LOVELAND SKI AREA, Colo. – The women's alpine squad led the way for the University of Denver ski team on Sunday on the final day of its own meet at Loveland Ski Area.
Five Pioneers finished in the top 11 for the women in the second day of slalom racing at the 2023 Denver Invitational, led by freshman
Sara Rask placing second and junior
Nora Brand joining her on the podium in third. Freshman
Mia Hunt placed eighth, seniors
Eleri Smart and
Galena Wardle came in 10th and 11th, respectively, and freshman
Josephine Trueblood finished 25th.
DU's women's alpine group picked up 94 of the team's 151 overall points on the day to help the Pioneers secure second place at the DU Invitational. Utah won the meet with 734 points. Colorado placed third with 518 points.
Rask fell five-tenths of a second short of picking up her fourth straight victory after sweeping the previous three races this week at the Colorado and Denver Invites. Her total time of 1:32.64 was enough for her to grab her fourth consecutive podium appearance and the sixth time on the stand in seven races in 2023.
Utah's Madison Hoffman won women's slalom after producing the fastest second run to finish in a total of 1:32.14. Ute teammate Michelle Kerven joined her in the top five in fourth place.
Brand picked up her second career podium in as many days after also placing third in the first day of slalom events on Saturday at Loveland. Hunt's eighth-place result was a new career high, while Smart earned her third top 10 of the season.
Cole Puckett led the Denver men by tying for seventh place with a two-run total of 1:37.32—a season-best result for the senior and the sixth top 10 of his career.
The Pioneers' other two scorers in men's slalom were in the top 20, as fifth-year senior
Simon Fournier came in 16th and freshman
Jack Bowers was 18th. Sophomore
Cooper Cornelius finished 22nd and junior
Trey Seymour placed 23rd, while
Adrian Minde Hunshammer (run 1) and
Thomas Hoffman (run 2) both did not finish the race.
Utah's Wilhelm Normannseth won the men's race to sweep the Denver Invitational alpine events and earn his fourth straight victory in the discipline. Counting the CU Invite, Normannseth has four top-five finishes this week after placing fourth and second in giant slaloms at Eldora Mountain Resort.
A pair of Montana State Bobcats rounded out the men's podium with Gianluca Boehm in second and Henry Heaydon in third.
UP NEXT: The Pioneers are back in action on Feb. 20-25 with a pair of meets in Alaska to close out the 2023 regular season, competing in the Alaska Anchorage Invitational and RMISA Championships.
DENVER INVITATIONAL FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (through 8-of-8 events): 1. Utah 734;
2. Denver 608; 3. Colorado 518; 4. Montana State 494; 5. Alaska Anchorage 422; 6. Westminster 266; 7. Alaska Fairbanks 220; 8. Colorado Mountain College 145; 9. Nevada 106; 10. Wyoming 68
WOMEN'S SLALOM 2 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2.
Sara Rask, 1:32.64 (44.78/47.86)
3.
Nora Brand, 1:33.39 (44.51/48.88)
8.
Mia Hunt, 1:34.20 (45.35/48.85)
10.
Eleri Smart, 1:34.60 (45.73/48.87)
11.
Galena Wardle, 1:34.75 (46.26/48.49)
25.
Josephine Trueblood, 1:38.61 (47.87/50.74)
MEN'S SLALOM 1 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T7.
Cole Puckett, 1:37.32 (46.60/50.72)
16.
Simon Fournier, 1:37.74 (46.97/50.82)
18.
Jack Bowers, 1:38.00 (45.82/52.18)
22.
Cooper Cornelius, 1:39.15 (47.19/51.96)
23.
Trey Seymour, 1:39.83 (48.12/51.71)
DNF:
Adrian Minde Hunshammer (DNF Run 1),
Thomas Hoffman (46.42/DNF Run 2)
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