MT and run 2 is set for 10 a.m. (men) and 11 a.m. MT (women). Nordic wraps up the 2023 NCAA Championships on Saturday with the 20K classic, with the women beginning the mass start at 8 a.m. MT and the men conducting their distance event at 10 a.m. MT.
 
ROGAN BROWN ON UPCOMING CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY: "I think it's always a motivating factor, being in the hunt with the points so close with Utah and CU. I think it's always super exciting on the alpine days. Anything can happen and we're excited to watch our alpine counterparts do what they do tomorrow, and I think that always brings extra motivation. I think coming from behind is also a big motivator, knowing that we can chip away at that deficit."
 
NOTES

• Denver briefly took a six-point lead in the overall standings following the men's race with 200.5 points (CU, 194.5 points).
• The Denver men finished second in the team event with 83 points, one fewer than winner Alaska Fairbanks (84). The women were eighth in the team race (30 points).
• Bernhard Flaschberger posted at least the third-fastest time in each of the final six splits (7.5K), including being second-fastest at the third split (3.75K).
• Flaschberger recorded his fifth podium of the season and has placed in the top 10 in all 12 collegiate races in 2023. He has finished in the top 10 in all six career races at nationals.
• Andreas Kirkeng picked up his second career top five at nationals (second in 2022 10K classic). He recorded his ninth top-five performance in 11 races this year.
• Flaschberger and Kirkeng both earned First-Team All-American accolades, bringing DU's total All-America awards to five—the third-most at these championships.

 
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3. Bernhard Flaschberger, 23:03.5
4. Andreas Kirkeng, 23:20.7
13. Elijah Weenig, 24:08.6
 
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
13. Hanna Ray, 13:31.1
20. Selma Andersen, 13:57.6
 
TEAM STANDINGS (through 4-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 279.5; 2. Utah 263; 3. Denver 230.5; 4. Dartmouth 153.5; 5. Alaska Fairbanks 150; 6. Montana State 138; 7. New Hampshire 122; 8. Vermont 121; 9. Middlebury 103; 10. Westminster College 97; 11. St. Michael's College 95; 12. Michigan Tech 60; 13. Plymouth State 50; 14. Alaska Anchorage 38; 15. Colby College 31; 16. Harvard 27; 17. St. Lawrence 19; 18. Northern Michigan 8.5; 19. Nevada 8; T20. Bowdoin 0; T20. St. Scholastica 0; T20. Williams 0
 
MEN'S 10K FREESTYLE TOP 10 (40 finishers): 1. Joe Davies, UAF, 22.33.2; 2. John Steel Hagenbuch, DAR, 22:58.2; 3. Bernhard Flaschberger, DU, 23:03.5; 4. Andreas Kirkeng, DU, 23:20.7; 5. Mike Ophoff, UAF, 23:39.0; 6. Luke Jager, UU, 23:39.1; 7. Remi Brolet, HAR, 23:39.4; 8. Walker Hall, UU, 23:51.3; 9. Will Koch, CU, 23:55.9; 10. Magnus Boee, CU, 23:56.5.
 
WOMEN'S 5K FREESTYLE TOP 10 (39 finishers): 1. Novie McCabe, UU, 12:46.3; 2. Jasmine Lyons, UNH, 12:59.2; 3. Anna-Maria Dietze, CU, 13:01.6; 4. Sophia Laulki, UU, 13:02.6; 5. Hanna Abrahamsson, CU, 13:03.3; 6. Mariel Pulles, UAF, 13:08.2; 7. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 13:17.8; 8. Anabel Needham, MTU, 13:23.3; 9. Weronika Kaleta, CU, 13:24.6; 10. Ava Thurston, DAR, 13:25.5.


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