VERNON, British Columbia – The Denver Pioneers ski team wrapped up its two-week Nordic training camp this past weekend in the Okanagan Valley of Canada.
Denver visited the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre and SilverStar Mountain Resort for the third-straight year to get some early-season training on snow before the start of the collegiate campaign in less than a month.
All 13 members of the Nordic squad made the trip to Western Canada to train, with the group leaving after fall quarter finals on Friday, Nov. 22 and spending American Thanksgiving north of the border. The Pios took part in an unofficial time trial with RMISA-foes Colorado and Utah on the first weekend before competing in three races this past weekend, Dec. 6-8, in the Western Canada Cup hosted by Nordiq Canada.
Denver had eight student-athletes race versus other Canadian Nordic clubs and universities and also went head to head with EISA-member Dartmouth College.
Graduate student and newcomer
Lea Wenaas led the Pioneers with top-five placements in each of the three events, coming in third in the women's 7.5K freestyle interval on Friday, third in freestyle sprints on Saturday and fourth in the 10K classic mass start on Sunday that was raced in heavy snow.
Wenaas was one of four Pioneers to get out of qualifying in the sprints by posting the seventh-fastest time in the opening round. She won her quarterfinal and semifinal heat before placing third behind Katie Weaver (2:37.12) and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (2:37.66) in the final.
Sophomore
Krystof Zatloukal had a solid weekend of racing on the men's side by placing third in Friday's men's 7.5K freestyle and fourth in Sunday's 10K classic. Freshman
Landon Wyatt also put together some solid results in his first races as a Pioneer by placing seventh overall and fifth among under-23 athletes in the Friday's interval freestyle race, and he came in ninth among U20 junior racers and 32nd overall in Sunday's 10K classic.
The DU athletes that didn't race this past weekend went back to their hometowns to continue training and compete in European collegiate cups.
Denver results from the Western Canada Cup can be found below, while full results can be viewed at
https://zone4.ca/event/2024/mOrELO/.
Friday, Dec. 6
Men's 7.5K Freestyle – Interval Start
3.
Krystof Zatloukal, 22:16.3 (2nd in U23)
7.
Landon Wyatt, 22:56.9 (5th in U23)
22.
Elijah Weenig, 23:24.5 (18th in U23)
27.
Micah Steinberg, 23:34.6 (23rd in U23)
Women's 7.5K Freestyle – Interval Start
3.
Lea Wenaas, 25:09.1 (2nd in U23)
8.
Anna Stewart, 26:20.7 (6th in U23)
28.
Sidney Barbier, 28:05.6 (26th in U23)
Saturday, Dec. 7
Men's Freestyle Sprint
15.
Elijah Weenig (2:17.33 QF/2:21.83 QFT)
20.
Joe Graziadei (2:17.84 QF/2:24.50 QFT)
33.
Micah Steinberg (2:26.22 QFT)
25.
Krystof Zatloukal (2:27.03 QFT)
Women's Freestyle Sprint
3.
Lea Wenaas (2:38.86 F/2:38.37 SF/2:44.49 QF/2:41.16 QFT)
13.
Anna Stewart (2:41.92 QF/2:47.96 QFT)
Sunday, Dec. 8
Men's 10K Classic – Mass Start
4.
Krystof Zatloukal, 32:42.4
9.
Micah Steinberg, 33:04.5
10.
Elijah Weenig, 33:06.6
32.
Landon Wyatt, 34:47.0 (9th U20)
53.
Joe Graziadei, 36.03.6
Women's 10K Classic – Mass Start
4.
Lea Wenaas, 36:50.1
11.
Anna Stewart, 38:19.4
44.
Sidney Barbier, 42.51.5
UP NEXT: The Nordic Pioneers will reconvene just before the New Year in Alaska in preparation for the U.S. Cross Country National Championships at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, which will also double as Alaska Anchorage Invitational to begin the collegiate campaign. The 10K freestyle is on Jan. 2 while the 20K classic is Jan. 4. The Alpine squad begins Nor-Am Cup races this week in Panorama, British Columbia, and starts the NCAA season by hosting the Denver Invitational on Jan. 6-8 at Loveland Ski Area and Copper Mountain Resort.
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