STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Freshman Christian Soevik earned a bronze in men's giant slalom and all three University of Denver women's alpine skiers placed in the top 10 on the first day of the 2024 NCAA Championships.
 
The Pioneers are in third place overall at the quarter-mark of the meet with 133 points. DU trails host Colorado by less than five points (137.5) while reigning national champion Utah has the early advantage with 154.4 points.
 
"It was a very competitive ski race today, especially with the western schools and especially on the women's side," said Denver Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen. "The western women really dominated. We didn't really have our best day, but we still had a pretty solid day. We're in third, and definitely still in the mix."
 
A pair of rookies paced Denver in alpine giant slalom at Steamboat Resort and earned All-American First Team honors, as Soevik led the men in third place and freshman Liv Moritz came in fifth in the women's event.
 
Soevik recorded his second podium in the past three races after earning silver in giant slalom at the RMISA Championship on Feb. 23 in Bozeman, Montana. Wednesday's third-place result was DU's best men's alpine finish at the NCAA Championships in giant slalom since Tobias Kogler came in second in 2021 in New Hampshire, and it was the highest placement by a men's alpine freshman in their NCAA debut since Simon Fournier won silver at the 2019 championships in Vermont.
 
"Christian is turning into a GS guy, which super fun to see," Rasanen said. "He still has the slalom left, which is his stronger discipline, so that was awesome to see. Another podium in GS for him, which is awesome for him."
 
The rookie from Oslo, Norway, moved up from fourth in the morning descent with a second-run time of 53.34 to clock in with a total of 1:45.18. Only two Utah Utes were better on the day than Soevik, who was four-tenths of a second behind winner Mikkel Solbakken (1:44.78) and trailed third-place Sindre Myklebust by 32-hundredths of a second (1:44.85).
 
Sophomore Thomas Hoffman and senior Trey Seymour were tied after the first run and finished just one-hundredths of a second apart from one another in 19th and 20th place.  Hoffman had a total time of 1:46.70 while Seymour was a split-second later at 1:46.71.
 
The Pioneers were the only program to have all three of its skiers place in the top 10 in women's giant slalom. Behind Moritz was senior Nora Brand in seventh and sophomore Sara Rask in ninth.
 
Moritz timed in at 1:56.23 in her debut at the national championships, while Brand was the biggest mover of the day. The Munich, Germany, native was second quickest in the afternoon at 55.13 to climb seven spots from 14th after the first run to her final seventh-place position (1:56.66).
 
Rask earned her third All-American honor in as many career NCAA races after posting her 12th-straight top 10 of the season (1:56.71).
 
"Liv with a top five and was the youngest racer in the field and the best American, so that's a big thing for the program," Rasanen said. "Nora had a blazing second run, and Sara was just a little off her normal best. Overall, we have the field where we want them on the women's side.
 
The Pioneers finished with the second-most points in the women's team competition with 76, as only CU had more at 95.5 points after placing two on the podium. Madgalena Luczak controlled the field with the fastest time each run and finished with a 1.18-second advantage (1:54.51). Her Buffaloes teammate Denise Dingsleder and defending national champion Madison Hoffman of Utah tied for second with a time of 1:55.69.
                                
As might be expected in the Colorado mountains, there was variable weather throughout the day on the hill at Steamboat Resort. Perfect sunny conditions in the morning turned to clouds and snowfall halfway through the men's second run, only to clear up and be sunny again for the second half of run 2 for the women.
 
"The light came in and out, which made it a little difficult, and the snow especially the second run was a little peely—you didn't have the full grip under your skies, which made it a little hard," Rasanen said of the conditions. "I think overall we managed that part really well. I thought we had some good skis, and strong skiers make everything easier. Definitely made it harder, but it was nothing we haven't seen before."
 
Western schools controlled the leaderboard, as all top-10 finishers in the women's race and six of the 10 in the men's competition came from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association. Six RMISA schools are in the top seven on the team leaderboard, as Vermont leads the eastern contingent in fourth with 101 points.
 
