STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Graduate student
Florian Knopf earned his second podium spot in as many races at the 2024 NCAA Championships as he placed second in the men's 20-kilometer classic on the fourth and final day of competition on Saturday.
After earning bronze in Thursday's 7.5K freestyle interval start, Knopf picked up a silver after completing the four-lap mass start course at Howelsen Hill Ski Area in 55 minutes and 42.1 seconds.
Only Colorado's Magnus Boee was better on the day as he won the individual national championship by 4.1 seconds (55:42.1). However, the victory for the CU veteran was not as close as he built a big lead from the trailing pack after the second lap, held it the rest of the way and coasted to the finish line in the final kilometer.
Knopf was on Boee's tail for much of race and was joined on the podium by CU's Will Koch in third (55:55.9). A former member of the German National Team, Knopf still has another year of college eligibility at DU.
The Pioneers finished third overall as a team with 491 points. It was the fourth-straight season that DU placed in the top three at the NCAA Championships, and DU has been in the top five in each of the last 11 completed national meets.
Denver's points total was also its most in the national championships since 2018 when it recorded 604 en route to its 24th NCAA title.
The Pioneers finished third in the men's team race on Sunday with 71 points, as freshman
Krystof Zatloukal also earned All-American accolades by coming in 10th (56:51.1). Junior
Andreas Kirkeng was part of the lead pack early on but ended up placing 18th (58:37.8).
Sophomore
Selma Andersen led DU's women in 20th (1:06:16.0), graduate student
Henriette Saeterdal Semb was 25th (1:07:26.5) and senior captain
Hanna Ray came in 29th (1:08:03.2) after battling through an injury in the final weeks of the season.
Dartmouth's Jasmine Drolet won the women's individual national championship in 1:02:38.2, while Haley Brewster of Vermont placed second (1:02:41.5) and Sydney Palmer-Leger of Utah was third (1:02:41.8) in a sprint to the finish.
The University of Colorado had all three of its women in the top nine and had its three men place in the top 11 to stage one of the largest comebacks and win one of the closest NCAA Championships in history.
In third place and trailing Utah by 51 points after the alpine slalom on Friday night, the Buffaloes earned 176 points on the day to finish with 568.5 points and end the Utes' four-year run at the top of the stand. Utah finished with just two fewer points at 567.5, and likely a single-placement difference by any of the CU and Utah skiers, or the ones from other programs around them, in any of the eight races could have changed the final result. UU's Nina Schamberger recorded a DNF in Saturday's women's 20K.
Denver entered the day in second and 41.5 points behind Utah after six-of-eight events.
UP NEXT: The 2024 collegiate campaign is now over, but DU's alpine and Nordic squads still have several non-NCAA races in the coming weeks to close out the winter season.
DENVER MEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2.
Florian Knopf, 55:42.1
10.
Krystof Zatloukal, 56:51.1
18.
Andreas Kirkeng, 58:37.8
DENVER WOMEN INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
20.
Selma Andersen, 1:06:16.0
25.
Henriette Saeterdal Semb, 1:07:26.5
29.
Hanna Ray, 1:08:03.2
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (after 8-of-8 events): 1. Colorado 569.5; 2. Utah 567.5; 3. Denver 491; 4. Dartmouth 399; 5. Montana State 329; 6. Vermont 300; 7. Alaska Anchorage 274; 8. New Hampshire 192; 9. Alaska Fairbanks 175; 10. Middlebury 159; 11. Westminster 136; 12. St. Michael's 81.5; 13. Michigan Tech 74; 14. Colby 67.5; 15. Harvard 62; 16. Bowdoin 35; 17. St. Lawrence 27; 18. Northern Michigan 14; T19. Boston College 10; T19 Nevada 10; 21. Plymouth State 9; 22. Bates 6; 23. Williams 1.
WOMEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (40 finishers): 1. Jasmine Drolet, DAR; 2. Haley Brewster, UVM; 3. Sydney Palmer-Leger, UU; 4. Hanna Abrahamsson, CU; 5. Anna-Maria Dietze CU; 6. Kendall Kramer, UAF; 7. Tilde Baangman, MSU; 8. Mariel Pulles, UAF; 9. Weronika Kaleta, CU; 10. Astrid Stav, UAA.
MEN'S 20K CLASSIC TOP 10 (40 finishers): 1. Magnus Boee, CU.
2. Florian Knopf, DU; 3. Will Koch, CU; 4. Remi Drolet, HAR; 5. John Hagenbuch, DAR; 6. Tom Mancini, UU; 7. Joe Davies, UU; 8. Brian Bushey, UU; 9. Florian Winkler, MSU;
10. Krystof Zatloukal, DU.
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