STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – The Denver Pioneers ski team had another strong day on both the alpine and Nordic courses on Saturday and finished the 2024 Spencer James Nelson Colorado Invitational in second place in what was another tightly-contested meet on the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit this season.
 
Junior Andreas Kirkeng swept the men's Nordic competition by winning the 20-kilometer classical, one day after also taking first in the 7.5K freestyle, and senior Nora Brand picked up her second win of the season and fourth of her career in women's slalom at Howelsen Hill Ski Area.
 
The Pioneers concluded the day with eight finishers in the top 10 and had 11 of their 12 scorers place in the top 15. Denver gained 308 points on the day and finished second behind host Colorado with 635 points at the conclusion of the eight events. CU won with 671.5 points, while Utah was third with 586.5 points.

"What a weekend for DU skiing," said Denver Nordic Head Coach Rogan Brown. "The Nordic Pios battled some tricky conditions in wet new snow for the 20-kilometer classic today and showed some real grit to close out the Invite. It was impressive to see Andreas go back-to-back with his wins and Hanna Ray earn another top result in the 7.5K freestyle on Friday.
 
"We had a valuable weekend previewing this year's NCAA Championship courses and are looking forward to learning and improving as we narrow in on our home Invite and the end of the regular season this week. Racing the same weekend as Alpine brought some high spirits for our team, and it was great to have the alpiners support us this morning and for our Nordic group to cheer them on in the night slalom." 

DU has finished runner-up and within 100 points off the lead in all three meets this season, as the Pios were 22 points behind the Utes in the Westminster Invite and 89 behind UU in the Utah Invite. The Pioneers' 635 points at this year's Colorado Invite were the most they've earned in a meet since winning the 2020 RMISA Championships in Bozeman, Montana, with 688 points.
 
For Utah, that program's 12-meet winning streak comes to an end. The Utes' last loss was at the Nordic-only 2022 Nanook Invitational, and their last defeat in a full alpine-Nordic competition was the 2020 RMISA Championships that Denver won.
 
Saturday's competition was held entirely at Howelsen Hill Ski Area with Nordic beginning the day's events with mass start races for the men's and women's 20K classic.
 
Kirkeng earned his third victory of the season and 10th of his career as he edged a pair of Buffaloes in the classic style to the finish with a time of 1:00:29.3, winning by nearly 10 seconds over second-place Magnus Boee and Will Koch.
 
Graduate student Florian Knopf came in third and was followed by career-best results from freshman Krystof Zatloukal in fifth and sophomore Micah Steinberg in 15th. Junior Jonah Steinberg matched a personal high in 17th.
 
In the women's 20K classic, all three of DU's scorers were in the top 15 with sophomore Selma Andersen leading the Pios in 10th with a time of 1:09:44.3. Senior Hanna Ray was 11th and graduate student Henriette Saeterdal Semb placed 13th after finishing within 30 seconds of one another. Freshman Maja Moland came in 17th and junior and Steamboat native Sidney Barbier was 25th.
 
In the afternoon, the CU Invite moved to the alpine hill with men's and women's slalom. Snow fell throughout the day at Howelsen Hill, but the weather certainly played more of a factor in the alpine events. Overall, 20 athletes weren't able to finish the first slalom run, which began at 1:30 p.m.
 
The slalom was pre-scheduled to finish under the lights at 6 p.m., and conditions were much better as the snow had finally stopped. Brand moved from third to first in women's slalom with a total time of 1:27.86, edging second-place Magdalena Luczak of CU and third-place Kaja Norbye of UU, who were separated on the podium by just one-hundredths of a second.
 
Sophomore Sara Rask placed seventh to earn her sixth consecutive top 10 of the season, and classmate Josephine Trueblood also scored for the Pioneers in 22nd.
 