The alpine competition closes on Friday night across town with slalom under the lights at Howelsen Hill Ski Area.
 
"The slalom is pretty late this year, I think second run is at 9:30. So we'll focus on getting in that timeframe," said Rasanen of the team's approach in the next several days. "Other than that, we'll train late tomorrow and get a feel for the snow on Howelsen Hill. We'll just keep doing what we're doing and the athletes will put the pedal to the metal on Friday, and we'll see where we stand before Saturday's Nordic race."
 
UP NEXT: The Nordic portion of the NCAA Championship begin on Thursday morning with the 7.5-kilometer freestyle at Howelsen Hill Ski Area. The men's interval start is at 10 a.m. MT while the women begin their race at 12 noon MT.
 
 
NOTABLES

• The Pioneers were the only team to have all three scorers in the top 10 in the women's alpine race and finished second with 76 points.
• Denver recorded the third-most point in men's alpine with 57, with only Utah (87) and Vermont (66) having better days.
• DU was second after the first run in women's giant slalom behind only CU (91-75) and tied for second in men's GS after the morning session with Vermont, trailing Utah (72-58).
• Christian Soevik was fourth after the first run, just 12-hundredths of a second off the podium and 16-hundredths of a second off the lead.
• Rask made a mistake early in her first run, slipping and going wide on two turns and had push the rest of the way. She posted the sixth-fastest time in the morning session.
• Nora Brand had the second-fastest second run to move from 14th after run 1 to seventh at the end.
• Christian Soevik and Liv Moritz are recognized as First Team All-Americans in alpine giant slalom while Nora Brand and Sara Rask pick up Second-Team honors in the discipline

 
 
DENVER MEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3. Christian Soevik, 1:45.18 (51.84/53.34) – 34 points
19. Thomas Hoffman, 1:46.70 (52.79/53.91) – 12 points
20. Trey Seymour, 1:46.71 (52.79/53.92) – 11 points
 
DENVER WOMEN GIANT SLALOM INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
5. Liv Moritz, 1:56.23 (1:00.42/55:81) – 29 points
7. Nora Brand, 1:56.66 (1:01.53/55.13) – 25 points
9. Sara Rask, 1:56.71 (1:00.97/55.74) – 22 points
 
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Utah 154.5; 2. Colorado 137.5; 3. Denver 133; 4. Vermont 101; 5. Westminster 82; 6. Montana State 78; 7. Alaska Anchorage 70; 8. New Hampshire 59; 9. Dartmouth 47; 10. St. Michael's 44.5; 11. Colby 40.5; 12; Middlebury 33; 13. Plymouth State 9; 14. Harvard 6; 15. Nevada 3. T16. Bates 0; T16. Boston College 0.
 
MEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (32 finishers): 1. Mikkel Solbakken, UU, 1:44.78; 2. Sindre Myklebust, UU, 1:44.85; 3. Christian Soevik, DU, 1:45.18; 4. Isac Hedstrom, UNH, 1:45.24; 5. Magnus Styren, UVM, 1:45.32; 6. Simen Strand, SMC, 1:45.38; 7. Gianluca Boehm, MSU, 1:45.43; 8. Filip Wahlqvist, CU, 1:45;61; 9. Leon Nikic, UAA, 1:45.62; 10. Oscar Zimmer, DAR, 1:45.63.
 
WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM TOP 10 (33 finishers): 1. Magdalena Luczak, CU, 1:54.51; T2. Madison Hoffman, UU, 1:55.69; T2. Denise Dingsleder, CU, 1:55.69; 4. Evelina Fredricsson, WMU, 1:55.86; 5. Liv Moritz, DU, 1:56.23; 6. Kaja Norbye, UU, 1:56.29; 7. Nora Brand, DU, 1:56.66; 8. Ainsley Proffit, UAA, 9. Sara Rask, DU, 1:56.71; 10. Kristiane Bekkestad, MSU, 1:56.92.
 

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!