MIDWAY, Utah – The Denver Pioneers ski team was led on Saturday morning with a podium finish by
Florian Knopf in the 7.5-kilometer classical on Day 1 of the Utah Invitational at Solider Hollow Nordic Center.
Knopf finishing runner-up in the men's interval start race to record his sixth career podium and second of the season—all of which have been second-place results. The German posted a time of 19:54.8, less than 10 seconds behind winner Walker Hall of Utah (19:45.9) and nearly three seconds ahead of another Ute skier in Joe Davies in third place (19:57.7.)
The DU graduate student also finished second in the 20K classical in his last collegiate race at the Alaska Anchorage Invitational on Jan. 5. Knopf has placed in the top 10 in 12-of-13 career events.
Denver senior
Andreas Kirkeng (20:16.9) came in fifth for his third-straight top five of the 2025 campaign, and junior
Micah Steinberg was the squad's third scorer with his first career top 10 by tying for 10th (21:20.2). Steinberg's previous personal best was 15th in the 20K classic at the 2024 Colorado Invitational in Steamboat Springs.
Senior
Elijah Weenig was 15th, sophomore
Krystof Zatloukal was 19th and freshman
Landon Wyatt finished 20th to round out the Pioneer men on the leaderboard. Freshman
Joe Graziadei did not race.
The DU women were also led by a graduate student in
Lea Wenaas, who picked up her third consecutive top 10 as a Pioneer in sixth place with a time of 23:50.8. Sophomore
Maja Moland earned her second top 10 of the season in 10th, freshman
Anna Stewart was DU's third women's scorer in the interval start in 11th and freshman
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour was just behind her teammates in 12th.
Junior
Selma Andersen was 23rd and senior
Sidney Barbier came in 30th.
Utah also had an individual victory in the women's event with Erica Laven taking the top spot on the podium with a time of 22:54.1. Colorado's Astri Lunde was second and Alaska Fairbanks' Kendall Kramer was also on the stand in third.
Denver is in third place in the team standings after the first of two days of Nordic races with 157.5 points, but the squad is just 37.5 points off the lead (Utah, 195) and less than five points back of second place (Colorado, 162). The Pioneers are 43 points up on fourth-place Alaska Fairbanks (114.5), while Alaska Anchorage is fifth (112 points) and Montana State is sixth (101 points).
DU's men's team compiled the second-most points in its race with 87.5 while DU's women registered 70 points, third-most in the field
While there was an Artic blast of air taking over the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S., especially in Colorado, temperatures in Midway, Utah, weren't frigid cold as it was around 12 degrees Fahrenheit at the 9 a.m. MT start. Temperatures will be similar for Sunday's races.
UP NEXT: The Nordic portion of the Utah Invitational wraps up on Sunday with the men's and women's 15K freestyle mass start at Solider Hollow Nordic Center. The men's race begins at 9 a.m. MT on Sunday and women's start time is 10:30 a.m. MT. The Nordic squads then head to Bozeman for the start of the Montana State Invitational next weekend, Jan. 24-26.
The Utah Invitational concludes with alpine races at Olympic Park in Park City on Feb. 8-9. However, the next alpine events on the RMISA calendar are on Feb. 3-4 with Days 3 and 4 of the MSU Invite at Bridger Bowl Ski Area in Bozeman.
DENVER WOMEN 7.5K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
6.
Lea Wenaas, 23:50.8
10.
Maja Moland, 24:10.0
11.
Anna Stewart, 24:15.5
12.
Eve-Ondine Duchaufour, 24:20.0
23.
Selma Andersen, 24:52.4
30.
Sidney Barbier, 26:20.9
DENVER MEN 7.5K CLASSIC INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
2.
Florian Knopf, 19:54.8
5.
Andreas Kirkeng, 20:16.9
T10.
Micah Steinberg, 21:20.2
15.
Elijah Weenig, 21:29.2
19.
Krystof Zatloukal, 21:53.0
20.
Landon Wyatt, 22:03.0
DNR:
Joe Graziadei
TEAM STANDINGS (through 2-of-8 events): 1. Utah 195; 2. Colorado 162;
3. Denver 157.5; 4. Alaska Fairbanks 114.5; 5. Alaska Anchorage 112; 6. Montana State 101
WOMEN'S 7.5K CLASSIC TOP 10 (35 finishers): 1. Erica Laven, UU, 22:54.1; 2. Astri Lunde, CU, 23:11.9; 3. Kendall Kramer, UAF, 23:15.0; 4. Tilde Baangman, CU, 23:39.4; 5. Celine Mayer, UU, 23:50.8;
6. Lea Wenaas, DU, 23:50.8; 7. Neve Gerard, UU, 23:53.0; 8. Selma Nevin, UU, 24:01.5; 9. Katey Houser, MSU, 24:04.9.
10. Maja Moland, DU, 24:10.0.
MEN'S 7.5K CLASSIC TOP 10 (31 finishers): 1. Walker Hall, UU, 19:45.9;
2. Florian Knopf, DU, 19:54.8; 3. Joe Davies, UU, 19:57.7; 4. Will Koch, CU, 20:03.1
; 5. Andreas Kirkeng, DU, 20:16.9; 6. Brian Bushey, UU, 20:22.2; 7. Zachary Jayne, UU, 20:35.6; 8. Johannes Flaaten, CU, 21:08.5; 9. Derek Deuling, UAA, 21:10.0;
T10. Micah Steinberg, DU, 21:20.2; T10. Benjamin Dohlby, UAF, 21:20.2.
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