BOZEMAN, Mont. – University of Denver skiing junior
Andreas Kirkeng defended his conference title in the men's Nordic 20-kilometer classic on Sunday on the final day of the 2024 RMISA Championships at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center.
Kirkeng led the field in mass start race, finishing in 55:09.2 and nearly 40 seconds ahead of second-place Joe Davies of Utah (55:48.9); Alaska Fairbanks' Mike Ophoff was third (56:06.3). It was Kirkeng's third consecutive conference title in the classical discipline as he won the 10K distance in 2022 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and the 20K last year in Anchorage, Alaska.
In six career Nordic races at the RMISA Championships, Kirkeng has placed in the top 10 in all six of them and has five top-five finishes.
As a team, the Pioneers finished third overall with 559 points at the meet, which doubled as the NCAA West Regional. The University of Colorado won its third straight meet with 671 points while defending national champion Utah was runner-up with 589.5 points. Host Montana State came in fourth with 523.45 points and Alaska Anchorage placed fifth with 420 points.
Freshman
Krystof Zatloukal grabbed his fourth top 10 of the season by coming in 10th in the men's race and teammate
Elijah Weenig placed 18th to round out DU's three scorers.
Jonah Steinberg came in 28th, while
Micah Steinberg did not finish and
Florian Knopf didn't start the race.
Sophomore
Selma Andersen guided Denver's women's team in the 20K classic in 10th place with a total time of 1:15:37.7. Senior
Hanna Ray was 16th and graduate student
Henriette Saeterdal Semb came in 17th in their final RMISA races and were the Pioneers' other two scorers. Freshman
Maja Moland placed 21st, junior
Sidney Barbier ended up 28th and freshman
Anna Espeli did not finish.
Montana State had the top and runner-up finisher in the women's event with Tilde Baangman winning the gold and Kate Oldham earning the silver. CU's Anna-Maria Dietze placed third, beginning a run of three Buffaloes in the top five as Hanna Abrahamson was fourth and Weronika Kaleta was fifth.
Sunday also marked senior day for the Nordic teams, with Ray, Semb and
Jonah Steinberg all being honored wearing specialized RMISA senior bibs.
UP NEXT: Next up for the Pioneers are the biggest races of the season with the NCAA Championships, hosted by CU, on March 6-9 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Alpine giant slalom opens the national championships on March 6 before the 7.5K freestyle on March 7. Nationals conclude with slalom at night on March 8 and the 20K classic on March 9.
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.
Andreas Kirkeng, 55:09.2
10.
Krystof Zatloukal, 58:08.1
18.
Elijah Weenig, 59:50.1
28.
Jonah Steinberg, 1:02:23.9
DNF:
Micah Steinberg,
DNS:
Florian Knopf
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
10.
Selma Andersen, 1:15:37.7
16.
Hanna Ray, 1:17:14.2
17.
Henriette Saeterdal Semb, 1:17:25.2
21.
Maja Moland, 1:18:37.8
28.
Sidney Barbier, 1:23.17.3
DNF:
Anna Espeli
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (through 8-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 671; 2. Utah 589.5;
3. Denver 559; 4. Montana State 523.5; 5. Alaska Anchorage 420; 6. Alaska Fairbanks 262; 7. Westminster 256.5; 8. Nevada 128.5; 9. Colorado Mountain College 125
MEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (32 finishers): 1. Andreas Kirkeng, DU, 55:09.2; 2. Joe Davies, UU, 55:48.9; 3. Mike Ophoff, UAF, 56:06.3; 4. Magnus Boee, CU, 56:23.7; 5. Tom Mancini, UU, 56:56.5;6. Christopher Kalev, UAF, 56:48.8; 7. Will Koch, CU, 56:58.8; 8. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 57:11.7; 9. Brian Bushey, UU, 57:34.1;
10. Krystof Zatloukal, DU, 58:08.1.
WOMEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (28 finishers): 1. Tilde Baangman, MSU, 1:15:00.0; 2. Kate Oldham, MSU, 1:15:10.5; 3. Anna-Maria Dietze, CU, 1:15:11.5; 4. Hanna Abrahamsson, CU, 1:15:12.4; 5. Weronika Kaleta, CU, 1:15:16.2; 6. Sydney Palmer-Leger, UU, 1:15:18.1; 7. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 1:15:23.7; 8. Karolina Kaleta, CU, 1:15:27.9; 9. Witta-Luisa Walcher, UU, 1:15:28.8;
10. Selma Andersen, DU, 1:15:37.7.
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