LOVELAND SKI AREA, Colo. – Sophomore
Sara Rask led the Denver Pioneers ski team with her second consecutive podium in women's slalom as the alpine portion of the Denver Invitational wrapped up on Tuesday.
After placing third in the DU Invite's first slalom race on Monday at the Pios' home hill at Loveland Ski Area, Rask bettered her result 24 hours later by finishing second—a season-best result. It was Rask's third podium in the last four races and fifth top-five placement in the past six events.
"It's been pretty good," said
Rask of her last two races. "I'm super happy with my races. It's nice getting back on home ground. The only thing you need to know (on this course) is that you need to push all the way."
The Stockholm, Sweden, native posted a total time of 1:38.91 after recording the fastest first run of the day at 49.70 seconds. She finished between a pair of Utah Utes, as Kaja Norbye finished a tenth of a second ahead for the win (1:38.81) while Madison Hoffman came in third (1:39.52).
Senior
Nora Brand joined Rask in the top five with her second-straight fourth-place result, clocking in at 1:40.62. Freshman
Liv Moritz was DU's third scorer in 11th, and sophomore
Mia Hunt came in 14th after returning from France the previous day while competing at the FIS Alpine Junior World Championships with Team USA. Sophomore
Josephine Trueblood was 26th.
Freshman
Christian Soevik led DU's men's squad with a fourth-place finish and just missed out on his first career podium. He had a two-run total of 1:36.96, coming just five-hundredths of a second behind third-place Roman Frost of Westminster (1:36.91). This isn't the first time Soevik was less than a split second from a spot on the stand, as he missed out by one one-hundredths of a second in slalom at the Utah Invitational on Jan. 18.
"I was hoping or a podium, but it was a tight race,"
Soevik said. "I feel still like I have a lot left in me, so if I can just put down two good runs it should be there."
Senior
Trey Seymour continued to record strong results as he registered his fourth top 10 in the last five races by coming in ninth. Sophomore
Jack Bowers was Denver's last scorer by tying for 17th place.
The Pioneer men were a bit unlucky on the day as sophomore
Thomas Hoffman, who held bib 1, skied out on the second run after being fourth-fastest in the morning session. Also, fellow classmate
Adrian Minde Hunshammer lost one of his poles early in the first run and was forced to ski down and battle the gates with just one pole and his forearm protector; he ended up finishing 29th overall.
Utah went one-two on the men's podium as Raphael Lessard picked up his first win at 1:36.61 and Mikkel Solbakken was second at 1:36.70. Utah (350) gained 197 points on the day with three finishers in the top 10 in the women's event and four in the men's race to overtake Denver for the overall lead at the halfway point of the meet.
The Pioneers are still well within reach of earning the victory as they've garnered 323 total points and trail the Utes by just 23.
"It was a pretty solid day today," said Denver alpine head coach
Joonas Rasanen. "We had some unluck there with Tommy in the second run, but the skiing was really good and I feel like we put on a good face today. Now it's up to Rogan (Brown, Head Nordic Coach) and the Nordies to bring it home."
DU recorded 157 points on the second day of its own invitational and extended its lead over Colorado, which dropped down to third place with 288 points. The Pios have a 39-point advantage over CU heading into the Nordic portion of the meet.
UP NEXT: The Denver Invitational concludes over the weekend with the Nordic races in the Vail Valley at Maloit Park in Minturn. Friday's features the 10-kilometer classic mass start before the meet closes on Saturday with the interval 5K freestyle.
DENVER WOMEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2.
Sara Rask, 1:38.91 (48.95/49.95)
4.
Nora Brand, 1:40.62 (50.60/50.02)
11.
Liv Moritz, 1:41.60 (51.46/50.14)
14.
Mia Hunt, 1:41.83 (51.83/50.00)
26.
Josephine Trueblood, 1:45.47 (54.24/51.23)
DENVER MEN SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
4.
Christian Soevik, 1:36.96 (46.84/50.12)
9.
Trey Seymour, 1:37.46 (47.60/49.86)
T17.
Jack Bowers, 1:38.19 (47.80/50.39)
29.
Adrian Minde Hunshammer, 1:42.99 (50.63/52.36)
DNF:
Thomas Hoffman (46.69/DNF run 2)
TEAM STANDINGS (through 4-of-8 events): 1. Utah 350;
2. Denver 327; 3. Colorado 288; 4. Westminster 241.5; 5. Alaska Anchorage 225; 6. Montana State 188.5; 7. Nevada 118; 8. Colorado Mountain College 116.
WOMEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (32 finishers): 1. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:38.81;
2. Sara Rask, DU, 1:38.91; 3. Madison Hoffman, UU, 1:39.52;
4. Nora Brand, DU, 1:40.62; 5. Nicola Rountree-Williams, CMC, 1:40.98; 6. Hannah Saethereng, WMU, 1:41.08; T7. Carolina Jones, CU, 1:41.40; T7. Ella Bromee, UAA, 1:41.40; 9. Ainsley Proffit, UAA, 1:41.47; 10. Michelle Kerven, UU, 1:41.51.
MEN'S SLALOM TOP 10 (30 finishers): 1. Raphael Lessard, UU, 1:36.61; 2. Mikkel Solbakken, UU, 1:36.70; 3. Roman Frost, WMU, 1:36.91;
4. Christian Soevik, DU, 1:36.96; 5. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:36.97; 6. Louis Fausa, CU, 1:37.12; 7. Gustav Voello, UU, 1:37.14; 8. Jeremie Lagier, WMU, 1:37.28;
9. Trey Seymour, DU, 1:37.46; 10. Sindre Myklebust, UU, 1:37.52.
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