Men's slalom wrapped up the Colorado Invite and featured three Denver skiers in the top 12. Freshman Christian Soevik guided the Pios in fifth, while sophomore Thomas Hoffman had a career best in sixth as the Australian climbed up from 11th after the first run. Sophomore Jack Bowers moved up three spots to 12th, while Adrian Minde Hunshammer (run 2), Trey Seymour (run 1) and Cooper Cornelius (run 1) didn't finish the race.
 
UP NEXT: Sunday is an off day for the RMISA circuit before the Denver Invitational begins on Monday and Tuesday with a pair of alpine slalom races at Loveland Ski Area. The venue at Loveland is closed to the public and will not be walkable from the base area. DU's home meet concludes with the Nordic competition at Maloit Park in Minturn, Colorado, as the 10K classic mass start is Friday, Feb. 9 and interval 5K freestyle on Saturday, Feb. 10. Fans are invited to cheer on the Pioneers at Maloit Park.
 
 
DENVER MEN 20K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Andreas Kirkeng, 1:00:29.3
5. Florian Knopf, 1:00:44.6
7. Krystof Zatloukal, 1:00:50.2
15. Micah Steinberg, 1:02:26.1
17. Jonah Steinberg, 1:03:19.7
 
DENVER WOMEN 20K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
10. Selma Andersen, 1:09.44.3
11. Hanna Ray, 1:10:01.3
13. Henriette Saeterdal Semb, 1:10.31.5
17. Maja Moland, 1:12:36.8
25. Sidney Barbier, 1:15.18.2
DNS: Anna Espeli
 
DENVER WOMEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Nora Brand, 1:27.86 (44.58/43.28)
7. Sara Rask, 1:29.40 (45.33/44.07)
22. Josephine Trueblood, 1:32.19 (47.53/44.66)
 
DENVER MEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
5. Christian Soevik, 1:21.80 (42.20/39.40)
6. Thomas Hoffman, 1:21.90 (43.24/38.66)
12. Jack Bowers, 1:22.57 (43.55/39.02)
DNF: Trey Seymour (Run 1), Cooper Cornelius (Run 1), Adrian Minde Hunshammer (45.51/DNF Run 2)
 
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (through 8-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 671.5; 2. Denver 635; 3. Utah 586.5; 4. Montana State 495; 5. Alaska Anchorage 428; 6. Westminster 238; 7. Alaska Fairbanks 219; 8. Nevada 127; 9. Colorado Mountain College 86.
 
MEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (28 finishers): 1. Andreas Kirkeng, DU; 2. Magnus Boee, CU; 3. Will Koch, CU; 4. Tom Mancini, UU; 5. Florian Knopf, DU; 6. Kai Meyers, MSU; 7. Krystof Zatloukal, DU; 8. Johannes Flaaten, CU; 9. Christopher Kalev, UAF; 10. Florian Winker, MSU.
 
WOMEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (32 finishers): 1. Hanna Abrahamsson, CU; 2. Tilde Baangman, MSU; 3. Anna-Maria Dietze, CU; 4. Sydney Palmer-Leger, UU; 5. Karianne Dengerud, UU; 6. Kate Oldham, MSU; 7. Astrid Stav, UAA; 8. Mariel Pulles, UAF; 9. Weronika Kaleta, CU; 10. Selma Andersen, DU.
 
MEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (34 finishers): 1. Oliver Parazette, UU; 2. Leon Nikic, UAA; 3. Jeremie Lagier, WMU; 4. Mikkel Solbakken, UU; 5. Christian Soevik, DU; 6. Thomas Hoffman, DU; 7. Enzo Cenerelli, WMU; 8. Etienne Mazellier, CU; 9. Raphael Lessard, UU; 10. Jacob Dilling, CU.
 
WOMEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (27 finishers): 1. Nora Brand, DU; 2. Magdalena Luczak, CU; 3. Kaja Norbye, UU; 4. Ainsley Proffit, UAA; 5. Michelle Kerven, UU: 6. Hannah Saethereng, WMU; 7. Sara Rask, DU; 8. Carlotta Marcora, WMU; 9. Julia Toiviainen, CU; 10. Melanie Dahlberg, UU.
 

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