Friday, January 12
Midway, Utah / Soldier Hollow Nordic Center
10 a.m. MT
University of Denver
vs
7.5K Freestyle
Photo by: Copyright 2023 Skip Hickey / SkipsPics, all rights reserved
Pioneers Begin Utah Skiing Invitational This Weekend
1/11/2024 11:30:00 PM | Skiing
DU wraps up two weeks of skiing at Soldier Hollow
MIDWAY, Utah – The Denver Pioneers ski team continues the RMISA Nordic circuit with the Utah Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
The Utah Invite begins on Friday with the 7.5-kilometer freestyle interval start. The Nordic portion concludes with a pursuit race on Saturday in the 10K classical format.
Denver wraps up two weeks in Utah with the UU Invitational after participating in the U.S. Cross Country National Championships last week at Soldier Hollow. The Pioneers opened the 2024 regular season with the Westminster Invitational on Jan. 2-4 and a RMISA Qualifier classical sprint on Jan. 7, as those three races were held in conjunction with U.S. Nationals.
DU finished the Nordic portion of the Westminster Invite in second place with 309 points, just 44 behind leader Utah (353).
The Pioneer men's trio of juniors Andreas Kirkeng and Elijah Weenig and graduate student Florian Knopf combined for eight top-10 finishes in the last week's three RMISA races, and each skied placed in the top 12 in all three events.
Kirkeng won the 10K classic on Jan. 2 while Knopf placed in the top four in all three races, including with a pair of runner-up performances in freestyle sprints on Jan. 4 and classic sprints on Jan. 7. Weenig posted a career best in freestyle sprints. He also earned an American bronze and placed fifth overall in a 20K classical race at U.S. Nationals on Jan. 5, an event that wasn't part of the RMISA schedule.
The women received solid performances from graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb, senior Hanna Ray, sophomore Selma Andersen and freshman Maja Moland. Ray posted a personal best in fifth and Anderson was 10th in the 10K classic on Jan. 2, Moland placed eighth in freestyle sprints on Jan. 4, and Semb scored for the Pios with a pair of 13th-place results in the Westminster races.
The alpine portion of the Utah and Westminster Invitationals are set to begin next week, with the meets alternating days on Jan. 17-20 at Olympic Park in Park City. After this weekend, the next Nordic races are Feb. 2-3 with the Colorado Invite in Steamboat Springs in what will be a tune-up for March's NCAA Championships at the same venues.
UTAH INVITATIONAL NORDIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 12
7.5K Freestyle (interval start)
10:00 a.m. MT – Men begin
11:15 a.m. MT – Women begin
Saturday, Jan. 13
10K Classic (Pursuit)
9:30 a.m. MT – Women's race
10:45 a.m. MT – Men's race
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!
The Utah Invite begins on Friday with the 7.5-kilometer freestyle interval start. The Nordic portion concludes with a pursuit race on Saturday in the 10K classical format.
Denver wraps up two weeks in Utah with the UU Invitational after participating in the U.S. Cross Country National Championships last week at Soldier Hollow. The Pioneers opened the 2024 regular season with the Westminster Invitational on Jan. 2-4 and a RMISA Qualifier classical sprint on Jan. 7, as those three races were held in conjunction with U.S. Nationals.
DU finished the Nordic portion of the Westminster Invite in second place with 309 points, just 44 behind leader Utah (353).
The Pioneer men's trio of juniors Andreas Kirkeng and Elijah Weenig and graduate student Florian Knopf combined for eight top-10 finishes in the last week's three RMISA races, and each skied placed in the top 12 in all three events.
Kirkeng won the 10K classic on Jan. 2 while Knopf placed in the top four in all three races, including with a pair of runner-up performances in freestyle sprints on Jan. 4 and classic sprints on Jan. 7. Weenig posted a career best in freestyle sprints. He also earned an American bronze and placed fifth overall in a 20K classical race at U.S. Nationals on Jan. 5, an event that wasn't part of the RMISA schedule.
The women received solid performances from graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb, senior Hanna Ray, sophomore Selma Andersen and freshman Maja Moland. Ray posted a personal best in fifth and Anderson was 10th in the 10K classic on Jan. 2, Moland placed eighth in freestyle sprints on Jan. 4, and Semb scored for the Pios with a pair of 13th-place results in the Westminster races.
The alpine portion of the Utah and Westminster Invitationals are set to begin next week, with the meets alternating days on Jan. 17-20 at Olympic Park in Park City. After this weekend, the next Nordic races are Feb. 2-3 with the Colorado Invite in Steamboat Springs in what will be a tune-up for March's NCAA Championships at the same venues.
UTAH INVITATIONAL NORDIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan. 12
7.5K Freestyle (interval start)
10:00 a.m. MT – Men begin
11:15 a.m. MT – Women begin
Saturday, Jan. 13
10K Classic (Pursuit)
9:30 a.m. MT – Women's race
10:45 a.m. MT – Men's race
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!
DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
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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
Players Mentioned
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Nordic
/ SkiingFriday, March 13
Thursday, March 12
Wednesday, March 11
Monday, February 23
