MIDWAY, Utah – University of Denver junior Andreas Kirkeng won the U.S. Cross Country National Championship in the 10-kilometer classical on Tuesday as the Pioneers ski team opened the 2024 campaign with the Westminster Invitational at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.
 
The Westminster Invite is taking placing in conjunction with U.S. Nationals, with the results of the RMISA athletes being pulled from the races on Tuesday and Thursday to make up the Nordic portion of the meet.
 
For Kirkeng, it didn't matter which race he was competing in as he led the men's field in the interval start with a time of 23:50.8 for his seventh career victory and sixth in the classic. He also repeated as a U.S. National Champion after winning the 10K freestyle at last year's event in Houghton, Michigan.
 
As a team, Denver is in second place after the first day of the meet with 158 points and holds a 26-point advantage over third-place Alaska Fairbanks (132). The Pioneers are just 25 points behind Utah on the team leaderboard, as the Utes garnered 183 points on the first day of 2024 competition.
 
Denver won the men's team event with 90 points, as graduate student Florian Knopf joined Kirkeng in the top five in fourth place in the RMISA race and sixth overall in his college debut (24:19.0). Junior Elijah Weenig was the Pioneers' third scorer in 12th in the Westminster Invite, tying his career best in the classical discipline.
 
Freshman Krystof Zatloukal also made his college debut and came in 14th overall, while junior Jonah Steinberg placed 24th.
 
Senior Hanna Ray had a career day in the women's 10K as she placed fifth in the RMISA race and sixth overall by clocking in at 28:18.2. It was her first career top five, as her previous best result was a pair of eight-place finishes.
 
Sophomore Selma Andersen placed 10th and graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb came in 13th in her debut with the Pioneers to round out the women's scorers. Freshman Maja Moland was 17th in her first college race and junior Sidney Barbier finished 28th.
 
Montana State's Tilde Baangman won the women's 10K in 27:13.3 and was joined on the podium by a pair of Utah Utes in Sydney Palmer-Leger and Karianne Dengerud in second and third place, respectively. Palmer-Leger earns the title of the 2024 American National Champion in the 10K classic as the highest finisher from the United States in the race.
 
Utah's Joe Davies came in second behind Kirkeng in WMC Invite and Alaska Fairbanks' Christopher Kalev placed third. Former UU athlete Luke Jager was the highest United States finisher in third overall to earn the men's American title.
 
UP NEXT: The Nordic portion of the Westminster Invitational concludes on Thursday with freestyle sprints at the U.S. Cross County National Championships. U.S. Nationals wraps up on Friday with the 10K freestyle mas start, while the Pioneers and the other RMISA squads will also race in a Nordic qualifier event in classic sprints on Sunday morning.
 
NOTES

• Freshmen Maja Moland and Krystof Zatloukal and graduate student Florian Knopf made their collegiate debuts while graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb competed in her first race as a Pioneer after transferring from Michigan Tech.
• Freshman Anna Espeli and sophomore Micah Steinberg did not race.
• Denver won the men's RMISA team event with 91 points while the DU women placed fourth in their team event with 68 points.
• Hanna Ray placed fifth in the RMISA race and sixth overall, earning her first career top five.
• Selma Andersen picked up her fourth career top 10.
• Overall, 198 athletes finished the women's race while 232 were able to complete the men's 10K course.

 
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
5. Hanna Ray, 28:18.2
10. Selma Andersen, 28:45.1
13. Henriette Saeterdal Semb, 29:13.9
17. Maja Moland, 29:41.9
28. Sidney Barbier, 31:57.8
 
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Andreas Kirkeng, 23:50.8
4. Florian Knopf, 24:19.0
12. Elijah Weenig, 25:16.0
14. Krystof Zatloukal, 25:24.5
24. Jonah Steinberg, 26:33.2
 
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Utah 183; 2. Denver 158; 3. Alaska Fairbanks 132; 4. Montana State 127; 5. Alaska Anchorage 124; 6. Colorado 118; 7. Wyoming 66.
 
WOMEN'S 10K CLASSIC TOP 10 (40 RMISA finishers): 1. Tilde Baangman, MSU, 27:13.3; 2. Sydney Palmer-Leger, UU, 27:32.5; 3. Karianne Dengerud, UU, 27:54.7; 4. Astrid Stav, UAA, 28:10.8; 5. Hanna Ray, DU, 28:18.2; 6. Nina Schamberger, UU, 28:23.0; 7. Tuva Bygrave, UAA, 28:24.4; 8. Mariel Pulles, UAF, 28:28.4; 9. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 28:34.5; 10. Selma Andersen, DU, 28:45.1.
 
MEN'S 10K CLASSIC TOP 10 (38 RMISA finishers): 1. Andreas Kirkeng, DU, 23:50.8; 2. Joe Davies, UU, 23:53.1; 3. Christopher Kalev, UAF, 24:16.1; 4. Florian Knopf, DU, 24:19.0; 5. Magnus Boee, CU, 24:21.5; 6. Brian Bushey, UU, 24:28.8; 7. Will Koch, CU, 24:35.7; 8. Florian Winker, MSU, 24:59.5; 9. Walker Hall, UU, 24:59.8; 10. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 25:12.3.
 

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